The Russian size 48 is equivalent to a U.S. measurement of 12 to 14. The flight attendants will be outfitted in uniforms chosen after consultations with a London sociologist, Savelyev said Sunday.
“A sociologist told us that, unfortunately, the color of our old uniforms was a repulsive color, that it made passengers nervous,” Savelyev said, adding that the new uniforms would be scarlet, beige and navy blue.
Flight attendants — presumably female — will have to comply with height and weight regulations, including being not less than 160 centimeters in height and a size 48, Savelyev said. “These will be very eye-catching, very striking girls,” he said.
The airline boss also noted that a select group of flight attendants were flown to Singapore to receive hospitality training, which Savelyev called the “world leader in customer service.” A Singapore Airlines trainer even flew on two Aeroflot flights to evaluate the carrier’s customer service, Savelyev said.
“We scored a C plus or a B minus, but the good news is that our mistakes are easily correctable,” he said.
The airline even has a new menu, which company management personally sampled, Savelyev said, noting that “women and children went wild for the ice cream with peanuts.”
The changes are not the company’s first makeover. Nicknamed “Aeroflop” in Soviet times for its dour flight attendants and bad food, Aeroflot invested tens of millions of dollars in rebranding itself over the past decade.