[starttext]
By Tim Clark
All dressed up: Avianova 'flight attendants' disembark wearing 'official' uniformsA racy new airline advert that features scantily-clad models in bikinis posing as air stewardesses has come in for scathing criticism over its portrayal of women.
The commercial, for Russian budget carrier Avianova, shows a group of 'stewardesses' wearing the airline's uniform - but only briefly.
They quickly remove most of their clothes and begin washing an Avianova aircraft - before seeming to take more of an interest in washing themselves.
The advert has been decried as 'demeaning' and 'distasteful' by the trade union that represents cabin crew in Australia.
Lascivious: The advert shows flight attendants washing aircraftThe Flight Attendants Association of Australia (FAAA) has hit out at the Avianova commercial - and at other recent airline promotions - arguing that they depict their members as sex objects, and reduce them to the status of 'product'.
The union, which has threatened to take up the matter up with the International Transport Federation, says the advert is demeaning to women and may encourage male passengers to leer at flight attendants and behave inappropriately.
"Such suggestive advertising, portraying cabin crew as part of the product they are selling, sends wrong messages and puts cabin crew at risk of sexual harassment and abuse," says FAAA official Jo Ann Davidson.
Sexist? The advert has been criticised for portraying cabin crew as sex objectsThe FAAA advert also singled out another Russian airline, Aeroflot, which recently printed a calendar of nude women in Aeroflot hats, posing inside the airline’s jets.
"It is a sad reflection of the attitude of the airlines’ executives – dare I say more than likely middle-aged males – towards cabin crew, in particular female cabin crew, by portraying them in such a demeaning, distasteful and irrelevant manner," Ms Davidson added.
Controversial: The advert has been decried for portraying cabin crew as 'product'In the two weeks since its launch, the clip has been viewed over 200,000 times on YouTube.
source: dailymail
[endtext]