History Of The Female Flight Attendants Celebrated In New Exhibition At San Francisco International Airport

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History of the Female Flight Attendants Celebrated in New Exhibition at San Francisco International Airport

SAN FRANCISCO -- A new exhibition at San Francisco International Airport, Air Hostess: A History of Female Flight Attendants, explores the important role of the profession previously referred to as stewardess or air hostess, and now called flight attendant.

The exhibition follows the evolution of the career from the world’s first “stewardess” in 1930, to today’s professional flight attendants. In addition to the development of the flight attendant ideal during the early years of air travel - a carefully cultivated and glamorous image that became inseparable from the air travel experience - the exhibition explores the dedication of these professional women, trained and ready to take on the responsibilities for the welfare and safety of the traveling public. Among the topics presented are the history of flight attendant job duties, training, dress and grooming standards, and the perception and depiction of flight attendants in popular culture.

Approximately 70 photographs, documents, models and objects such as vintage airline serving pieces are displayed to illustrate the life of the flight attendant through the history of air transport. Additionally, a variety of flight attendant uniforms, ranging from the 1930s to the 1990s, reflect how flight attendant fashions have been affected by both changing job requirements and airline marketing campaigns.

Air Hostess: A History of Female Flight Attendants is located pre-security in the San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Library and Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum, located on the Departures/Ticketing Level of the International Terminal. On view through March 15, 2005, the exhibition is open Sunday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is free of charge.

San Francisco Airport Museums

The San Francisco Airport Museums program was established by the Airport Commission in 1980 for the purposes of humanizing the Airport environment, providing visibility for the unique cultural life of San Francisco, and providing educational services for the traveling public. Today, the San Francisco Airport Museums features approximately twenty galleries throughout the Airport terminals displaying a rotating schedule of art, history, science, and cultural exhibitions, as well as the San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Library and Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum, a permanent collection dedicated to the history of commercial aviation.

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About San Francisco International Airport SFO

San Francisco International Airport SFO (www.flysfo.com) connects non-stop with more than 60 cities in the United States on 20 domestic airlines, including more than twice as many non-stop flights to the New York area than other Bay Area airports combined. In addition, SFO offers non-stop links with more than 30 international points on 25 international carriers, making SFO the Bay Area’s Airport of Choice.