A SkyWest flight attendant who also works as a model posted a funny video asking whether she gets “hit on” a lot as a flight attendant. The punchline? She is getting hit on…by almost everything inside a regional jet.
She Gets Hit On As A Flight Attendant, But Not Quite How You Think
A Salt Lake City-based SkyWest flight attendant and model who goes by Rachel Leah Tia posted a clever little video that made me laugh.
The question posed in the video was simple: “Do you get hit on lots as a flight attendant?”
That might lead your mind in one direction, but the joke quickly goes elsewhere. The video shows her bumping into just about everything on a regional aircraft: overhead bins, galley fixtures, cabin walls, and the various other hard surfaces that make working on a small jet a contact sport if you are tall (and yes, it’s staged).
It was shared by Jay Robert, who runs the popular A Fly Guy social media channel, and it is a good reminder that the glamorous side of flight attendant life often collides, quite literally, with the reality of working in a narrow metal tube.
Rachel Leah Tia is listed by The Agency Arizona at 5’10”. That may be ideal for modeling, but on a regional aircraft? That sounds like a daily challenge! Far from being a “flight attendants get hit on by pesky passengers” story (though that probably happens too), this is a “regional aircraft are tiny and tall people suffer” story, which as someone who is 6’1″ myself and flies a a fair amount on regional jets, I can personally relate to.
From Stewardess Restrictions To Today
It also made me think about how much the profession has changed.
In the old days, the “stewardess” role came with all sorts of restrictions that would be rightly viewed as absurd today. Airlines once limited women by age, marital status, weight, appearance, and yes, height. A 1968 United Airlines stewardess qualification list, for example, limited applicants to women aged 21-27, unmarried, with no children, and between 5’2″ and 5’9″.
Earlier airline requirements could be even more restrictive. The industry wanted young, single, attractive, polished women, but also women who were not too tall (as the ad above notes, not taller than 5’4″). In that context, someone nearly six feet tall working as a flight attendant is not just a contrast with the past, but also a reminder that today’s cabin crew are hired to do a safety and service job, not to fit some outdated template.
Of course, the aircraft have not changed nearly as much as the job.
Regional jets still require a lot of bending, ducking, twisting, and squeezing. If you are tall, even walking down the aisle can feel like navigating a submarine. Add service carts, passengers standing in the aisle, bags sticking out, and low ceilings, and I can see why the job becomes physically demanding in ways many passengers may not appreciate.
CONCLUSION
Rachel Leah Tia’s video works because the punchline is harmless and true: yes, she gets “hit on” as a flight attendant, but mostly by the airplane itself. There is a lot of nostalgia around the old “stewardess” era, but some parts of that era deserved to disappear. Today, the job is far more professionalized, but the cabin is still cramped, especially on regional jets. So if you see a tall flight attendant ducking through the aisle, be extra nice.
I’ve been hit by flight attendants, that’s the nature of economy class aisle seats with narrower aisles, narrower seats and more cramped and packed cabins.
I’d ‘tap’ that.
So, to see the video, I had to install their app. So, I didn’t view it. I have many female friends who are hot. None of them p!ss and moan about being hit on. They discourage the individual, enjoy the complement, and move on, If reincarnation is real, I hope she is reborn as an early balding liberal, the least attractive humans ever.
Even if you didn’t get to see the video, you should’ve read the article before quickly chatising her, or was it too difficult to read?
Gotta love that incredibly sexist “Untried” “stewardess” advert…. At least that unglamorous pic spared her the indignity of posing in hot pants & go-go boots a la Southwest & PSA (the California based version) … and/or provocative comments & other visuals like National, Continental & Braniff of that era …. These certainly wouldn’t even fly ( culturally, of course ) these days ! (punt intended )…
More power and patience to her!
“She’s going to make someone a great wife.” – From the vintage UA stewardess ad featured in the article –
Let’s add that, according to her Instagram account, Rachel Leah has been married to her husband Pae Tia for about 6-7 months.
For aviation enthusiasts → SKW currently has 609 aircraft (average age: 15.3 years) in its fleet and employs more than 4000 flight attendants.
Height restrictions are not just about fitting a template. They are to ensure that you can reach the emergency equipment and that you can fit through the evacuation doors.
True… Let’s add that SKW strictly requires all flight attendant applicants to be between 5’0″ and 6’0″ (1.52m to 1.82m) tall without shoes. The company strictly enforces this policy and does not make exceptions because of the structural limitations of their regional aircraft fleet. Why SKW has strict height limits? → * The Minimum Height (5’0″): One must be able to complete an overhead reach test (roughly 76 inches). This ensures she can access safety equipment, luggage, and close the overhead bins on the aircraft. * The Maximum Height (6’0″): SKW operates smaller regional jets, such as the CRJ-200, CRJ-550, CRJ-700, CRJ-900, ERJ-170 and ERJ-175. The internal cabin ceiling height on many of these planes is only about 6’2″. Flight attendants taller than 6’0″ cannot stand upright or move safely down the aisle.
With all respect only a blind guy would try and hit on her, what a Bowzer.