Who was the first air hostess?
The first flight attendants were called “couriers,” and their ranks included the young sons of steamship, railroad, and industrial magnates who financed the airlines. Stout Airways was the first to employ stewards in 1926, working on Ford Tri-Motor planes between Detroit and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Western (1928) and Pan Am (1929) were the first US carriers to employ stewards to serve food. Ten-passenger Fokkers used in the Caribbean had stewards in the era of gambling trips to Havana, Cuba from Key West, Florida. During the early days of commercial aviation, a pilot or first officer on flights would often serve as cabin attendant, as well as assisting in flying the plane. But this splitting of duties proved inefficient, and airlines began to consider other options. Boeing Air Transport, a forerunner of United Air Lines, was the first airline to hire women, beginning with Ellen Church on May 15, 1930. Airline exec-utives believed that the presence of a female attendant on board would r
