At a meeting in London yesterday, the Airways Staffing Authority, representing all the major air line companies, announced the introduction of "Flight Attendant Practitioners", "Specialist Air Hostesses" and "Pilot Air Hostess".
A spokesman said:
"There is a critical shortage of qualified pilots. It takes many years to train a pilot to fly a modern jumbo jet and the expense of this training is enormous. We have a body of young men and women, all keen to help out and fill the gaps. These young people have been serving food and drinks to the passengers for many years, and are valuable members of the Air Crew Team. Given their years of experience it is only economic sense to make more use of them on the flight deck. They have been watching the pilots fly the planes for years, and will have no difficulty in taking over from them in certain controlled circumstances."
