KEY POINTS:
As Indian airlines increase their presence in the international market, their on-flight staff are being given a makeover.
Kingfisher, which aims to go international next year, and Jet Airways, which already flies to international destinations including London and New York, have spent considerable amounts upgrading the uniforms of their crew with a more stylish look.
Mumbai-based Jet went so far as to hire Italian designer Robert Capucci to redesign their staff uniforms.
He said: "The uniform of Jet's cabin crew has a distinctive international look, capturing the spirit of Corporate India.
"The newly-designed attire will take to runways at airports around the world."
The new look is proving popular with passengers and management alike.
"Air-hostesses should be pretty with even more prettier outfits," an anonymous official with Kingfisher Airlines told the country's Financial Express newspaper.
But not everyone is happy.
Some in the industry are accusing airlines of placing more importance on the appearance of staff above their ability to do their job.
Just last week a group of 11 stewardesses with Indian Airlines lost a year-long legal struggle for compensation after a judge ruled the state-controlled national carrier had not broken the law when it had told the women they would lose their jobs if they didn't lose weight.
"If the air hostesses are asked to battle their bulge ... it is not understood how it is in any way unfair, unreasonable and insulting," wrote the judge, Rekha Sharma.
"If by perseverance the snails could reach the ark, why can't these worthy ladies stand on and turn the scale?"
The women had complained that Indian Airlines was deliberately seeking to replace older, heavier women with younger, slimmer stewardesses.
"They think the planes have become catwalks and we've all got to be models," said one of the women, Sheela Joshi.
"How does your weight affect your efficiency as a crew member?"
The dispute began last year when Indian Airlines laid off 140 staff without pay, claiming that they were overweight.
Like many airlines, the carrier insists in its workers' employment contracts that crew can be fired if their weight exceeds certain, fixed levels.
- INDEPENDENT
