LOBNYA, Russia (AP) – “Old, fat and ugly” is what Yevgeniya Magurina jokingly calls a group of flight attendants for Russia’s flagship airline Aeroflot who she claims have been sidelined in an apparent drive to make the cabin crew younger and more physically attractive.
A Moscow court is due to rule on Tuesday in Magurina’s lawsuit against Aeroflot, the first of two possible appeals against a previous ruling rejecting her claim that she was taken off sought-after long-haul international flights because of her looks. The stewardess’ action has triggered a wave of support as well condemnation, putting the spotlight on how women in modern Russia are still often judged by their physical appearance.
The first warning for Magurina, 42, came last summer when she went to pick up a new uniform and discovered that Aeroflot no longer stocks any above Russian size 48 (U.S. size 10.) Magurina, who says size 48 fits her hips but not her chest, used to order a larger size and get it tailored.
Then, all flight attendants were ordered to be weighed and photographed as part of a contest to staff a special business class crew. Several months later, Magurina, who had typically worked as senior attendant, arrived at the Sheremetyevo airport for her flight only to see she was assigned a junior role: “You scan your pass, the names of the crew light up and you see your position. No one has even told me.”
Magurina says a sympathetic manager leaked her documents showing that some 600 of Aeroflot’s 7,000 cabin crew staff, mostly women, were re-assigned to lesser flights without bonus pay because they were considered too “old, fat and ugly.” The Associated Press could not verify the numbers.