Aviation India: Careers

New Delhi: At Indian aviation schools, where legions of flight attendants are trained for the country’s burgeoning airline industry, the sky is not the only limit.
Women need to be at least 5 feet 3 (160cm), while men face a steeper challenge at 5 feet 7 (170cm). If students do not meet that requirement when they register at India’s Avalon Aviation School, they are relegated to ground crew duties.
However, for many, the biggest obstacle to landing a plumb job in the friendly skies is weight.
“If a person is obese, then obviously we would not take them,” said Ivy Bora, manager of the New Delhi-based campus.
The same sentiment prevails at Flying Cats, another flight attendant training facility in the city. “Your figure has to be in proportion to your height,” said a school trainer who did not wish to be named. For instance, an 18-year-old steward standing 5 feet 2 (157cm) could weigh no more than 110 pounds (50kg).
This month, the New Delhi high court sided with Indian airlines in barring five flight attendants because they exceeded the company’s weight limits – by a few kilograms.
On the surface, the Indian airline industry presents a rosy picture, with a 25 per cent annual growth in passengers, a massive push to build more airports across the country and orders for nearly 900 more planes over the next 20 years. All this, despite that only one per cent of the population has ever stepped on a plane.
At privately owned Kingfisher Airlines female flight attendants are garbed in modern, form-hugging skirts and blouses. The airline, helmed by Vijay Mallya, who owns the Kingfisher brewery, is gaining a reputation for staffing its flights with the young and curvaceous.
“They are very specific about height and weight,” said Gemma Maringmei, a senior counsellor at Avalon Aviation School. Kingfisher did not comment on the policy.
The practice is in contrast to government-owned airlines such as Air India, where hair is tied conservatively and saris are worn.
The Avalon Aviation School trains staff for about 38 airlines, ranging from Jet Airways to Emirates to Air Macao, all with varying requirements.
Age is also a key consideration for flight crew hopefuls. Aside from weighing and measuring students when they register, the school does not accept anyone over the age of 26. In some cases, if a candidate has previous airline experience, it may extend that limit to 32.
The school runs dance and swimming classes to help stave off calories. And there is a scale in the reception area.
That is not to say the Avalon school, where students learn everything from how to deal with dangerous items on the plane to applying cosmetics properly, does not prize other skills.
“Appearance is not number one,” Ms Bora said. “Attitude also matters. You have to be down to earth because you’re in the customer service industry.
29/06/08 Christian Cotroneo/The National, United Arab Emirates