Thursday, August 19, 2010

Airline to Flight Attendants: Lose Weight or be Reassigned!

I'd like to see how the airline defines "overweight." I've seen some people that looked to be average weight described as being overweight. I'm on board as far as F/A having to meet certain fitness guidelines, but "overweight" is too nebulous a term for me.

Amplify’d from blog.seattlepi.com
A nice Turkish Airlines Airbus A340 up front, lots of other Turkish planes in the background.

A nice Turkish Airlines Airbus A340 up front, lots of other Turkish planes in the background.


The argument for "passengers of size" has been going on for quite some time now. Now Turkish Airlines is looking to add "flight attendants of size" into the mix. 28 flight attendants have been put on unpaid leave to shape up or be reassigned.


Izzet Levi, head of a cabin attendants' association, and one of those trying to lose weight, told the Haber Turk newspaper he must drop 22 pounds or he will get re-assigned.


This is a tricky situation. With larger passengers, it is easy just to have them purchase a second seat, but flight attendants need to be able to safely get up and down the aisle and help passengers get off the aircraft in case of an emergency.


It is easier with passengers to tell when they have to buy a second seat. If you can't put your seatbelt on or put down the armrests, there is a good chance you will have to buy the seat next to you, but with flight attendants, it is not as easy.

Read more at blog.seattlepi.com
 

No comments:

Post a Comment