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A certain Asian airline seems trapped in the '60s, that magical time when airline "stewardesses" were best known as desirable sex objects.

Air India fired 9 of its flight attendants for being "grossly" overweight (surely they could have chosen a better adjective), and the case has now reached the Indian supreme court. The stewardesses, who are reportedly between 24 and 70 pounds overweight, were grounded for being "medically unfit" to fly.

The airline claims that the women failed to lose weight when asked, and that there were no jobs on the ground to move them to. The women deny that they were ever notified or even asked to lose any weight.

Initially, a lower court agreed that heavy flight attendants presented a safety hazard, but the plaintiffs point out that Air India also issued recent edicts against hiring women with blemishes or bad teeth. The BBC speculated that the firings may be a bid by Air India to keep pace with other airlines, which apparently employ younger, hotter women who dress in Western clothing as opposed to traditional saris.

Click here to read about other companies who've played the weight card.



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It's certainly not the first time looks have been cause for suspension or firing. In 2005, an Atlantic City casino came under fire when it demanded that cocktail waitresses lose weight or be suspended without pay. The year before that, Abercrombie and Fitch was sued for its alleged policy of hiring only attractive white people for the sales floor and relegating non-blue-eyed-blonde-jock-types to the stock rooms.

Safety aside, we really don't care what our flight attendants look like -- as long as they're liberal with the peanuts and don't judge us when they hand over our second in-flight cocktail, we're happy.

Want proof that guys already know that happiness is a round butt? Check out these pin-ups on our brother site Asylum.


Most Annoying Airline Passengers

    14. The idiot who stands in the aisle rearranging their bag before stowing it in the overhead compartment.

    freedryk, Flickr

    13. The jerk who keeps using their phone even after the flight attendant has asked them to turn it off so the plane can leave.

    Snakes on a Plane, newline.com

    12. The one person on every single flight who seems to think their feet don't stink when they take off their shoes.

    macbiff, Flickr

    11. The late passenger who ruins your dream of having an empty seat next to you for once.

    Carol Hartsell

    10. Everyone in First Class. They won't even deign to look at you when you board.

    garyhyme, Flickr

    9. The person in the aisle seat who fastens their belt as soon as they sit down, only to sigh loudly when having to unbuckle and stand up to let in the other passengers.

    seanmunson, Flickr

    8. The one who refuses to admit that their bag is too large for the overhead compartment.

    vincent®, Flickr

    7. The people with the neck pillows. Often honeymooners or Scientologists...or in a worst case scenario, both.

    6. The guy who snores the entire flight. Often the same culprit as #5.

    caribb, Flickr

    5. The guy who still thinks it's ok to recline in coach.

    newyork808, Flickr