Passengers want thin stewardesses, say Aeroflot officials

Aeroflot is Russia's biggest airline. Photo / 123RF

Aeroflot representatives have reportedly suggested that overweight air stewardesses are 'dangerous' and that it is justifiable for them to receive lower pay for this reason.

"Ninety-two per cent [of Aeroflot passengers] want to see stewardesses who fit into the clothes sizes we are talking about here," said Pavel Danilin, a member of the airline's public council, citing results from a survey.

"Aeroflot is a premium airline and part of the reason people pay for tickets is the appearance of its employees," continued Danilin, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The controversial comments were made at a press conference today in response to two recent lawsuits, in which a group of female employees attempted to sue the airline for discrimination over their age, weight and appearance. The group has labelled itself STS - a Russian abbreviation for "old, fat, ugly".

The female flight attendants alleged that the Russian flagship airline had introduced new rules dictating their appearance, and all who did not comply were dropped from prestigious long-haul flights to lesser-paid domestic routes. An airline union claimed that the changes affected around 600 staff.

"All stewardesses were photographed, measured and weighed by the airline in June last year, supposedly to have new uniforms ordered," said stewardess Evgeniya Magurina, who was a complainant.

"Everyone older than 40 or with clothing size larger than small or medium was taken off international flights."

Magurina also claimed that the company had docked benefits from all staff larger than a Russian size 48 (approximately a UK size 14).

Both lawsuits were won by Aeroflot, who strenuously denied all allegations of discrimination. The airline claims to act in compliance with Russian labour laws and best international practice.

In a statement released in February, it said, "Aeroflot does not discriminate on age, sex, weight, appearance, religious or political convictions, or indeed any other grounds."

Lawyer Sergei Kovalyov, representing Aeroflot, argued in court that overweight employees could slow down the emergency evacuation process from a flight.

However, another Aeroflot public council member seemed to justify the airline's alleged discrimination over its employees' looks at the same press conference.

Nikita Krichevsky claimed that the wage penalties should be viewed as an incentive for female flight staff to lose weight, and that they should be grateful that the company was looking after their health.

Krichevsky added that the women were trying to "blacken" Aeroflot's reputation, and should resign if they did not like their employment conditions.

He then went on to personally attack a complainant, Magurina, referring to her "large breasts".

The Aeroflot rep in the green jacket is explaining to the stewardess two from the left why having fat air stewardesses is dangerous pic.twitter.com/K5TuG4sT1U

— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) April 25, 2017

As justification, he also proffered the story of his own weight loss as an example of how 'easy' it can be: "I myself used to weigh 103kg, and now I weigh 80kg. I just corrected my eating habits and lost weight. I don't understand why the request to be a particular size is unrealistic."

Aeroflot released a statement later appearing to distance itself from the comments made by Krichevsky and Danilin.

It claimed that the men attended the press conference "on their own initiative", and that their statements reflected their own opinions.

"Aeroflot's position was made clear in court where, as is well known, the cases of Magurova and Ierusalimskaya were dismissed," the statement continued.

The popular Russian carrier has a sponsorship deal with Manchester United and was recently named as the world's most powerful airline brand. It has undergone a major image overhaul in recent years.