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Competition in the airline transportation sector has significantly intensified following the deregulation act in the United States. To remain competitive, airline companies have begun implementing a range of strategies. One of the strategies commonly used by airlines is to improve service quality. Service quality has been very beneficial for airline companies to maintain profitability and increase market share. To achieve this goal, airlines must investigate the factors influencing service quality and enact improvements and regulations based on these determinants. There are significant studies in the literature on the influence of service employees on service quality. However, there are only a limited number of studies on the influence of the service quality of flight attendants, who are the public face of airline operations, on service quality. This study focuses on the influence of the level of attractiveness (a nonverbal characteristic) of flight attendants on perceived service quality. This research employs a neuromarketing method, specifically the frontal asymmetry approach, using electroencephalography (EEG) techniques. In the experiment, 37 participants were recruited, including 19 males and 18 females, and frontal alpha asymmetry metric results were derived from electrode pairs. In the experiment conducted at the Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Eskisehir Technical University, participants also evaluated the influence of flight attendant attractiveness on service quality using a survey technique. The findings indicate a significant difference in frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) metrics between attractive and unattractive flight attendants. FFA metrics of attractive flight attendants were greater than those of unattractive flight attendants. Additionally, FAA metrics were found to be greater under favourable service delivery than under unfavourable service delivery. Furthermore, among the service dimensions, the reliability and responsiveness dimensions had higher FAA metrics than did the other dimensions. A study comparing EEG results with survey responses revealed a statistically significant difference. The findings indicate that flight attendants with higher levels of attractiveness enhance their motivation to approach, thereby contributing to an improvement in perceived service quality. Moreover, these findings underscore the potential of neuromarketing methods for validating outcomes from conventional research approaches. Based on these findings, airlines should develop policies that prioritize attractive attributes in the recruitment of flight attendants. In addition, implementing various programs and incentive systems to maintain the attractiveness of flight attendants is essential. Moreover, providing services with diversified flight attendant profiles tailored to different customer segments is considered crucial for customer satisfaction and experience. Future studies could achieve more comprehensive results by using diverse sample sizes and age groups along with different neuromarketing techniques. Furthermore, the findings suggest a high potential for applying the frontal alpha asymmetry approach in other marketing fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the COVID-19 epidemic began in 2020, many countries have adopted the Zero-COVID strategy that imposes social distancing. While that approach contained the virus's spread, its societal effects remain worrying. Studies on impacts of the containment policy have hitherto concentrated on economic development and as yet little is known about how sectors and governments helped employees cope with the crisis. To address this knowledge gap, we analyse the impact of Zero-COVID-19 policy on Vietnam Airlines employees in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where the government implemented strict social distancing from 2020 to 2021. Surveys and interviews show that company policy responses focused on employment and finances, ignoring the offline and online stigma that airline employees faced due to the coronavirus. Social labels and social capital seem to worsen these measurements. The fact that airline employees, part of Vietnam's middle class, were vulnerable during the crisis reveals lack of long-term planning and risk solutions in policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As firms consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in establishing a corporate strategy and allocating capital investment, environmental sustainability is deemed increasingly important in the travel and tourism sector. In line with this trend, we aim to identify the work stressors that affect employees' pro-environmental behavior (PEB). Drawing on conservation of resources (COR) theory, we propose that employees' perception of job insecurity serves as a major job stressor hindering task-related and proactive PEB. We further predict that interpersonal stressors exacerbate the negative effect of job insecurity on PEB through decreased work engagement. To test these propositions, we administer two-wave surveys three months apart to 222 South Korean flight attendants. While we observed no direct relationship between job insecurity and task-related and proactive PEB, job insecurity had a significant indirect effect on these two forms of PEB through work engagement. The deleterious effects of job insecurity on work engagement and the two forms of PEB were aggravated when flight attendants reported high levels of supervisor incivility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this task-based needs analysis is two-fold: firstly, to uncover the tasks performed by U.S.-based Spanish-language flight attendants and the associated language needs and, in doing so, to expand the breadth of task-based needs analysis (TBNA) through the application of multiple methods and sources (Long, 2005) and tackling the under-researched issue of transfer from TBNA to task design (Gilabert & Malicka, 2021a; 2021b). A questionnaire-guided interview and online survey were used. Analysis of the extracted information illuminated the essential tasks and subtasks (Gilabert, 2005), including details regarding frequency, need for training, and language use. Findings suggest that each task and subtask requires varying amounts of Spanish, as well as knowledge of distinct linguistic dimensions. Triangulation of multiple sources and methods adds to the understanding of the tasks and language needs. Finally, suggestions as to how the outcome of this NA may transfer to task design are presented, hence extending the field of TBNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational support is the establishment of a healthy, productive, and mutually beneficial environment by taking measures for the welfare of the employees and developing various practices. Although organizations may make efforts in this direction, it is very difficult to go beyond the perceived situation. For this reason, the concept of Perceived Organizational Support (POS), which is a criterion and an emotional perception of the value given to them by the organizations, comes into play in determining the reflection of organizational support. The concept that mediates and complements POS in the creation and maintenance of positive emotions in the work environment is emotional labor. Emotional labor is the display of emotional behaviors appropriate to the situation that the organization needs and expects from its employees and consists of three sub-dimensions: superficial, deep and sincere behavior. From an organizational point of view, the emotional labor process needs to be controlled and managed in order for POS to yield desired results for the employee. To do so, the relationships between POS and emotional labor and emotional labor sub-dimensions is to be examined. In the current research, we aimed to examine the relationship between organizational support perceptions and emotional labor behaviors of flight attendants working in the civil aviation sector, where emotional labor is very important and valuable. The research was carried out according to the screening model with the participation of 465 cabin attendants. The results revealed that there is a negative and weak relationship between the perceived organizational support perception of flight attendants and superficial acting, a weak level in the opposite direction, a weak level in the same direction with deep acting, and a moderately significant correlation between the same directional and natural emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aviation industry needs to reduce CO2 emissions. Turboprop aircrafts consume 10-60% less fuel compared to regional jets. In addition, electric propeller aircrafts are now in development, which can be CO2 neutral. However, in turboprop aircrafts the noise level is high and the space is limited. For flight attendants that work long hours in these aircrafts, this could become demanding. In this paper, the environmental comfort and ergonomics are studied in an experiment in a turboprop aircraft as a base for improving the working conditions for cabin personnel in future propeller aircrafts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clear‐air turbulence (CAT) is hazardous to aircraft and is projected to intensify in response to future climate change. However, our understanding of past CAT trends is currently limited, being derived largely from outdated reanalysis data. Here we analyze CAT trends globally during 1979–2020 in a modern reanalysis data set using 21 diagnostics. We find clear evidence of large increases around the midlatitudes at aircraft cruising altitudes. For example, at an average point over the North Atlantic, the total annual duration of light‐or‐greater CAT increased by 17% from 466.5 hr in 1979 to 546.8 hr in 2020, with even larger relative changes for moderate‐or greater CAT (increasing by 37% from 70.0 to 96.1 hr) and severe‐or‐greater CAT (increasing by 55% from 17.7 to 27.4 hr). Similar increases are also found over the continental USA. Our study represents the best evidence yet that CAT has increased over the past four decades. Plain Language Summary: Turbulence is unpleasant to fly through in an aircraft. Strong turbulence can even injure air passengers and flight attendants. An invisible form called clear‐air turbulence (CAT) is predicted to become more frequent because of climate change. Here we analyze modern atmospheric data based on four decades of observations (1979–2020) to investigate whether CAT has already started to increase. We use 21 different turbulence calculations to ensure our results are as reliable as possible. We find clear evidence of large CAT increases in various places around the world at aircraft cruising altitudes since satellites began observing the atmosphere. For example, at a typical point over the North Atlantic, the upward trend is such that the strongest category of CAT was 55% more frequent in 2020 than 1979. Our study represents the best evidence yet that CAT has increased over the past four decades, consistent with the expected effects of climate change. Key Points: Clear‐air turbulence (CAT) diagnosed from reanalysis data has increased over the satellite eraThe increases are largest over the USA and North Atlantic, which are both busy flight regionsSevere‐or‐greater CAT increased the most, becoming 55% more frequent in 2020 than 1979 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Through the lens of conservation of resource theory and the model of ability, motivation and opportunity (AMO), this study tests the relationship between high performance work practices (HPWP), emotional exhaustion and service recovery performance (SRP). It examines the direct effect of AMO bundles on emotional exhaustion and the indirect effect of these bundles on SRP via emotional exhaustion. Design/methodology/approach: In a sample of 1,664 flight attendants from Canada, Germany and France, this study uses a quantitative method. Using AMOS V.24, CFA was used to test quality of scales, model fit as well as the direct effects. The method of Monte Carlo (parametric bootstrap) and more precisely bias corrected percentile method were used to test the mediation mechanism, based on 5,000 bootstrapping and 95% confidence intervals. Findings: Results show that all AMO bundles can be considered as a resource caravan passageway protecting employees against resources loss and allowing them to perform well and to recover service after a failure. They reveal that each bundle has a direct, negative link with emotional exhaustion, a health-related well-being and an indirect effect on SRP via emotional exhaustion. Research limitations/implications: The finding further highlights the need to distinguish between AMO dimensions in strategic HRM research and practice. The cross-sectional nature of this study limits the establishment of causal links between variables. The author encourages future researchers to adopt a research design enabling to collect data at two or three-time periods and involving multi-source data. Practical implications: Companies should be aware of the mechanisms through which HPWP influence the occupational health and performance of flight attendants and consider that "different bundles can have different effects" as important when they would redesign their HRM practices. In turn, it is rather opportunity enhancing HPWP (e.g. empowerment, work teams) that will be the most efficient in improving SRP. In a customer service context, and for flight attendants who work for prolonged hours with sometimes demanding passengers, it seems very important that airlines empower their flight attendants to use their skills and abilities to respond to problems arising onboard, either from service failures or any complaint a passenger may have. Employers should aim to create pools of practices designed to enrich and protect the resources of their employees allowing them to reduce emotional exhaustion. Originality/value: This research study contributes therefore to the HRM-well-being-individual and/or organizational performance debate in a very particular context, by using the AMO framework to test the proposed relationship. In doing so, this study advances the theoretical and empirical evidence on how HR systems and AMO framework can be applied in this setting. The findings allow distinguishing which bundle of HRM is the most influential on emotional exhaustion, which can advance the literature in strategic human resource management. The paper adds to the literature by addressing the role of emotional exhaustion rather than happiness-related measures of well-being. Thus, our results stress the importance of health-related well-being, and emotional exhaustion, as an important pathway through which AMO-bundles influence performance outcomes and confirm that there are different well-being pathways to consider in the HRM-performance relationship. By using different bundles of AMO, the study advances the literature by showing that each bundle could have a different effect as the findings show that only opportunity enhancing HPWPs still directly impacted SRP after introducing the mediator (emotional exhaustion). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does initial placement in a temporary work contract affect workers' subsequent labor market outcomes? We study a unique set of natural experiments: In the mid-1990s, the Japanese airline industry implemented a new hiring policy using temporary employment contracts. The policy was later reversed in the mid-2010s. Examining the universe of employment records from one of Japan's major airlines as well as government surveys to compare outcomes for cohorts of flight attendants hired just before to those hired just after these changes in industry policy, we find that workers starting on temporary contracts were less likely to remain with the firm over time and are less likely to have children within 10 years after starting the job. These findings do not appear to be the result of selection on observables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to consideration of passenger service on aircraft board as a basis for forming the image and ensuring the airline's competitiveness. The role of passenger service quality for airlines in the context of fierce global competition is defined; an analysis of the on-board product of the world's leading airlines was carried out, and the most influential ratings of airlines for the service quality were considered. The key criteria for evaluating the passenger service quality on the aircraft board in terms of the quality of the on-board product and the efficiency of the cabin crew are substantiated. Recommendations are provided for flight attendants to improve service in the context of passenger expectations, and steps that airlines should implement to improve the passenger service quality are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examined the influencing mechanism and boundary conditions underlying the relation between COVID-19 perceived risk and flight attendants' turnover intention by investigating the mediating role of job insecurity and the moderating effect of job crafting. Methods:  A two-wave survey was conducted with 240 Chinese flight attendants. We used structural equation modeling to test the moderated mediation model. Results: The results indicated that perceived risk of COVID-19 positively affected flight attendants' job insecurity and turnover intention. Moreover, job insecurity plays a fully mediating role in the relationship between perceived risk and turnover intention. Furthermore, the mediating role of job insecurity was moderated by job crafting; for higher levels of job crafting (opposed to low), the effect of job insecurity on turnover intention was significantly weaker. Conclusion:  Our findings indicate that dissipating job insecurity and increasing job crafting behavior are critical to employees' work-related attitudes and behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eustachian tube (ET) function is of utmost importance in people who are under constant barometric pressure changes in their daily lives. Proper functioning is essential in avoiding pressure related injuries. We aimed to investigate how well the ET functions in flying personnel and how it compares to the non-flying population.Prospective study. Acibadem University Atakent Hospital. 115 participants were included in the study. Each underwent a thorough otorhinolarynglogic examination then undertook a tympanogram followed by eustachian tube function (EtFT) test. A statistically significant difference in ear volume was observed in flight personnel. EtFT results showed the ability to equalize pressure after Valsalva manouvre was also significantly higher in flight personnel. Flight attendants that are subject to pressure changes throughout their careers do seem to be more capable of equalizing pressure through manoeuvres such as the Valsalva. This may be due to the fact that continuous pressure changes creates a more pliable tympanic membrane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and work–family interface have attracted considerable scientific interest; however, their relationship has not been considered yet. Drawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study fills this gap by examining the relationship between internal CSR and work to family spillover. While most previous CSR studies widely examined the net effect of a single CSR dimension, this study discovers configurations of five different internal CSR dimensions (internal dissemination, compensation, occupational health and safety, training, and legal employment) in explaining positive and negative work to family spillover. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), this study examines a primary database of 136 flight attendants working for Asian airline companies; results reveal that the combination of internal dissemination and compensation creates the most driving power in leading to positive spillover. The absence of internal dissemination, occupational health and safety, and legal employment leads to high negative spillover regardless of the presence of compensation. This study broadens the literature by linking internal CSR to employees' perceptions of work–family spillover. FsQCA findings also make a methodological contribution to prior CSR research by indicating three configurations that explain positive and negative work–family spillover. Findings provide airline companies with practical guidelines that are useful to enhance positive spillover and reduce negative spillover from work to family domains among their flight attendants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sammito, Stefan, David Cyrol, and Janina Post. Fatigue and ability to concentrate in flight attendants during ultra-long-range flights. High Alt Med Biol. 23:159–164, 2022. Background: Scientific studies on stresses and strains experienced by flight crews in the ultra-long-range (ULR) sector have focused on the group of pilots. Studies on cabin crews are rare. Methods: The subjective fatigue, concentration, and responsiveness of 16 flight attendants were examined during 3 flights (first and third flights were ULR flights) and related to the local time at the home airport. The flight route was Cologne/Bonn (Germany) to Canberra (Australia) (first flight), Tahiti (French Polynesia) (second flight), and back to Cologne/Bonn (third flight). Results: Overall, there was an increase in fatigue (first flight: +36.0% and third flight: +38.5%) as well as reduced responsiveness (−32.5% and −35.5%) and concentration (−30.0% and −33.5%) in the course of the ULR flights. A marked increase in fatigue occurred in particular during night hours measured against the local time at the home airport, especially at the beginning of the third flight. For all parameters, there was consistently no difference between the individual shift groups of flight attendants (p > 0.05). Conclusions: ULR flights cause cabin crew members to become increasingly fatigued due to the length of the flights despite appropriate rest opportunities. The available findings can help to prepare in the best possible way for necessary flight safety through appropriate planning of shift models, especially with regard to the potentially critical takeoff and landing stages. To this end, local times at the home airport must also be taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Launched in 1966, Jamaica's national airline, Air Jamaica, exclusively employed women flight attendants, dubbed "rare tropical birds," to embody and sell its elevated hospitality. Using Air Jamaica and its flight attendants as a lens on tourism across the region, this article demonstrates how, at midcentury, the industry was a complicated and contradictory mix of optimistic visions of advancement and problematic projections of creolized citizenship, all embedded in an imagery of a consumable Caribbean island paradise. The article interrogates the critical role that Air Jamaica's flight attendants and other women played in selling a harmonious Jamaicanness and idealized island fantasy to global North travelers, particularly in contrast to the larger national project of democratic socialist reform under Michael Manley. Despite efforts to put the tourism industry back into Jamaican hands, the act of trading on a romanticized racial hybridity and gendered, exoticized servility is inextricable from the story of tourism development in Jamaica and the region and points to the many contradictions entrenched (and persistent) in the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: capitalism; collective bargaining; democracy; equality; gender discrimination; industry; labor; women workers EN capitalism collective bargaining democracy equality gender discrimination industry labor women workers 91 96 6 05/24/22 20220501 NES 220501 B Editor's Note b For this article, I New Labor Forum i 's "Working-Class Voices" columnist Kressent Pottenger interviewed Susannah Carr, a flight attendant at United Airlines. Capitalism, collective bargaining, democracy, equality, gender discrimination, industry, labor, women workers We do have furlough protection in our union contract that prevents the airline from hiring new flight attendants while workers are on furlough. [Extracted from the article]

Physical training is a physical and mental training method with certain scientific basis and evaluation standards, and it is also one of the ways to cultivate comprehensive professionals for civil aviation. This paper attempts to incorporate multimedia computing systems into the teaching and learning of flight attendants from training classes, with the aim of tackling the issues that exist at this stage of the educational programme, promoting the standard and effectiveness of teaching and learning. Firstly, the paper explains the stewarding staff form training concept, including the professional requirements of flight attendants, the concept and characteristics of physical training, and the problems existing in the teaching process and then introduces the instruction system according to the multimedia computing system. Finally, this paper compares it using the classical teaching mode. The outcome of the investigation indicated that about 70% of the students achieved good grades and above with the assistance of multimedia computing devices, which verifies its effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID‐19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS‐CoV‐2), has rapidly spread globally. Potentially infected individuals travel on commercial aircraft. Thus, this study aimed to investigate and test the association between the use of face masks, physical distance, and COVID‐19 among passengers and flight attendants exposed to a COVID‐19 passenger in a domestic flight. Methods: This observational study investigated passengers and flight attendants exposed to COVID‐19 on March 23, 2020, on board a flight to Naha City, Japan. Secondary attack rates were calculated. Whole‐genome sequencing of SARS‐CoV‐2 was used to identify the infectious linkage between confirmed cases in this clustering. The association between confirmed COVID‐19 and proximity of passengers' seats to the index case and/or the use of face masks was estimated using logistic regression. Results: Fourteen confirmed and six probable cases were identified among passengers and flight attendants. The secondary attack rate was 9.7%. Twelve of 14 SARS‐CoV‐2 genome sequences in confirmed cases were identical to that of the index case or showed only one nucleotide mutation. Risk factors for infection included not using a face mask (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 7.29, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.86‐28.6), partial face mask use (aOR: 3.0, 95% CI: 0.83‐10.8), and being seated within two rows from the index patient (aOR: 7.47, 95% CI: 2.06‐27.2). Conclusion: SARS‐CoV‐2 was transmitted on the airplane. Nonuse of face masks was identified as an independent risk factor for contracting COVID‐19 on the airplane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flight attendants are the persons who are responsible of the safety, security and comfort of the passengers in an aircraft and fulfill the instructions of the flight deck crew outside the cockpit when needed. This study aimed to determine the trends of national graduate theses regarding flight attendants published in Turkey. In this study, content analysis of 31 national theses on flight attendants published between 2012-2020 in the database of YÖK Thesis Scanning Center was conducted. Publication year, university, institute, types of thesis, researcher gender, writing language, title of supervisor, research method, research design, subject, sample size, sampling method, data collection tools and data analysis techniques were determined and systematic content analysis was employed. According to the analysis results; It has been determined that the most published year with 11 theses is 2019, the most used research design is survey research and job satisfaction, organizational commitment, emotional labor, burnout syndrome and work-family conflict issues are the most studied topics by the researchers. It is expected that analyzing the national theses in the Yok database in a study will contribute to future studies on cabin attendants, an important part of the aviation industry. The existing concepts can be related and tested in different models in future studies by making use of the findings of this study. Thus, original contributions to the literature will be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Broadhead Geoffrey K., Henry E. Wiley, David Peprah, Kenneth Olumba, and Alisa T. Thavikulwat. Proliferative retinopathy associated with repeated high-altitude exposure in a patient with sickle cell trait. High Alt Med Biol. 23:369–371, 2022.—Sickle cell trait (SCT), a carrier state characterized by one normal copy of the beta-globin gene (producing hemoglobin A) and one abnormal variant (producing hemoglobin S), is typically asymptomatic and very low risk for manifestations of hemoglobinopathy, including development of retinopathy. Reported cases of proliferative retinopathy in patients with SCT have occurred in the context of concurrent ocular or systemic disease. We report a case of an otherwise healthy patient with SCT who developed proliferative retinopathy requiring surgical intervention in the setting of significant exposure to high altitude through increased work hours as a flight attendant in the month leading to her presentation. Significant high-altitude exposure may contribute to development of retinopathy in patients with sickle trait. Practitioners should consider the possibility of sickle cell retinopathy in patients with sickle trait in these circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of COVID-19, essential workers are plagued with unforeseen and obfuscated challenges. Flight attendants are a unique subgroup of essential workers who face a multitude of health risks attributed to occupational exposures that are accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Such risks can be ameliorated with strategies that target factors which enhance COVID-19 risk, including modifiable factors of diet and lifestyle. The aim of this cross-sectional study is to detect occupational dietary and lifestyle factors which could increase COVID-19 incidence amongst flight attendants. To identify potential risk factors, a questionnaire was administered to eighty-four flight attendants and examined the participants' diet and lifestyle, and COVID-19 incidence. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression indicated that the participants' perceived dietary quality at work (p = 0.003), sleep disruptions which impacted their consumption of a healthy diet (p = 0.013), job tenure (OR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.46:0.98) and frequency of reported cold/flu (OR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.014–2.189) were all factors associated with confirmed/suspected COVID-19 incidence. This study also revealed that a lack of infrastructure for food storage and time limitations are considerable occupational barriers for flight attendants to consume healthy foods. Additional investigation can further elucidate these relationships and related solutions to mitigate COVID-19 risk in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sleep appears to have been of no interest to sociocultural linguistics or communication studies. This is in spite of growing attention to the "ignored third" from sociologists and anthropologists, especially in response to rising public, medical and commercial concerns. Having said which, these cognate fields side-step the classist representational politics of sleep which are exposed nicely by a social semiotic intervention like the one reported here. In this regard, the empirical basis of my paper is an archive of promotional materials from some thirty international airlines touting their latest "premium" sleeping services, a key component of current marketing strategies. Through a largely visual, iconographic analysis, I examine the staging of sleep as a sensuous experience and as a deeply affective, intimate encounter between (often male) passengers and (often female) flight attendants. Sleep emerges as a semiotic resource for producing, circulating and normalizing relations of entitlement – a symbolic economy which exceeds and/or intensifies established forms of emotional labour. These highly seductive ways of organizing and envisioning sleep generate the kind of desire necessary for subjugating an otherwise privileged few, and, thus, for exploiting many others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entailing a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, this study explored alternative configurations leading to high-level work-family facilitation among 142 and 127 flight attendants employed respectively in Asian airline companies in Taiwan and Vietnam. Results revealed three paths in Taiwan and two paths in Vietnam that explained high work-family facilitation levels. A welfare system and compensation were identified as core facilitating conditions in Taiwan and Vietnam, respectively. The findings offer theoretical insights and practical guidelines to advance understanding of the complex interactions of internal marketing dimensions on work-family facilitation and suggest new directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the U.S. Supreme Court case U.S. Airways Inc. v. Workers' Comp. Appeal Bd. which deals with a compensation of a flight attendant who suffered an injury in a parking lot in Pennsylvania. Topics mentioned include the revision of the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act to allow an employee who was injured in a parking lot to receive medical and monetary benefits, the analysis of the arguments made by the employer, and a brief background of the Act.

Flight attendants working in airline companies are the airline personnel with whom the passengers are in contact from boarding the plane to the landing process. Therefore, it is important to choose a flight attendant for an airline company. The aim of this study is to determine the importance of the criteria that airline companies should take into consideration when recruiting cabin crew and to choose the most suitable one among cabin crew alternatives. Fuzzy SWARA was used to find the criterion weights, and the Fuzzy MARCOS method was used to rank the candidates. In the literature research, it has not been found a study that Fuzzy SWARA and Fuzzy MARCOS methods are used in evaluating the alternatives and the criteria that play a role in the selection of cabin crew and. In the analysis results, it was determined that the three most important evaluation criteria are "education and success status", "foreign language knowledge" and "physical characteristics", respectively. Candidate number 3 was also ranked first as the most suitable flight attendant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Epidemiological observations indicate that female flight attendants are exposed to some reproductive and endocrine system disturbances. The aim of the study was to determine the incidence of hyperprolactinemia among female flight attendants, and to identify factors affecting the secretion of prolactin in female flight attendants working within 1 time zone as well as on long-distance flights.Material and Methods: The cross-sectional study covered 103 women aged 23-46 years. The study group (I) was divided into 2 subgroups: subgroup Ia comprising female flight attendants flying within 1 flight zone, and subgroup Ib composed of female flight attendants working on long-distance flights. The control group (II) included women of reproductive age who sought medical assistance due to marital infertility in whom the male factor was found to be responsible for problems with conception in the course of the diagnostic process. The assessment included: age, the body mass index, menstrual cycle regularity, the length of service, the frequency of flying, the prolactin, estradiol and progesterone concentrations, and the result of endometrial biopsy. Descriptive and inferential statistics methods were used to compile the data.Results: The incidence of hyperprolactinemia in the female flight attendants (46%) was significantly higher than in the control group (9%), p < 0.001. Differences between subgroups Ia and Ib regarding individual concentrations were not statistically significant (p = 0.425). Hyperprolactinemia among the female flight attendants working ≥15 years is present slightly more often than in those working <15 years: 46% vs. 45% (p > 0.05). No significant difference was revealed in the secretion of prolactin between the study participants spending <60 h/month flying and those spending ≥60 h/month flying (p > 0.05).Conclusions: Hyperprolactinemia is more common in female flight attendants than in the general population. High values of prolactin concentration in flight attendants are rarely manifested in clinical symptoms. The frequency of flying and the length of service do not affect the development of hyperprolactinemia or the mean prolactin concentration. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2021;34(3):351-61. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Federal Regulation has suggested that all passengers in the airplane should finish the evacuation within 90 s. This research applied a Discrete Event Simulation (DES) model to investigate passengers' evacuation paths and decision-making processes for aircraft evacuation under emergency. ARENA® 14 was used on an Airbus A380 cabin configuration with capacity of 538 as the baseline model. Total evacuation time and the congestion conditions of each gate were used as a measure for the evacuation process. The baseline model was validated using a real world A380 certification evacuation drill. An experiment was conducted based on the modification of the baseline model to investigate the effect of different path planning strategies on total evacuation time. Results suggested that a flight attendant directed approach yielded significantly more efficiency than passenger random exit choosing and switching exits. Practical implications and future study were given at the end of the paper to consider a more realistic and dynamics simulation approach to address this problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified shift work as a possible human carcinogen. The results of systematic on this topic is contradictory. This systematic review and meta-analysis, therefore, aimed to update the current evidence regarding the relationship between night-shift work duration and breast cancer risk.Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus as well as reference list of included studies were searched until December 19, 2020. Observational case-control or cohort studies investigating the relationship between the duration of night-shift work and breast cancer in women were included, which all quantified night-shift work exposure. All statistical analyses were done by Stata version 11.2.Results: Our literature search was resulted in retrieval of 4854 publications from which 26 eligible studies with 1,313,348 participants were included in the meta-analyses. The pooled relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of breast cancer for short-term night-shift workers (< 10 years) was 1.13 (95% CI 1.03-1.24, p = 0.008, I2 = 71.3%), and for long-term night-shift workers (≥ 10 years) was 1.08 (95% CI 0.99-1.17, p = 0.09, I2 = 42.2%), with moderate to substantial statistical heterogeneity observed in both analyses. The results of subgroup analysis showed that flight attendants with long overnight flights were at an elevated risk of breast cancer, but unmeasured confounders limited these results. The risk of breast cancer in case control studies, adjusted for reproductive factors and family history of breast cancer as well as studies with high quality was increased in both short term and long term night-shift workers.Conclusions: This systematic review found a positive statistical relationship between night work and breast cancer risk in short-term night-shift workers but no increase was observed in the long-term night-shift workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the scope of this study, the effect of employer brand perception on organizational commitment was investigated. Data was gathered via survey technique. In order to measure employer brand perception, "Employer Brand Perception Scale" with two dimensions and 12 statements developed by Terlemez (2012) was used. To measure organizational commitment, "Organizational Commitment Scale" with three dimensions and 18 statements developed by Allen and Meyer (1990) was used. Research was conducted on 453 flight attendants working at a private airline company. As the result of hypothesis tests, all hypotheses were accepted. In this regard, it was determined that employer brand perception has positive and significant effect on organizational commitment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our focus was on volatile organic compounds (VOCs), but we also reported the measurements of other parameters characterizing the aircraft cabin environment reported in the identified papers. One reason why we reported guideline values for other environments than aircraft is the lack of such guideline values for aircraft cabins because, for decades, stakeholders have been unable to agree on such values. Our purpose was not to judge whether the measured conditions regarding air quality in aircraft cabins could be rated as acceptable or not acceptable following recommendations included in the occupational guidelines and aircraft standards. [Extracted from the article]

No data is available about in-flight transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Here, we report an in-flight transmission cluster of COVID-19 and describe the clinical characteristics of these patients. After a flight, laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 was reported in 12 patients. Ten patients were admitted to the designated hospital. Data was collected from 25th January to 28th February 2020. Clinical information was retrospectively collected. All patients were passengers, and none were flight attendants. The median age was 33 years, and 70% were females. None was admitted to intensive care unit, and no patients died up to 28th February. The median incubation period was 3.0 days and time from onset of illness to hospital admission was 2 days. The most common symptom was fever. Two patients were asymptomatic and had normal chest CT scan during hospital stay. On admission, initial RT-PCR was positive in 9 patients, and initial chest CT was positive in half of the patients. The median lung 'total severity score' of chest CT was 6. 'Crazy-paving' pattern, pleural effusion, and ground-glass nodules were seen. There is potential for COVID-19 transmission in aeroplanes, but the symptoms were mild in our patients. Passengers and attendants must be protected during flights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the number of air travelers grows, the need for a clean environment has become important during air travel. This study assessed passenger perceptions of cleanliness in airplanes. Using attributes from prior research, this study was able to extract three cleanliness dimensions and found that the most important cleanliness dimensions were food & flight attendants and lavatory. The importance of cleanliness was greater for females, older, and less experienced passengers. Almost one-third of the respondents reported taking active measures during air travel to prevent themselves from becoming sick. Results offer theoretical and practical contributions to the airline industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On April 22, 1965, Hong Kong's signature airline, Cathay Pacific Airways, launched the multicity tour of an art exhibition— Contemporary Art in Asia —in Singapore. Consisting of about 130 pieces of artwork, the exhibition toured Kuala Lumpur, Bang-kok, Jesselton, Manila, Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Taipei before returning to Hong Kong. The exhibition was mounted as a commercial promotion for Cathay Pacific's flight network in Asia, but it represents an instance of an Asia-wide art exhibition, something that was rare at that time. This paper situates the exhibition in a broad historical context. By examining city networks, Asian art, and representations of air hostesses from the perspective of Hong Kong, I argue that this corporate-sponsored "tour of the Orient" exhibition reveals diverse imaginations of Asia and its modernity beyond the Orient–Occident binaries of the 1960s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scale and scope of experience of sexual harassment at work among male and female flight attendants was examined. Flight attendants are a predominantly female workforce with an occupational heritage of female and male sexualized stereotypes. Data represented perception and prevalence of sexual harassment related to hostile work environment among 8,700 North American (U.S. and Canada) and 1,887 United Kingdom (UK) flight attendants in the Flight Attendant Health Study. Sexual harassment, mostly from passengers, pilots, and coworkers, was reported by 26% of North American flight attendants and 11% of UK flight attendants. Yet, 61% of UK flight attendants experienced unwanted sexual behaviors, pointing to possible underreporting of the sexual harassment problem. Sexually offensive behaviors received variable labeling as sexual harassment depending on gender of the victim and perpetrator profile. Sexual harassment is a potentially underreported workplace problem for flight attendants with underreporting resulting from gender-specific differences in individual perceptions. Understanding these differences is vital to addressing sexual harassment and the concomitant health risks. Traditional client and customer attitudes might lead to rose-colored victims' judgment, especially in the case of customer service jobs involving emotional labor. Our results provide new information to guide future research regarding well-being of this understudied group of service employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Airplane delinquency is known to both professionals and passengers. However, the particularity of the airplane as an enclosed space where one cannot leave when and whenever they wish, the intense phobias associated with this space and the competition between companies operating in the field often prevents the wide publicity of the delinquent incidents that take place inside the plane. This study seeks to record and classify the incidents of delinquency occurring in the international arena by investigating similar incidents and studying relevant cases. The data are derived from interviews of people who have been working for years as flight attendants on airplanes managing similar incidents as well as recording, classifying, and studying incidents as reported by the international media. The results show the occurrence of all kinds of airplane delinquency, such as drunkenness, theft, drug abuse, obscene behavior, domestic violence, etc. occurring among all persons on board (passengers, crew members). Due to the lack of systematic aircraft surveys concerning the incidents of delinquent behavior and ways of managing them, in conjunction with the airline, the type of clientele, the seasonality, etc. it is suggested that targeted research should be carried out involving scientists from the fields of social, legal sciences, administration, and psychology so that there is a complete image of the problem and ways of dealing with it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a survey among flight attendants from a DACH-country-based airline, this study examines the effects and relative importance of social and temporal determinants of emotional exhaustion and turnover intention. Results suggest that scheduling satisfaction is the most influential predictor of both emotional exhaustion and turnover intention, followed by time pressure and surface acting for emotional exhaustion and surface acting and organizational support for turnover intention. From a practical standpoint, these results thus suggest that the most important predictors of emotional exhaustion and turnover intention can be shaped and influenced quite well by management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]