By Russian standards, the news conference on Tuesday was unusual: an airing of grievances by two female flight attendants who had taken the rare step of suing Aeroflot, the country’s flag carrier, for age and sex discrimination.
However, the event took a bizarre twist as two men defending the airline interrupted the proceedings to upbraid the two employees, talking about one’s breast size, and undercutting repeated assertions from Aeroflot that it had not discriminated by arguing that attractive flight staff were important for business.
Both sides focused on what they said was a move by Aeroflot last year to enforce weight guidelines for its cabin staff, suggesting that women fit into a maximum clothing size of 48, equivalent to a 14 in the US.
Men were allowed somewhat more weight, according to an independent union representative.
The two women, Evgeniya Magurina and Irina Ierusalimskaya, who sued separately, said they were barred from international flights, losing a significant chunk of their potential paychecks, because their clothing sizes were larger. (Magurina said hers is 52.)
Magurina told the news conference that she wanted to know why her “professional success” was tied to her clothing size. The two women — one of whom had worked for the airline for 26 years — lost their initial court cases and had called the news conference to announce that they would appeal.
Pavel Danilin, a journalist, and Nikita Krichevskiy, an economist, both speaking for the Aeroflot Public Council, loudly enunciated several reasons they thought the guidelines should be followed.
The council works at the behest of the company, but its 25 members are not paid and are not official spokespeople for the airline.
First, Aeroflot was striving to join the ranks of the top 10 airlines in the world, so the appearance of the cabin staff mattered because customers want pretty flight attendants, the two men said.
Second, of the 600 or so cabin attendants informed that they were overweight, only about 50 failed to lose the extra kilograms, they said.
Third, heavy flight attendants would present a danger in any emergency situation and the women should be grateful that the airline took an interest in their health, they said.
There was also some discussion of an argument that the airline had made — that planes carrying heavier employees cost the company more in fuel consumption.
“I don’t understand why the requirement of wearing size 42-48 is considered so unworkable,” said Krichevskiy, adding that he had shed 20kg in recent years.
As the discussion grew heated, Krichevskiy accused Magurina of bragging about her body during court hearings.
“She said she had big breasts which served her well throughout her life, and more recently started doing her a disservice,” he said.
The two women shook their heads in disbelief, but did not respond directly.
Aeroflot, which has earned high marks for shedding its Soviet skin to become a fairly efficient, friendly airline, quickly tried to distance itself from the proceedings.
Aeroflot issued a statement noting that the public council meets twice a year and that opinions of its members do not necessarily represent the views of Aeroflot.
“N. Krichevskiy and P. Danilin were expressing their personal opinions,” the statement said. “They are public figures and on their own initiative expressed the desire to take part in today’s press conference. Aeroflot’s position was set out in the court, which rejected the claims brought by Magurina and Ierusalimskaya against Aeroflot.”
The two men had cited a passenger survey in which passengers overwhelmingly stated a preference for attractive cabin crews, and Aeroflot’s public relations agency in London sent it out again on Tuesday.
“As it was stated in court, Aeroflot’s requirements for sizes and weight are strictly in compliance with Russian law,” Aeroflot said in response to questions. “The flight attendants are not being discriminated against, as has been demonstrated in two court cases that were ruled upon in Aeroflot’s favor this month.”
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number