Major airline defends 'wage cuts' for overweight hostesses claiming passengers only want to see thin cabin crew

 Despite denying the allegations, a crew member said staff had been measured and in some cases weighed Photo: Standard

A major airline has defended its decision to offer 'overweight' cabin crew lower-paid routes.

Aeroflot, Russia's largest airline, was taken to court by two female crew members who claimed their weight affected what flights they were allowed to work on.

They said bosses moved them from international routes to lower-paid domestic flights.

Despite denying the allegations, a spokesman, who Aeroflot later claimed did not represent them, said passengers expect to see crew members of a particular appearance.

In a press conference on Tuesday, he said: "Aeroflot is a premium airline and part of the reason people pay for tickets is the appearance of its employees.

"92% want to see stewardesses who fit into clothes sizes we are talking about here."

One of the complainants, Evgenia Magurina, claimed the airline photographed, measured and in some instances weighed crew members, according to the Guardian .

She said: "We were all photographed en masse and measured - some were even weighed.

"This was done under the pretext of company rebranding and ordering new uniforms for staff. My life changed in the middle of August."

Nikita Krichevsky, another member of the airlines official team, said the lower salaries should be seen as an incentive to lose weight rather than a punishment.

He accused the women of “trying to blacken the name of the state air company”, adding they should be pleased the company cared about their health.

Krichevsky said if they didn’t like the conditions they should resign.

He went on to reveal details of his personal weight loss journey, saying: "I myself used to weigh 103kg, and now I weigh 80kg.

"I just corrected my eating habits and lost weight. I don’t understand why the request to be a particular size is unrealistic."

The airline’s website lists Krichevsky as a member of its 25-person public council, responsible for "explaining Aeroflot’s positions to a wide audience".

Only five of the 25 council members are women.