money 40 Historical Pictures of Flight Attendants Throughout the Decades
Whether traveling by air for business, pleasure (girls trip, anyone?), or something in between, flight attendants always help you reach your destination safely and as comfortably as possible.
While their responsibilities haven’t changed much over the past century, their look has evolved — in more ways than one. In fact, the first flight attendants were male, usually the sons of airline financiers known as "cabin boys," according to Society Pages.
The shift to more female-friendly skies occurred in the 1930s. During this time, women came on board to serve as nurses tasked with keeping passengers safe and tending to those who became airsick.
World War II soon followed, causing men in aviation to enroll in the army, leaving flight attendant positions widely available to women. Soon, it became a female-dominated field, with women making up the majority of flight attendants.
During the 1950s and 1960s and what many consider the “Golden Age” of air travel, flight attendants became a coveted, well-respected, and glamorous profession. They were outfitted in eye-catching uniforms with sleek hairstyles to round out their prim and proper ensembles. While they looked polished, everything wasn’t as glamorous as it seemed. In actuality, many flight attendants faced sexism within the industry. In the past, some airlines would fire women if they gained weight (well into the 1990s) or became pregnant.
Thankfully, those negative and discriminatory standards and times have changed. What's more, many flight attendant uniforms are a bit more relaxed and casual, and their hairstyles aren't as restricted.
Take a fun trip (no luggage needed) down memory lane with this historic visual look at the illustrious profession.
1930s
The first "stewardess" was a 25-year-old registered nurse named Ellen Church from Iowa, according to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. She was hired by United Airlines in May of 1930, and is credited with convincing the airline that nurses should be employed as flight attendants.
1930s
American Airways flight attendants Mae Bobeck, Agnes Nohava, Marie Allen, and Velma Maul are poised, each with her right hand on the guard rail, as they descend the boarding steps of an American Airlines Curtiss T-32 Condor II in 1933. Each of the women was registered as a nurse, a stipulation of the job description.
1930s
Flight attendant Izola Readle greets legendary cartoonist and entrepreneur Walt Disney (with his Mickey Mouse creation in tow) in Newark, New Jersey, as he boards an airplane on his way to the World's Fair in Chicago.
1930s
Following Church's lead, nurses were hired by many airlines as the first fleet of female flight attendants. This strategy was used to make passengers feel safe since many still considered flying dangerous.
1930s
In Europe, Candor Airlines was the first to employ a stewardess. A Swissair stewardess stands in front of a Condor aircraft at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin in 1934.
1930s
In this 1935 vintage photo, a male flight attendant serves tea to two women lying in berths aboard a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines airplane.
1930s
The profession was one of the few in the United States that permitted women. Women rapidly replaced male stewards, and by the mid-1930s, women dominated the field, according to this 1937 report by Time.
1930s
Trainee flight attendants graduated from the American Airlines Stewardess College in Chicago in 1939.
1940s
Joan Waltermire was an instructor at the American Airlines Stewardess College in 1941.
1940s
An early fleet of flight attendants holds hands in front of a large twin propeller commercial airplane.
1950s
The 1950s ushered in the "Golden Age of Travel." Commercial air travel became more accessible to the public and altogether more luxurious for the rich and famous.
1950s
The commercial air travel boom of the 1950s was not unique to the United States. Here, Nigerian Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa greets stewardess Christina Twsela after the inaugural flight of the West African Airline Company.
1950s
In-flight meals became common (and more elaborate) in the Golden Age, replacing the frozen foods and minimal variety of earlier years, according to the Washington Post. Here, a pair of flight attendants serves refreshments on a Japan Air Lines flight from San Francisco to Tokyo.
1950s
In 1958, Ruth Carol Taylor became the first Black flight attendant in the United States, according to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Her first flight was aboard a Mohawk Airlines flight from Ithaca to New York City. She was fired six months later due to a common marriage ban.
1950s
A trio of Scandinavian Airlines System flight attendants sight-seeing during a layover in New York City in 1958.
1950s
Marian Tagawa was a Pan American Airways flight attendant in 1955. Ms. Tagawa, 21, was a San Francisco secretary before she decided on a flying career.
1960s
As commercial flights became more fashionable, so did the flight attendant uniform. In 1962, Air France unveiled its new uniforms, designed by Marc Bohan of Christian Dior.
1960s
In the 60s, flight attendants (and their uniforms) became the face of the airlines.
1960s
Some uniforms were more avant-garde than others. This uniform, designed by Emilio Pucci for Braniff International Airways in 1965, was complete with a space-like helmet of transparent plastic. The helmet was designed to shield the flight attendants from wind and rain on the tarmac, according to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
1960s
This Cristóbal Balenciaga design was another couture uniform commissioned by AirFrance in the 1960s.
1970s
Through the 1970s, some airlines pushed uniform boundaries and exploited their employees. Flight attendants with Southwest Airlines had to wear hot pants and leather boots. The airline's motto was "sex sells seats."
1970s
National Airlines stewardess Janet Heinz models a synthetic tigerskin coat and hat in the airlines' new "uniform that purrs."
1980s
Utilitarian uniforms became the status quo again in the 1980s — and have largely remained that way ever since. Also, the name stewardess was largely replaced with the more gender-neutral "flight attendant."
1980s
A group of flight attendants received their wings from Aer Lingus in the Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin, in 1988.
1990s
A German flight attendant serving caviar to guests in 1990. Throughout the '80s and into the '90s, more men started to become flight attendants.
1990s
Cathay Pacific flight attendants modeling the airline's new uniforms.
1990s
Virgin Atlantic flight attendant Lisa Leeson on her first day on the job.
1990s
Flight attendants from All Nippon Airways introduce the Pokemon Jet in June 1999 at Tokyo International Airport. The jet design was selected as the winner from the airline's Pokemon design contest.
2000s
A flight attendant passing snacks to passengers on September 6, 2001. After 9/11, flight attendant training became much more expansive, with rigorous safety protocols and personal defense, according to NPR.
2000s
A flight attendant was preparing her service cart on board an AirFrance flight.
2000s
A Qatar Airways cabin crew aboard their new Airbus A319CJ business jet.
2000s
An American Airlines flight attendant with his crew baggage during a layover at Dallas Fort Worth airport.
2010s
An Etihad Airways flight attendant passing out global newspapers aboard a flight from Washington D.C. to Abu Dhabi
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2010s
Virgin Blue Airline's flight attendants salute during a 10-year anniversary celebration of Virgin Blue operating in Australia in Melbourne on September 12, 2010.
2010s
One week away from getting their 'wings' these Virgin Atlantic flight attendants proudly wear their red uniforms as they undergo an in flight training session focussing on how to serve meals and using the service trolley on October 27, 2011.
At the time, potential flight attendants were put through a grueling 6-week training program, during which they are tested to their limits. With exams every day requiring an 88% score to pass.
2010s
Air India flight attendants in traditional garb pose for a photo during the unveiling of Air India's first Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Indira Gandhi International Airport Terminal 3 in New Delhi on September 12, 2012.
2010s
Flight attendants serve beverages aboard an Ethiopian Airlines 787 Dreamliner on a flight to Jomo Kenyatta International airport in Kenya's capital Nairobi on April 27,2013.
2010s
Talk about precious cargo! This photo shows flight attendants holding a newborn baby who made his entry into the world aboard a Turkish Airlines flight from Conakry to Ouagadougou to Istanbul on April 7, 2017. The cabin crew helped the mother give birth and happily took photos with the infant.
2020s
The Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on air travel around the world. In this photo, an air hostess is wearing a biosecurity suit on a commercial flight at the Alfonso Bonilla Aragon International Airport on September 2, 2020, in Palmira, Valle del Cauca Department, Colombia.
2020s
A flight attendant serves food on a Sichuan Airlines panda-themed Airbus A350 on June 11, 2024, in Chengdu, Sichuan Province of China. The jet airliner is painted with giant panda patterns as it makes its maiden flight from Chengdu to Beijing.
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