Others ate hard-boiled eggs and tuna from a can for a month before each check. If they were over the range dictated for their height, they got a written warning and were told to get weighed monthly. She couldn’t change her hair style or colour without permission, and every six months stewardesses went to their local head office for weigh-ins. A woman didn’t have to look like a model, but the job did require her to be born lucky, with symmetrical features, clear skin, height between five foot three inches and five foot nine, and be trim. Applicants needed to speak a foreign language, and have a zest for travel, femininity and sophistication.

Working as a stewardess gave a woman the ability and freedom to see different places and, for many, this was worth the price of having to be weighed regularly and working in a world where beauty standards were set by men.

A decade earlier, solitary international travel was rarely undertaken by a woman. In the 60s, the cabin of an international aeroplane was a sought-after workplace for young, unmarried, mostly white women. It was also an elite club to which many women aspired, but few gained entry: only three to five per cent of applicants were successful. Pan Am exuded glamour, from its fleet of sleek modern aeroplanes emblazoned with its distinctive blue globe logo to its air stewardesses in their preppy-meets-Navy style uniforms. ‘Get out of the country, get into this world,’ went the airline’s radio jingle. World Class: being a Pan Am air hostess was an elite club – only three to five per cent of applicants were successful.įor travellers the holiday began the moment they stepped on to the plane – ‘Our passengers are starting out on an adventure and we are helping them to get the feel of it immediately,’ Pan Am informed its crews – and there was a James Bond-style showmanship to the slick on-board experience. And the most glamorous carrier of them all was Pan American World Airways – Pan Am – the ‘truly international’ American airline, as it flew exclusively international routes. In the 60s, America was in the midst of a golden age of travel – with flying at its heart.

Come fly with me julia cooke