PS, IMHO, that blond kid seems to be learning early! lol ;-)
Posted on 11/27/2007 7:27:19 PM PST by JACKRUSSELL
(BEIJING) -- Fly on a Chinese airline and you will be pampered by flight attendants who look eerily alike. They are young, beautiful and practically the same height.
This is not a coffee-tea-or-me stereotype, but the result of a rigorous selection process that is more beauty pageant than equal-opportunity job interview.
If you're older than 24, don't bother applying.
If you aren't taller than the average Chinese woman, go home.
And if your legs are similar to tree trunks, don't call.
Sound like a throwback to the dark ages of workplace discrimination?
Here, in the world's fastest-growing aviation market, entry barriers for flight attendants are not only tolerated -- they're flaunted as symbols of excellence.
"A lot of Chinese passengers judge the quality of airlines based on the quality of their flight attendants, meaning, 'Are they pretty or not pretty?'" said Luo Man, a media director at China Southern, the country's largest carrier.
Good looks are such a commodity these days that China Southern has put its annual recruitment drive on reality TV. While men are not excluded from the jobs, only women are featured in the on-television selection process. The show, funded in part by the airline, follows a six-month audition -- complete with swimsuit competition and a race involving luggage, makeup brushes and drink trays -- through several major Chinese cities. Thousands of young women line up for the chance to compete for 180 openings.
China Southern's Web site for the show, which provides news on the auditions, has had more than 1 million hits.
"This is every little girl's dream," said Lu Ju, 20, who has flown three times in her life. "I want to be beautiful like the flight attendants. They can see the world and go places most people can't."......
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Unfortunately, their safety record also harkens back to an earlier, more dangerous time in the aviation industry.
“The estimated fatal event rate for China Airlines is about 11.4 fatal events per million flights. This is more than triple the rate of most major airlines in North America and western Europe.”
http://www.airsafe.com/pr/asiasafe.htm
You Huge Gweilo! I am 50 jacket. I’ve been guilted about that forever.
that said, upgrading is always a good thing. I always did it on ferry trips. Usually a few dollars meant special treatment
However, can you order out for air? This little matter of each breath in Shanghai being the equivalent of smoking a carton or suchlike would dampen my enthusiasm.
And that little matter of water that comes in yummy metallic colors...
Waiting for a train in Yokohama Japan late one evening.A train came to the end of it's run and the crew got out. The hostesses were spit polished and coifed to a T (even at the end of their run). They walked together down the platform with a bit of a swagger.
Meanwhile, our travel industry seems to intentially become less and less customer oriented (just landed in PHL tonight and sat on the runway for over 45 mins. The ramp crews were short this evening as some did not show up for work today. The pilot was livid!)
If you aren't taller than the average Chinese woman, go home.
And if your legs are similar to tree trunks, don't call.
I demand that these rules be instituted at US carriers immediately!!! ;)
So much more pleasant than flying NWA or UA transoceanic flights where seniority rules mean all the attendants are old bags.
Actually, I’ve found the air in the Minhang district of Shanghai - where I live 20 weeks of the year - to smell, breathe, and look cleaner than that of Los Angeles. No kidding.
Water from the tap tests and tastes clean as well. The building I’m in doesn’t have any special filtration. Clean enough that I don’t mind cooking, bathing in or drinking it, and I’ve never gotten sick - food poisoning, intestinal issues, etc.
A lot of the bigger Chinese cities are actually quite modern and pretty clean anymore. Money does that - money from the laowai spending, money in the hands of the successful zhongguo ren wanting a better life, money from the government wanting to build up an infrastructure to build a modern economy.
A lot of China still has a LONG way to go, but some of it is actually pretty nice, comfortable, clean, and easy to live in. Affordable, tasty, good international cuisine in some world-class restaurants, great nightlife, very low cost for most of your durable and consumable goods, very affordable housing (I pay $315 per month for a fully furnished 850 square foot two bedroom, one bath apartment on a high floor of a rear building in a nice clean, quiet, upscale complex), and you can make a lot of money here quite easily, if you’re willing to put in a little bit of effort.
Ever fly Korean Air? Do it once, just to experience the welcome/safety instructions. Not only do all the flight attendants look identical, they all bow/move/bend at the EXACT same time. It’s like synchronized swimming, just with flight attendants showing how to buckle your seat!
ANA (Japanese)? Another cloud in heaven.
Korean and Asiana? Also nice.
United? American? Delta? Northwest?
You can flush 'em right down the toilet.
(Gee, that wasnt kind now, was it!?)
PS, IMHO, that blond kid seems to be learning early! lol ;-)
Now hold on a sec. Your babe is smack dab in the middle. Yellow shirt. Third row.
I was in Japan for two weeks. You know how it is. You get used to manners there very quickly.
So the flight back was through San Francisco. We unload and go into Customs. An Officer is there at the bottom of the ramp. 9mm pistol and a barking dog yelling "Have your passports ready!!". I get to the Seattle gate for the final leg home . There was some ancient hippie playing an accordian. And did so en route home on the plane.
What a culture shock!
I retired from the Friendly Skies in 2003. It was time, and besides, I’m an RN, so I’ve been considering a return to nursing. I maintained my weight of 110 the entire time I worked as a flight attendant.
Last month, I flew to Beijing from Washington, DC. Because of my seniority, we were able to fly first class both ways on my passes. (It’s stand-by after revenue seats are sold, but we usually get first class or business.)
It’s embarassing to see how really overweight some flight attendants are now! They seem to grow larger each year. But because of the union, there are no weight rules like there once was.
The rules changed because of lawsuits, and compensation was given to those who were psychologically and physically “damaged” because of having to lose weight. Yep...they are the huge ones now. Besides, they’ve been hiring overweight flight attendants for several years...most are in their 20’s and 30’s.
On my recent trip, the F/A’s who were attentive were of average weight. The big ones were lazy with an attitude;they could barely walk.
Because of my benefits, I paid $300.00 for first class, round trip. If I flew coach, my cost would be $30.00 round trip. If you check United’s website, a seat from IAD to PEK, first class, rd trip, is $19,000. So I’m not complaining for myself, but for the revenue passengers. Besides, those F/C seats turn into beds, so I sleep most of the time.
A woman sitting nearby was a personal assistant to a guy living in Beijing. She said he will not fly United because of the service...he will only fly the Asian airlines. She flew United only for the “miles,” and admitted she is usually disappointed in the service, the attitudes, and the overweight F/A’s. I have heard similar complaints from customers in the past.
Weekly, I receive flight attendant union news in emails. Well, do I have to say what unions are all about? It’s never about improving service to passengers, it’s about F/A rights and that United is exploiting the employees, so you don’t have to do this or that...etc.. And, oh yes...vote Democrat! http://www.afanet.org/
While in China, we flew on China Eastern and Hainan Airlines. Those gals were as described in the article. And yes, at Singapore Airlines, they are exquisite. But I can’t understand how they work in those long dresses!
In the span of one day, you can take one taxi and get the nicest ride possible, really fun chat and information, and take another taxi a few hours later and barely escape with your life.
In Japan, pretty much every day you know what is going to happen, and hardly anybody dishes out an crap to you as people generally dont interchange with strangers to begin with, let alone foreigners. In NY, you are liable to be panhandled to death.
For me the type of aircraft (always Boeing) and the comfort of the seats are the most important things.
This issue and these differences are rather openly discussed among both Western (US,UK, Australian, European) businesspeople as well as Japanese businesspeople I know who are frequent biz air travelers.
It is an open secret, everyone knows it.
What I find comical is this (maybe tragic in a way).
Since I comprehend Asian languages rather fluently, but you might not suspect it looking at me, I have stood around or sat and listened somewhat surreptitiously to absolutely SHOCKED Asian air passengers comment in their native languages (mostly the Japanese are the most strict) amongst themselves, particularly first timers trying a US carrier, about the U.S. Flight Attendents.
I have not infrequently heard things in the open, albeit a bit hushed, like: "wow!", "My God!", "look at her, how fat!", "she's rude!", "can you believe this!?", even "yep, for sure, Asian attendents are the best".
I think the US flight attendents in Asia know this, but it is like they dont even care. I wish they did care, I would give them more of my business as I always want to "buy American". But I am also a consumer and will vote with my feet, and in this case, Asian service, manners, appearance, attitude, way of talking, way of asking, way of setting table and placing food, EVERYTHING, they win hands down. You dont even have to ask for stuff. They read body language without any words spoken and will run to get you a chopstick after you dropped one, or get an other pillow for you. Often on US carriers you have to SHOUT that you want something--often they will just plain forget even after saying they will come back to you. Generalizations, I realize, but that is my long experience.
Wo shi da meiguo ren! I’ve always been barrel chested, but that’s not the worst part. I’m 6 feet, 1 inch - and have a 28” inseam. Meaning the pants I wear would normally fit a guy 5’ 8”, and my jacket is for a guy 6’ 6” tall. I’m all torso.
So my issue with seating, cars, and such really isn’t leg room; in fact, economy seats are fine with me, from a legroom standpoint. Just that my shoulders usually end up ABOVE the top of the seat, and my head sticks way out!
Thankfully my tailor in Shanghai (Yarn Boss) is really good - the clothes hang perfectly, are comfortable to wear all day, exquisitely made, and dirt cheap (I mean, 125 RMB - $16 - for a custom tailored dress shirt in your choice of 400 fabrics, and two dozen collar and cuff styles).
Northwest does offer you the choice of an old cow or a gay male steward.
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