There was a time, decades past, when air travel is high drama and luxury. It was so expensive and inaccessible that only the rich and famous can afford it. The exclusivity of it has lent prestige of all flight crew (pilots and attendants alike), allowing them not only the chance to fly to other parts of the world (woooow...), but the chance to dress up to serve the rich. It matters little that there's so much sexism and discrimination that was inherent in it. Air hostesses had to be single, tall and beautiful, skill and talented.
While I'm no hardcore feminist, I'm happy to see the liberalization of that profession. Come to think of it, flight attendants (as they are called now) are but there to serve customers and to maintain order inflight. Why should it matter if it's a man or woman; or, if s/he is single; or, if s/he is 5'7" or 5'1"? With the liberalization of air travel, it's become so cheap to fly coach that passengers are mostly just cheapo.
The loss of civility among airline passengers is probably one for nostalgia; but the loss of glamor for flight crew isn't.
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When I was little, I once dreamt of being an air hostess too. I'm glad that little passion didn't last very long, and that I haven't followed that longing. These days, I mostly just feel pity for flight attendants (particularly the female ones), some of whom are still required to wear makeup, tight outfit, pantyhose, heels, while serving meals to customers. I see no glamor in it at all. In fact, I would find it more like torture, if I were to dress up like that, serving meals.
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