On the surface, this is a case where the Indian Courts agreed with Air India that the airlines was legally entitled to restrict the weight of their flight attendants for safety reasons.

However, as many observers to Indian culture will attest, it appears to be more about Kingfisher airlines marketing strategies than Air India's commitment to "safety."

The Back Story: Air India is the state-owned national carrier. Traditionally, their flight attendants have worn the saree as their uniform. One of the flight attendants who filed the suit was fired for being 1.9 kg over the maximum weight allowed ( for those of us in the U.S. the weigh in with pounds, that's five of them)

Two years ago, upstarter Kingfisher Airlines began flying with a glitzy fashion show at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel.

The airlines, on this occasion, also unveiled a designer line of uniforms and accessories for its flight attendants.

Sharing his thoughts on the launch of its designer line, Dr Mallya said, ''Our flight attendants are our ambassadors and will embody the aspirations of our guests. The designer attire represents a commitment to provide an unparalleled and stylish travel experience.'' The collection designed for the flight attendants includes a skirt and a shirt with a waistcoat and accessories like shoes, bag and their travel baggage.

Now known as the "Kingfisher red skirt," many observers say the skirt, not safety,is what all the fuss is really about.
Writing in Mutiny--
a blog about Indian Culture,

One point that Indian Airlines fails to mention, lest they give away the true reason for their weight limitations, is that they prefer to have skinnier,younger crew members and have them dress more provocatively to attract more customers.

In reporting about the judge's decision, The Australian headlined their piece Judge Gets Heavy with 'fat' flight attendants" and shared the judge's rationale for her decision.

"If the air hostesses are asked to battle their bulge ..it is not understood how it is in any way unfair, unreasonable and insulting," judge Rekha Sharma said in the ruling. "If by perseverance the snails could reach the ark, why can't these worthy ladies stand on and turn the scale?"

Kyso Kisaen, writing in her blog, Punkassblog
posted this,

And the spike heels give the gals that extra height necessary to reach the back of the carry-on luggage compartments...That’s right. Only the freshest, hottest, most Westernized flight attendants can provide India’s airline passengers with the safety they demand. While they’re at it, they might want to change the uniform from those ridiculous saris to the safer and more professional ’short skirts and high heels’ that allow all modern flight attendants to demonstrate that they have the necessary ‘physical fitness’ to perform the job. Because as far as I’m concerned, nothing says safety and performance like a bunch of hot newbie flight attendants dressed like sexbots.
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In the 1980s, when faced with the same situation, the U.S. courts ruled in favor of the flight attendants. However, the folks in India were probably not surprised at this ruling.As reported in The Mutiny,

A report by Transparency International released last week says that the majority of the Indian people believe their judiciary to be corrupt. As many as 77 per cent of the respondents said so...n terms of perception more Indians rate their country badly, than the Pakistanis rate Pakistan, Thai’s rate Thailand or Malyasians rate Malaysia. In contrast, an overwhelming majority of the people in Sweden and Singapore thought their country was not corrupt. Citizens of Norway and Germany too gave their country the thumbs up. People in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand did not fare badly at all, with a majority of their citizens believing that their country was not corrupt. Those living in the UK, South Africa, Canada or Japan felt the same. About a third of Canadians believed their country has a corrupt justice system.

Kingfisher airlines recently merged with a low cost carrier.

The flamboyant Kingfisher Airlines and low fare carrier Air Deccan aim to capture greater business in both the top-end and cut-price markets in a fiercely competitive aviation market, the leaders of both companies said.

"We have 700 million people in towns with airports waiting to fly," said Deccan's Managing Director Capt. G. R. Gopinath. "We need to fly people in from small towns."

Meanwhile, the flight attendants, known as air hostesses, say the ruling is unconstitutional and vow to appeal.

Image Credit: Flickr member msteffen

Elana writes about business culture at FunnyBusiness