[Capt. Fantastic]

Have noticed when on "non-Western" airlines the stewardesses-- oops!-- flight attendants are as described in the article. Sri Lankan Air and Emerates Air come to mind, along with all the small Asian carriers.

When I was a refueller at McCarran (LAS) the legacy US carriers were in the midst of the post-9/11 contraction. We "ramp rats" were up close and personal with the, um, mature flight attendants-- all the young cute ones had been furloughed. Nice ladies, they knew their jobs, but come on!

There is something not quite right about a career flight attendant. A Las Vegas casino analogy: When the Rio hotel opened it instantly sparked panic among the cocktail waitress population and rejoicing among the males. Reason? The "Rio outfit" which was built around a thong. We loved it! Other casinos used that as leverage, either threatening or actually making the change to "Rio outfits." Cocktails either hit the gym or moved on.

But when the Rio reached (I think) ten years in operation it had a whole crew of, well, "experienced" cocktails. It was, after all, an excellent place to work. Something had to be done! A complete change to a combination cocktail/entertainer. They would have to sing and dance as part of their duties. Same for dealers-- the dealertainers.

So the "career" girls were moved out and a new wave of firm flesh brought in. All without lawsuits AFAIK.

Maybe there is a lesson here for the PC-constrained Western carriers.