The role of a flight attendant derives from that of similar positions on passenger ships or passenger trains , but has more direct involvement with passengers because of the confined quarters on aircraft. Additionally, the job of a flight attendant revolves around safety to a much greater extent than those of similar staff on other forms of transportation. Flight attendants on board a flight collectively form a cabin crew , as distinguished from pilots and engineers in the cockpit.
The German Heinrich Kubis was the world's first flight attendant, in aboard a Zeppelin. He also attended to the famous LZ Hindenburg and was on board when it burst into flames. He survived by jumping out a window when it neared the ground. Origins of the word "steward" in transportation are reflected in the term " chief steward " as used in maritime transport terminology.
The term purser and chief steward are often used interchangeably describing personnel with similar duties among seafaring occupations. This lingual derivation results from the international British maritime tradition i. Due to international law , conventions and agreements, in which all ships' personnel who sail internationally are similarly documented, see Merchant Mariner's Document , by their respective countries, the U. Merchant Marine assigns such duties to the chief steward in the overall rank and command structure of which pursers are not positionally represented or rostered.
Imperial Airways of the United Kingdom had "cabin boys" or "stewards"; in the s. Ten-passenger Fokker aircraft used in the Caribbean had stewards in the era of gambling trips to Havana , Cuba from Key West , Florida. Lead flight attendants would in many instances also perform the role of purser, steward, or chief steward in modern aviation terminology.
The first female flight attendant was a year-old registered nurse named Ellen Church. Other airlines followed suit, hiring nurses to serve as flight attendants, then called "stewardesses" or "air hostesses", on most of their flights. In the United States, the job was one of only a few in the s to permit women, which, coupled with the Great Depression , led to large numbers of applicants for the few positions available. Two thousand women applied for just 43 positions offered by Transcontinental and Western Airlines in December Female flight attendants rapidly replaced male ones, and by , they had all but taken over the role.
