THE FLYING HOSTESS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 181, 1 August 1936, Page 9 (Supplement)

THE FLYING HOSTESS.

Fascination Of Riding The Airways.

CHARMING YOUNG WOMEN—ALL NURSES

(By ELEANOR R. JOHNSTON.)

KANSAS CITY, Mo,

FLYING hostess —what romance and adventure that name suggests! It was only six years ago that women entered this new and interesting field; now an aeroplane hostess is a taken-for-granted part of passenger ships on every major line.

Slie is on the 'plane to make passengers happy, comfortable and satisfied. While on duty, service is her one aim and object—and graciously does she carry out this ideal. She has beer: trained to this disciplined, pleasing effi eiency as a hospital nurse— every hostess must be a graduate, registered nurse. In addition she must 'have intelligence, tact and charm. "Do you like your job as air hostess?" is a question you would a6k her if you were on a 'plane —for every man, woman and child who takes an air trip does ask it. Invariably her answer is: "I'm crazy aboutit! I wouldn't give it up for anything." "Why do you like it so much?" you ask her next. "Oh, there's a freedom —a mental stimulation to this work. It hasn't the routine that there is in a hospital, and yet there's the 6ame interesting contact* with the public that every nurse learns to love," she will answer. "We meet many famous and interesting people, too, and—" here she will laugh gayly, "we see movie stars as they really are!" Many Friendships Formed. Because of the confined space and the intimate atmosphere of an aeroplane, there exists a fellowship between passengers and hostess that has no counterpart in any other type of travel, and many friendships are formed on transcontinental trips. To begin with, the hostess, because she acta as conductor and collects tickets, carries the passenger manifest on which is the name, starting point and destination of every passenger. One of her designated duties is to address each passenger by name, establishing in his mind in the very beginning a feeling of being among friends. For instance: "Mrs. Smith, may I adjust the angle of your seat? Now I believe you'll bo more comfortable." "Did you forget your cigarettes, Mr. Jones? Then do have one of these." Another of her duties is to provide conversation—the passenger may choose his own subject—and point out places of interest along the route, a duty which certainly, from the passenger's point'of view, contains nil the elements of "the beginning of a beautiful friendship." "Do passengers ever ask you |pr dates ?" I asked a pretty, experienced hostess. "And if they do, what do you say?" "Well—" she answered, smiling, "well —yes, they often do. It's usually at the end of the run when we are off duty and the man is avvav from home and

examination each must undergo four times every year, and you are assured of the bloom and joy that go with perfect health.

And don't think for one minute, either, that the feminine passengers aren't impressed by the charm of these hostesses. A buyer for a department store on the west coast—a woman —was making her twenty-fourth trip with a hostess recently and she celebrated the event by inviting the hostess and her mother to spend a two-weeks' vacation at her home in sunny California!

Reassures "First Trippers." An early duty of the hostess on every run is to spot the "first trippers" on her 'plane. These are the passengers who are apt- to become frightened when the 'plane banks in making a curve —so the hostess explains that it is similar to a motor road that is banked on a

lonesome. If we like him we sometimes. go to dinner and a show—if we aren't already going out with the pilot." As you would naturally suspect, they are often going out with the pilot! If you could see these girls in their trim uniforms, you could easily understand why layman and pilot alike want to eat dinner across the table. For these girls who qualify for hostesses must be petite; weight 1001b to 1181b; height sft to oft 4in; age 20 to 26 years —all of that is in the specifications. Add to that the rigid physical

curve. She explains, too, that aeroplanes ride on solid air just as train* run on solid ground and ships on solid water —therefore a little roughness can sometimes be expected and accepted as normal. She explains that the engines are airworthy, and that the 'plane can climb fully loaded even if one of the engines is shut off. Having dispelled some of the misconceptions that make "first trippers" afraid, she turns to making them comfortable. She takes their coats and

hats, disposes of their small luggage and packages, gives them magazines and newspapers, explains high points in the geography of the trip—and by then it is probably time to. eat.

Travel by air seems to make everybody hungry, so meal time 5000ft—or more—up, going 150 miles—or more— an hour is a gala occasion; the smiling hostess makes it one,. 111 a tiny kitchen, measured in inches rather than feet, she arranges the food on individual trays. There is usually a variety of soups and sandwiches, hot and cold drinks, and many times chops and fried chicken that have been taken on at the last stop and kept hot and appetising in a container that is first cousin to a tireless cooker. Salads, too, are a favourite with air travellers, and every hostess carries a variety of crisp, fresh salads of vegetables and fruits. They're All Athletic. Looking at the hostess in lier smart uniform, with her whole mind devoted to the comfort and convenience of her passengers, you naturally begin to wonder what she does when she isn't doing that. "Do you fly all of the time?" you will probably want to ask her. She doesn't. She can fly a maximum of 110 hours a month. Usually she flies nine hours,

rests 24 to 36, flies again to her base, and has several days off before starting the routine again.

"What type of activity do you enjoy when yon are not flying?" is the next question you will want answered. Practically all aeroplane hostesses are athletic—they love to ride horseback, to swim, to skate, to play tennis and golf. They are a clannish crowd; usually a group of them share an apartment. They not only live together, they play together. They give parties for each other; they even share their "dates" with the one who is not at the moment making a flight.

"What do your families think of this job 1" I asked a hostess. "Oh, our families don't mind, and if they do they eventually get over their nervousness about flying."

This, in brief, is the life of the flying hostess. It takes plenty of courage in the beginning, but she always seems to have it. Very soon she develops a nostalgia for seeing a flat world laid out below her in beauty and grandeur. Rivers, mountains, deserts, cities, in daylight and in darkness —all these &he feels belongs to her. Day or night, summer or winter, it's always flying time for the hostess. Oh, yes, the flying hostess is crazy about her job! —N.A.N.A.