vostok
Well-Known Member
Aeroflot Russian airline defends cutting wages for ‘fat and ugly’ stewardesses because ‘passengers
only want thin crew. The airline is being taken to court by two crew members who claim they
are being discriminated against because of their appearance
A RUSSIAN airline has suffered a PR disaster after an official appeared to defend allegations that
the company cut pay for ‘fat’ female stewardesses, claiming most of their passengers want to see
thin employees.
Two female crew members have taken Aeroflot to court alleging the company have changed the
flying routes of older and overweight staff forcing them to fly to lower-paid domestic destinations
The duo, who have formed a group called STS which is an Russian abbreviation for 'old, fat ugly',
claim they have been discriminated against based on their appearance.
But despite the airline previously denying the claims, a ‘spokesman’ has astonishingly admitted
that “92%” of passengers want to see slender air staff, reports the Mail Online.
During a press conference, the official, who the airline now denies represents the company,
said: “Aeroflot is a premium airline and part of the reason people pay for tickets
is the appearance of its employees.
He added: “92% want to see stewardesses who fit into the clothes sizes we are talking about here.”
At the news conference, another Aeroflot official Nikita Krichevsky has said that the policy change
should be used as an incentive for staff to lose weight, reports the Guardian.
Krichevsky pointed to his own personal weight loss during the bizarre statement.
The airline insists the two officials are members of Aeroflot's 'public counsel' and are not employees
and do not speak on behalf of the company.
In February, it emerged that Aeroflot had allegedly banned as many as 400 female attendants
from prestigious foreign routes.
Attendant Yevgenia Magurina, who is one of the women taking action against the airline,
said: "They told us all that only the young and thin will fly abroad for Aeroflot."
Aeroflot has allegedly banned up to 400 'old, fat and ugly' attendants from foreign flight routes
Another attendant claimed they they were being weighed "like cows" by the airline
which in Soviet times was the largest in the world.
The group of angry cabin staff have reportedly written to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin
to complain about their alleged treatment, supposedly part of a "rebranding" exercise.
Aeroflot has now released a statement saying that, "These allegations are without foundation -
Aeroflot does not discriminate based on age, sex, weight, appearance, religious or political convictions,
or indeed any other grounds."
The airline has confirmed that it won the two court cases against the former employees.
A spokesperson said: "The only thing that has changed since the claims were first made is that Aeroflot
has won two court cases: one on April 18 (Irina Ierusalimskaya) and one on April 21 (Evgenia Magurina).
"We are pleased with the rulings, which vindicate our position."
Defiant Magurina is pictured at a hearing into her case against the Russian airline
This would mean that the experienced and loyal crew lose money and miss out on layovers in
exotic foreign destinations.
Magurina told the Russian service of RFE/RL that she had been flying for 15 years and was
a senior cabin crew member on international flights.
But she claimed that in August she was reassigned to internal routes because she was not thin
enough under new rules.
She said: "We were all photographed en masse and measured -- some were even weighed,"
she revealed.
"This was done under the pretext of company rebranding and ordering new uniforms for staff."
Flight attendant Magurina claims Aeroflot told staff that only 'the young and thin' will fly abroad,
something the airline has denied
She stated: "My life changed in the middle of August."
Others had suffered before that, she said.
According to the reports, some 400 flight attendants have been hit by the new rulings.
Magurina added: "They stopped putting anyone on international flights if they are older than 40
or take more than a (Russian) size 48 (UK - 16)."
She claims that not only is she forced to fly domestic routes to destinations like Siberia,
but these are often night flights, or early morning departures, which means she and
others cannot sleep properly before going to work.
She said: "When I asked what's going on, they told me these are the new rules of the game
and that I was removed from international flights because of my clothes size --
it mustn't be more than a 46, and I'm a 48."
Igor Deldyuzhov, the president of a trade union representing flight crew,
said there were many complaints of discrimination over age and appearance.
But it has been claimed that staff were scared to go to court
because they have children and mortgages and fear losing their jobs.
In a statement released this afternoon, Aeroflot said
: "Aeroflot therefore robustly denies these baseless allegations.
According to reports, some 400 flight attendants have been hit by the new rulings
"Aeroflot does not place geographical restrictions on where its cabin staff may fly and
it does not restrict flight time for members of staff based on age or any other physical attributes,
such as appearance.
"Evgenia Magurina, serves passengers on international and domestic flights,
including to the US (for which she has a valid visa).
"Aeroflot has thoroughly investigated Ms Magurina’s claims and
has found no evidence to support her allegation.
"Hundreds of Aeroflot’s cabin crew are aged over 40 and regularly work
on international flights to destinations in North America, Europe, Japan, China and elsewhere.
"The claim that the expert medical commission has been instructed to remove “old and ugly”
cabin crew from flight duties is untrue.
"In 2016, only four members of cabin crew aged between 56 and 60 failed mandatory medical examinations
allowing them to fly, while 98 passed and continue to serve on flights both internationally and within Russia."
(https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3417101/aeroflot-russian-airline-fat-ugly-stewardesses/)
