39 Retro Photos That Reveal What It Was Like To Be A Flight Attendant Throughout The Years

Contrary to popular belief, working as a flight attendant isn't all that glamorous. But was that always the case? There's this popular narrative out there that's got many gazing at the travel industry of old through rosy lenses. Back in the day, passengers enjoyed fancy food, spacious seats, and an army of beautiful flight attendants attending to them. Today, the most luxurious experience you'll have at an airport is shuffling through the TSA checkpoint at a decent speed and avoiding getting crammed next to an overly-talkative seat neighbor. However, as CNN reported, our "nostalgia usually doesn't include the high prices, limited routes and cigarette smoke clinging to the air." As usual, sentimental remembrance tends to leave out some important details. This includes the dark side of the flight attendant's supposedly glitzy gig. As Travel and Leisure magazine previously reported, in the 1950s and 1960s, "the requirements were draconian: Barbie-doll height and weight standards, girdles and heels worn at all times, and mandatory retirement by the decrepit age of… 32." The article goes on to note that litigation eventually abolished these rigid, superficial prerequisites for airline stewardesses (and stewards). Despite that creepiness, working as a flight attendant did give plenty of people the opportunity to see the world and secure employment. In fact, before the "Mad Men" era, Travel and Leisure notes that 1930s "sky girls" would even occasionally help refuel planes. Let's take a look at some photos of flight attendants — or air hostesses, stewards, or stewardesses, as they were sometimes called — at work through the ages. 1. Swissair flight attendant Nelly Diener became the first air stewardess in Europe in 1934. She died later that year in the 1934 Swissair Tuttlingen accident, which killed 12 people. Business Insider via Wikimedia Commons Original Source: UP Magazine 2. United Airlines stewardesses line up in front of an early Boeing 247. Wikimedia Commons 3. A flight attendant checks in with passengers as two men play checkers during a 1933 flight on a Boeing 247. University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections/Flickr 4. Air hostess Dorothy Webster boards a plane in 1938 in Queensland, Australia. State Library of Queensland/Flickr 5. A steward addresses passengers from the cockpit in the 1940s. Wikimedia Commons 6. Flight attendant Britt Hansson smiles in front of an "Orvar Viking" aircraft in the late 1940s or early 1950s. Wikimedia Commons 7. Flight steward Max White, assisted by passenger Jennifer Grey, washes dishes on board a January 1949 from Suvas to Sydney. Wikimedia Commons 8. On an autumn day in 1950, an airline stewardess arrives in Point Barrow, Alaska, the north most point of US territory. Preus museum/Flickr 9. An airplane stewardess hugs a puppy in Alaska in the 1950s. Preus museum/Flickr 10. Navy WAVE (United States Naval Women's Reserve) Betty M. Chaffee serves as a stewardess on a Navy Transport Squadron flight crew in 1951. She brings coffee to the pilots of the transcontinental flight, Lieutenant Junior Grade L.K. Shay (left) and Lieutenant Junior Grade J.R. Keegan (right). National Museum of the U.S. Navy/Flickr 11. Flight attendants take a break at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam in 1962. Nationaal Archief/Flickr 12. Passengers use a typewriter and read on a 1965 Northwest Airlines flight, as a flight attendant works in the background University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections/Flickr 13. Austrian Airlines flight attendants pose in front of a Douglas DC-9s at Vienna International Airport. Wikimedia Commons 14. A flight attendant and two pilots pose outside of an aircraft. The image comes from an album belonging to Charles rector, a pilot who worked in Hollywood and flew for Mick Jagger. SDASM Archives/Flickr 15. A Royal Dutch Airlines purser welcomes a passenger and points out her seat. Wikimedia Commons 16. Dutch flight attendants disembark in Istanbul in 1959. Wikimedia Commons 17. Air Micronesia stewardesses pose with a pilot. Wikimedia Commons 18. A flight attendant poses in front of a turbine. SDASM Archives/Flickr 19. Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) stewardesses pose on the tarmac. SDASM Archives/Flickr 20. A stewardess Pours coffee during a 1971 flight to Rome. Flickr 21. Flight attendants touch down in Las Vegas. SDASM Archives/Flickr 22. Capitol Airways flight attendants take a break. SDASM Archives/Flickr 23. PSA flight attendants disembark from an airplane. Flickr SDASM Archives/Flickr 24. A PSA flight attendant greets a first class customer. SDASM Archives/Flickr 25. Flight attendants model the uniforms worn by South African airline National Airways Corporation hostesses between 1959 and 1975. Wikimedia Commons 26. Flight attendants prep a Lockheed L-1011 for takeoff during the 1970s. SDASM Archives/Flickr 27. A PSA Airlines stewardess pours a drink for a passenger. SDASM Archives/Flickr 28. Two stewardesses attend to first class passengers in the lounge of a PSA flight. SDASM Archives/Flickr 29. A flight attendant poses on a turbine. SDASM Archives/Flickr 30. An American Airlines flight attendant poses with a first-class passenger in 1978. Wikimedia Commons 31. A group of Ethiopian Airlines flight attendants in the 1970s. Wikimedia Commons 32. Eastern Airlines flight attendants check in on the first class cabin in 1980. Wikimedia Commons 33. Two flight attendants and a pilot pose in front of a fountain in the 1980s. SDASM Archives/Flickr 34. Dutch airline Martinair stewardesses model new uniforms in 1982. Nationaal Archief/Flickr 35. A Thai Airways International airline flight attendant presents a selection of wine during a flight from Singapore to Bangkok in 1996. Richard Vogel/AP Images 36. Virgin Atlantic Airways flight attendants pack Princess Diana's dresses for a charity auction in 1997. AP Images 37. On August 26, 1999, two flight attendants carry signs out of a meeting room after rejecting a tentative five-year contract with Northwest Airlines. Paul Sancya/AP Images 38. A PBair flight attendant distributes snacks during a 2004 flight. Wikimedia Commons 39. A Norwegian flight attendant checks in on customers in 2015. Wikimedia Commons (Source: Business Insider)

39 Retro Photos That Reveal What It Was Like To Be A Flight Attendant Throughout The Years

by K. Gitter
Published March 29, 2018

30. An American Airlines flight attendant poses with a first-class passenger in 1978.

31. A group of Ethiopian Airlines flight attendants in the 1970s.

32. Eastern Airlines flight attendants check in on the first class cabin in 1980.

33. Two flight attendants and a pilot pose in front of a fountain in the 1980s.

34. Dutch airline Martinair stewardesses model new uniforms in 1982.

35. A Thai Airways International airline flight attendant presents a selection of wine during a flight from Singapore to Bangkok in 1996.

36. Virgin Atlantic Airways flight attendants pack Princess Diana’s dresses for a charity auction in 1997.

37. On August 26, 1999, two flight attendants carry signs out of a meeting room after rejecting a tentative five-year contract with Northwest Airlines.

38. A PBair flight attendant distributes snacks during a 2004 flight.

39. A Norwegian flight attendant checks in on customers in 2015.