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NEW DELHI — In a purported effort to cut down on fuel costs and boost flight efficiency, a budget airline flying out of India says it will now only hire female flight attendants.
GoAir announced the change in late June, with the company estimating it could save a significant sum. Each kilogram costs roughly 5 cents to fly, and hiring women who are between 15 and 20 kilograms lighter than their male counterparts could save as much as $500,000 each year, according to the company.
GoAir was quick to defend the decision against accusations of a gender-based hiring practice, saying they would not be firing their male attendants, and the policy would bring the ratio of men to women in line with industry norms.
"The rupee's fall has hurt the industry badly. All major expenses — aircraft leasing, spare parts and fuel costs — are linked to the dollar. The fall in exchange rate of a rupee costs us Rs 30 crore on an annual basis. We are looking at every possible way of cost-cutting to remain profitable," GoAir CEO Giorgio De Roni told the Times of India.
GoAir also plans on taking several other fuel-saving measures, like installing special "sharktails" on wing tips to save on fuel burn.
Other airlines have made similar weight demands of their employees before, including Turkish Airlines, which in 2010 gave almost 30 employees 6 months to lose a certain amount of weight or be fired.
