Good Honest Dollar $$

Given a previous court ruling in their favor, Indian Airlines was probably vindicated in its controversial decision last week to sack nine air hostesses whose weight exceeded company requirements.

Air hostesses should be grounded, in my view, when, and only when, their weight is sufficient either to compromise their ability to perform their duties in effective manner, or pose a legitimate threat to passenger safety.

 
The case in summary
• In December 2005, Air India, a state owned airline, warned air hostesses that those who failed to meet specified weight limits would be grounded.

• In June last year, the Delhi High Court dismissed a legal challenge to this policy, agreeing with the airline about safety concerns.

• Last week, the airline terminated the employment of nine air hostesses, each of whom had been grounded for several years under the policy, on the basis that there were no longer any ground positions available for them.

 
Why airlines do not want chubby hostesses
Whilst I have considerable empathy for the hostesses concerned, the objections of airlines toward chubby flight attendants are somewhat understandable in my view.

Broadly speaking, these objections can be summarized into two categories – beauty related concerns and safety related concerns.

From the viewpoint of passengers, in-flight experience is a crucial factor in distinguishing one airline from another, and the physical presentation of flight attendants, along with their friendliness and efficiency, can be a significant aspect in this regard.

This is particularly so throughout some parts of Asia, where physical beauty is often equated with professional excellence.

Moreover, the role of a flight attendant is somewhat physically demanding, and in order to perform their duties in a safe and effective manner, flight attendants must be able to:
 
• spend long time periods on their feet;
• bend over and or stretch to assist passengers with issues relating to their seats, under their seats or in the overhead lockers;
• move up and down narrow isles without causing undue passenger interference; 
• perform emergency functions as required; and
• not cause undue impediment to passengers during evacuation processes.

Unfortunately, those who cease to be able to perform such functions are no longer fit for in-flight service duties.

 
When should hostesses be fired?
With respect to any position of customer service, it is reasonable to take beauty related considerations into account when assessing prospective new employees.

Existing staff, however, should be retained or terminated solely according to their ability to perform their duties in a safe and effective manner, not because of beauty related concerns.

In a wide range of industries, physical presentation of customer service staff does impact upon customer experience and the perception of the organization concerned.

The aviation industry is no exception, and it would be unreasonable to expect Air India to hire plumpish staff whilst its rivals choose from amongst the ranks of more physically attractive candidates.

But actually firing employees is different, and flight attendants should only be fired only where they cease to be able to perform their duties in a safe and effective manner.

 
Objective, transparent, consistent, fair
What is critical is that any process for dismissing flight attendants based on weight considerations must be (a) based upon objective criteria; (b) fully transparent; and (c) applied in a consistent manner throughout the organization.

Under no circumstances should dismissals occur on an arbitrary basis.

A first step, and one which Air India followed in this case, is the establishment of a table of specific weight limits, which must take into account factors such as the age and height of the employee concerned.

Second, any hostesses whose weight exceeds such limitations should be allowed a reasonable time period in which to reduce their weight. Only after they are unable to do so should grounding be considered.

Finally, in preference to outright termination of employment, grounded hostesses should be offered positions on the ground if such positions are available.

 
So, were the sackings reasonable?
It would appear so to me.

Air India did set specific weight limits, each of the hostesses concerned had exceeded by considerable amounts (between 11 and 32kg), and even then, the hostesses concerned were given several years to reduce their weight.

Moreover, the fact that company’s policy survived a court challenge adds some weight to its claims with regards to the safety concerns associated with the weight of the hostesses concerned.

A tough decision, but a fair one just the same.