Shaking up a cocktail, tucking passengers into bed and calming nervous flyers: Fascinating vintage photos reveal life in the sky for the first air hostesses of the 1930's

  • The first female flight attendant was Ellen Church, who was a licensed pilot and trained nurse
  • She was hired by United Airlines because it was thought a nurse could help calm nervous fliers
  • Along with other stewardesses she helped to recruit, Church made her inaugural journey in 1930 

By Qin Xie For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

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The first flight attendant in the world was a man by the name of Heinrich Kubis, who worked on board a passenger zeppelin in 1912.

It was before planes were big enough to carry stewards on board and before the first commercial flights went into operation. Initially, Kubis worked on his own on a passenger airship named Schwaben but later, he went on to lead a team of stewards.

Just 18 years later, in 1930, the first female flight attendant, Ellen Church, made her inaugural flight on a Boeing Air Transport flight.

At the time, it was unheard of to have women in the air, let alone working on board a plane.

But Church, who was a licensed pilot and trained nurse, was determined to prove that women could be in the air, too. In fact, she was hired because it was believed that having a nurse on board could calm nervous fliers and she helped to recruit other attendants.

Now, 85 years after the inaugural flight, MailOnline Travel looks at photographs from the first decade of air hostesses.

1930: The 25-year-old registered nurse Ellen Church (pictured) from Iowa welcomes a traveller at the door of a Boeing 80 A. The idea of recruiting female flight attendants, particularly nurses, goes back to the operations manager of Boeing Air Transport who stressed that they would have a calming effect on passengers

1930: The 25-year-old registered nurse Ellen Church (pictured) from Iowa welcomes a traveller at the door of a Boeing 80 A. The idea of recruiting female flight attendants, particularly nurses, goes back to the operations manager of Boeing Air Transport who stressed that they would have a calming effect on passengers

1930: Some of the first stewardesses for United Airlines, known as 'skygirls', standing next to a Boeing tri-motored plane. They were recruited with the help of the first ever air stewardess, Ellen Church. Their inaugural flight on May 15, 1930, was from San Francisco to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and from Cheyenne to Chicago

1930: Some of the first stewardesses for United Airlines, known as 'skygirls', standing next to a Boeing tri-motored plane. They were recruited with the help of the first ever air stewardess, Ellen Church. Their inaugural flight on May 15, 1930, was from San Francisco to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and from Cheyenne to Chicago

1931: An airline stewardess, photographed around 1931, serving drinks on board a flight as the passengers sit back to enjoy the journey

1931: An airline stewardess, photographed around 1931, serving drinks on board a flight as the passengers sit back to enjoy the journey

1934: United Airlines stewardess assists Mayor James Curley (pictured) of Boston. He went on to become the governor of Massachusettes

1934: United Airlines stewardess assists Mayor James Curley (pictured) of Boston. He went on to become the governor of Massachusettes

1934: A Swissair stewardess standing in front of a Curtiss T-32 Condor airliner at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, 1934. The Condor was first European airliner to have a stewardess

1934: A Swissair stewardess standing in front of a Curtiss T-32 Condor airliner at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin, 1934. The Condor was first European airliner to have a stewardess

1934: Paddy Naismith, a pilot and motor racer, is in uniform for her job as airhostess for the British Air Navigation Company on March 24

1934: Paddy Naismith, a pilot and motor racer, is in uniform for her job as airhostess for the British Air Navigation Company on March 24

1935: The interior of an United Airlines Boeing airplane (above). It's one of the earlier commercial planes when the aisles are still extremely narrow and seats only a handful of passengers

1935: The interior of an United Airlines Boeing airplane (above). It's one of the earlier commercial planes when the aisles are still extremely narrow and seats only a handful of passengers

1935: United Airline Stewardess Agnes Hurt sitting outside the entrance of one of their planes wearing the conservative uniform of the time

1935: United Airline Stewardess Agnes Hurt sitting outside the entrance of one of their planes wearing the conservative uniform of the time

1935: An American Airlines stewardess checks on a passenger. They were on board a sleeper plane where the bunk bed came down over the seat below, allowing passengers to fully recline

1935: An American Airlines stewardess checks on a passenger. They were on board a sleeper plane where the bunk bed came down over the seat below, allowing passengers to fully recline

1935: KLM air hostess Miss van Leeuwen pictured around 1935, with Commander Duimelaar, a veteran pilot, at the entrance to a KLM plane

1935: KLM air hostess Miss van Leeuwen pictured around 1935, with Commander Duimelaar, a veteran pilot, at the entrance to a KLM plane

1936: Air hostess Daphne Kearley of Golders Green is serving up cocktails to the crew of the luxury air service from Croydon to Paris, operated by Air Dispatch. The plane was a 160 mph six seater Air Speed Envoy

1936: Air hostess Daphne Kearley of Golders Green is serving up cocktails to the crew of the luxury air service from Croydon to Paris, operated by Air Dispatch. The plane was a 160 mph six seater Air Speed Envoy

1937: A Trans World Airlines (TWA) stewardess poised and ready to tick off the passenger names outside the entrance of a plane (above)

1937: A Trans World Airlines (TWA) stewardess poised and ready to tick off the passenger names outside the entrance of a plane (above)

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