Airline’s new policy to suspend ‘overweight’ flight attendants faces backlash

[onthedarkside]

 

A Chinese airline is facing backlash over a new policy that will see flight attendants suspended if they exceed weight limits.

 

News of Hainan Airlines’s “weight reference standard” went viral on Chinese social media after it was announced earlier this month, while the carrier has doubled-down and defended its plans.

 

The weight requirement will be calculated by an individual’s height, reports CNN. For example, a flight attendant who is 1.58 metres (5ft 2in) tall – the average height of a Chinese adult woman – would be required to weigh around 48kg (7st 6lbs).

 

READ MORE

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/hainan-airlines-overweight-flight-attendants-b2356453.html

 

[ThailandRyan]

As long as the flight attendant knows her job, and can accomplish it with no issues, how and why is their weight an issue.  Sounds to me like they only want the thin and pretty ones, and or have a few they were looking for a way to terminate.  Just my opinion however.

[JonnyF]

Sounds practical to me. Weight is of critical importance to an aircraft, 5 fat attendants could equal an additional passenger. Plus they need to fit between the aisles and food carts easily without pressing up against passengers sat in the aisle seats. They should also be fit in the case of an emergency.

 

I'd like them to do the same with passengers. Nothing worse than having an obese person sat next to you, their body spilling over the arm rest into your seat for 12 hours. If they can't fit into the seat they should be forced to purchase two.

 

 

[Chomper Higgot]

19 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

Sounds practical to me. Weight is of critical importance to an aircraft, 5 fat attendants could equal an additional passenger. Plus they need to fit between the aisles and food carts easily without pressing up against passengers sat in the aisle seats. They should also be fit in the case of an emergency.

 

I'd like them to do the same with passengers. Nothing worse than having an obese person sat next to you, their body spilling over the arm rest into your seat for 12 hours. If they can't fit into the seat they should be forced to purchase two.

 

 

So let me get this right.

 

If all seats are sold out on a flight, the airline can squeeze in an extra passenger by swapping out five ‘fat attendants’ for five ‘thin attendants’?

 

I can think of numerous things worse than sitting fir twelve hours next to a ‘fat person’.

[Bkk Brian]

36 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

As long as the flight attendant knows her job, and can accomplish it with no issues, how and why is their weight an issue.  Sounds to me like they only want the thin and pretty ones, and or have a few they were looking for a way to terminate.  Just my opinion however.

It shouldn't be an issue as long as they are not obese but this new rule of being just 10% over then suspended is ridiculous.

 

Noted from the OP article that in India they went much further in addition to suspending for being overweight:

 "Air India has outlawed grey hair, bald patches and receding hairlines for cabin crew in its updated staff guidelines"

 

[Kwasaki]

Fitness to be able to carry out emergencies should be the priority.

A red line in personal weight for health reasons of their staff I don't have a problem with.

[Chomper Higgot]

1 minute ago, Kwasaki said:

Fitness to be able to carry out emergencies should be the priority.

A red line in personal weight for health reasons of their staff I don't have a problem with.

Clearly a 10% variation in body weight is not going to impart pushing a trolley up and down the isles. 
 

 

[Baht Simpson]

30 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

So let me get this right.

 

If all seats are sold out on a flight, the airline can squeeze in an extra passenger by swapping out five ‘fat attendants’ for five ‘thin attendants’?

 

I can think of numerous things worse than sitting fir twelve hours next to a ‘fat person’.

I once sat next to an enormous man and our communal armrest was taken up not by my arm or his but with his roll of belly fat. 13 hours of that.

[Chomper Higgot]

39 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Clearly a 10% variation in body weight is not going to impart pushing a trolley up and down the isles. 
 

 

And you didn’t demand to be reseated.

[JonnyF]

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

So let me get this right.

 

If all seats are sold out on a flight, the airline can squeeze in an extra passenger by swapping out five ‘fat attendants’ for five ‘thin attendants’?

It was an example of how small amounts add up. In reality, those 50 kgs would probably be used for carrying commercial freight which earns the airline extra revenue.

 

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

 

I can think of numerous things worse than sitting fir twelve hours next to a ‘fat person’.

That's amazing, well done. So can I. Sitting next to an opinionated, sanctimonious, argumentative individual might be worse. Likewise, someone who had terrible BO might be worse. Screaming children with travel sickness might be worse. None of which has any relevance to my point about fat people spilling out of their seats into mine being incredibly irritating and uncomfortable.

 

Like i said, if they can't fit into their own seat they should be forced to pay for the seat next to them instead of allowing their body to pour into it free of charge and crushing the poor individual unlucky enough to be sat next to them. 

[JonnyF]

10 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

And you didn’t demand to be reseated.

Why are you asking yourself questions? 

[Chomper Higgot]

1 minute ago, JonnyF said:

It was an example of how small amounts add up. In reality, those 50 kgs would probably be used for carrying commercial freight which earns the airline extra revenue.

 

That's amazing, well done. So can I. Sitting next to an opinionated, sanctimonious, argumentative individual might be worse. Likewise, someone who had terrible BO might be worse. Screaming children with travel sickness might be worse. None of which has any relevance to my point about fat people spilling out of their seats into mine being incredibly irritating and uncomfortable.

 

Like i said, if they can't fit into their own seat they should be forced to pay for the seat next to them instead of allowing their body to pour into it free of charge and crushing the poor individual unlucky enough to be sat next to them. 

So we’ll add ‘fat people’ to the unitary circle Venn diagram

[tgw]

There are safety requirements, obviously flight attendants need to be able to move fast in the plane and perform other physical tasks and perform well in case of an emergency. So it's natural that some physical fitness is required.

 

But as a customer-facing service job, it's also a question of representing the airline. It's quite natural that there would be some requirements in the looks department.

 

That's how it is in life - not everyone has equal chances at everything !

[James105]

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Clearly a 10% variation in body weight is not going to impart pushing a trolley up and down the isles. 
 

 

The first role of a flight attendant is the safety and security of passengers, especially in an emergency.   I'd have them doing regular fitness tests as well if I owned an airline to ensure they are fit enough to do that aspect of the job.  

 

Their other role is passenger comfort and if they cannot push a trolley down the aisle without their body touching/bumping into seated passengers on the way then they are failing at that part of the job too.  

 

The good news for the airlines staff is that should they find themselves getting towards that 10% then there is a very easy solution to prevent them being suspended.   Eat a bit less and move a bit more.   

[JonnyF]

14 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

So we’ll add ‘fat people’ to the unitary circle Venn diagram

Get a grip ????.

 

I have nothing against fat people. If they wish to lead an unhealthy lifestyle and put themselves at risk of multiple health disorders such as diabetes that is their choice. They can balloon to 200 kgs for all I care, knock themselves out. However, when their poor decisions starts to impact me then I become irritated. One of the ways it affects me is when I am sat next to someone on a plane whose body mass is so huge that it takes my personal space (that I have paid for), and makes my journey very uncomfortable. 

 

If they buy 2 seats, no problem. I'll happily buy them a beer and thank them for being a considerate human being. 

[JonnyF]

15 hours ago, tgw said:

There are safety requirements, obviously flight attendants need to be able to move fast in the plane and perform other physical tasks and perform well in case of an emergency. So it's natural that some physical fitness is required.

 

But as a customer-facing service job, it's also a question of representing the airline. It's quite natural that there would be some requirements in the looks department.

 

That's how it is in life - not everyone has equal chances at everything !

Exactly. It's no coincidence that all the air hostesses on Thai Airways are attractive, slim and have a certain 'look'. 

 

People need to accept that not everything in life is equal. Some are stronger, some are more attractive, some are more intelligent. Equality of outcome is a childish fantasy. 

 

All the crybabies "Oh it's not fair" ????. Who told them life was fair? 

 

I had a very pretty but very chubby female friend who went to work in S.Korea as a teacher and was constantly offended when Koreans openly said things like "You've got such a pretty face but you're too fat, why don't you lose some weight then you'd be beautiful". I told her they were just being honest and instead of getting upset why not use it as motivation to lose some weight, get healthy and look and feel better. She didn't speak to me for 2 months but did eventually lose the weight (I'm not claiming it was due to what I said) and she looked 10 times better and was no doubt much healthier.

 

All this "Oh it's OK to be obese" is detrimental to people's health. It's not OK. It's dangerous. 

[Chomper Higgot]

2 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Get a grip ????.

 

I have nothing against fat people. If they wish to lead an unhealthy lifestyle and put themselves at risk of multiple health disorders such as diabetes that is their choice. They can balloon to 200 kgs for all I care, knock themselves out. However, when their poor decisions starts to impact me then I become irritated. One of the ways it affects me is when I am sat next to someone on a plane whose body mass is so huge that it takes my personal space (that I have paid for), and makes my journey very uncomfortable. 

 

If they buy 2 seats, no problem. I'll happily buy them a beer and thank them for being a considerate human being. 

You have nothing against ‘fat people’….. but.

 

The OP is about aircrew being 10% ‘overweight’, and off you go with ‘obesity’ ‘balloon to 200Kgs’ ‘diabetes’ and ‘passengers’.

 

 

[JonnyF]

13 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

You have nothing against ‘fat people’….. but.

 

The OP is about aircrew being 10% ‘overweight’, and off you go with ‘obesity’ ‘balloon to 200Kgs’ ‘diabetes’ and ‘passengers’.

 

 

I guess you don't like the word fat. There you go, trying to control the language again. You just can't help it.

 

What do you prefer? Weight challenged? What's the latest PC term? Let me know so I can avoid offending the snowflakes by calling a spade a spade.

[Chomper Higgot]

11 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

I guess you don't like the word fat. There you go, trying to control the language again. You just can't help it.

 

What do you prefer? Weight challenged? What's the latest PC term? Let me know so I can avoid offending the snowflakes by calling a spade a spade.

Control the language?

 

 

[onthedarkside]

Inflammatory post removed

[herfiehandbag]

22 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Sounds practical to me. Weight is of critical importance to an aircraft, 5 fat attendants could equal an additional passenger. Plus they need to fit between the aisles and food carts easily without pressing up against passengers sat in the aisle seats. They should also be fit in the case of an emergency.

 

I'd like them to do the same with passengers. Nothing worse than having an obese person sat next to you, their body spilling over the arm rest into your seat for 12 hours. If they can't fit into the seat they should be forced to purchase two.

 

 

Do airlines actually take passenger's individual weight into account at all. I do remember being in the check-in queue for a BWIA flight to Antigua whilst transiting through the USA, looking around me at some of the mountains of flesh and idly wondering if the aircraft would actually get off the ground!

 

Genuine question, if there is anyone out there who wishes to offer an opinion!

[ThailandRyan]

Just now, herfiehandbag said:

Do airlines actually take passenger's individual weight into account at all. I do remember being in the check-in queue for a BWIA flight to Antigua whilst transiting through the USA, looking around me at some of the mountains of flesh and idly wondering if the aircraft would actually get off the ground!

 

Genuine question, if there is anyone out there who wishes to offer an opinion!

Guess unless they have us stand on a scale before boarding or charge us per kilogram for our seat,  weight does not really matter. Yet for the attendants apparently it dies, which is weird.

[JonnyF]

3 minutes ago, herfiehandbag said:

Do airlines actually take passenger's individual weight into account at all. I do remember being in the check-in queue for a BWIA flight to Antigua whilst transiting through the USA, looking around me at some of the mountains of flesh and idly wondering if the aircraft would actually get off the ground!

 

Genuine question, if there is anyone out there who wishes to offer an opinion!

I don't believe they do. But they should. In my opinion there should be a weight limit based on passenger + luggage. For example, 100kg for both. 

 

So a 70kg person can take 30 kgs luggage. A 90kg person can take 10kgs luggage etc.

 

Anyone with a combined weight over 100kgs pays extra for every kg over. That would be a much fairer system than a 140kg person being allowed the same amount of luggage as a 50kg person while spilling their body mass half way across their seat.

 

You could have exemptions for disabled people, pregnant women etc. 

 

Sounds like a fair system to me. 

[jvs]

14 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Guess unless they have us stand on a scale before boarding or charge us per kilogram for our seat,  weight does not really matter. Yet for the attendants apparently it dies, which is weird.

Why not pay per kilo?We have to pay extra for over weight luggage.

If i weigh a lot less i should be able to take more luggage?

Like some one has said.life is not fair.

[xylophone]

14 minutes ago, herfiehandbag said:

Do airlines actually take passenger's individual weight into account at all. I do remember being in the check-in queue for a BWIA flight to Antigua whilst transiting through the USA, looking around me at some of the mountains of flesh and idly wondering if the aircraft would actually get off the ground!

 

Genuine question, if there is anyone out there who wishes to offer an opinion!

I will give you my genuine opinion, formed after many, many years of flying between continents.............I never thought about the weight problem until I boarded a United Airways flight between Los Angeles and Auckland (at least I think it was Los Angeles!).

 

I was sat next to an extraordinarily obese man, and he could hardly fit into his seat; he was that large that he had to put his left arm in the seat next to him, which was mine, in addition to having the fat from his enormous waist and chest overlapping into my seat space, so for the whole journey I was being almost smothered by this obese thing, and it was most uncomfortable, but unfortunately the flight was full and I had to put up with it.

 

Now being older and wiser, were it to happen again I would request a seat change and make damn sure that I got one!

[vandeventer]

Sounds like a boxing match. Does it really matter if the girls are a little overweight? What about the pilot and cabin crew? Does it natter if they are overweight? If you want them all at the same weight hire AI'S.

[Celsius]

On 6/14/2023 at 4:40 PM, JonnyF said:

 

Like i said, if they can't fit into their own seat they should be forced to pay for the seat next to them instead of allowing their body to pour into it free of charge and crushing the poor individual u

 

You could always buy a business class seat. No one promised you comfort and special treatment when you buy a cattle class.

 

Once i was sat next to Amerocan "doctor" who would not keep his moith shut. The doctor spoke in my fice while spitting his droplets on me. After that trip i got sick with bronchitis and to this day....over 10 years I still habe problem breathing. 

Edited June 15, 2023 by Celsius

[billd766]

Back in the early 1990s I flew first class from Kuwait to Cairo, (the company paid the bill and there was nothing else available.

 

I fitted very comfortably in my seat with room to spare, yet the Arab lady sat next to me had to have an extension seat belt fitted before she could strap in.

[JonnyF]

14 hours ago, Celsius said:

 

You could always buy a business class seat. No one promised you comfort and special treatment when you buy a cattle class.

Strawman. I'm not asking for special treatment. I am asking for other peoples excess body fat not to spill over their seat into my personal space that I paid for. Surely the person that is causing the issue is the one that should pay extra for another seat or for business class. Not the victim of their obesity.

 

14 hours ago, Celsius said:

 

Once i was sat next to Amerocan "doctor" who would not keep his moith shut. The doctor spoke in my fice while spitting his droplets on me. After that trip i got sick with bronchitis and to this day....over 10 years I still habe problem breathing. 

No one promised you comfort or special treatment. You could always have put your headphones on and a facemask. Pretend to fall asleep or watch a movie. It doesn't take Einstein to work out how to handle such a situation.

[Celsius]

2 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Strawman. I'm not asking for special treatment. I am asking for other peoples excess body fat not to spill over their seat into my personal space that I paid for. Surely the person that is causing the issue is the one that should pay extra for another seat or for business class. Not the victim of their obesity.

 

No one promised you comfort or special treatment. You could always have put your headphones on and a facemask. Pretend to fall asleep or watch a movie. It doesn't take Einstein to work out how to handle such a situation.

 

Oh, so you get my paint. Thanks