Report: Flight attendants' pay docked for being 'too fat, ugly'

MOSCOW, Russia (KTRK) -- Russian flight attendants say they've seen their pay cut and their hours reduced based on their appearance.

"On the 15th of August, I didn't fly international flights because they said I am fat, ugly and old," Aeroflot flight attendant Evgenia Magurina told CNN.

Magurina provided an internal memo documenting salary deductions of approximately $2 per flight hour for staff members who do not met Aeroflot appearance standards, including size.

Magurina and a colleague recently lost a discrimination court case against their employer but say they plan to appeal.

"Several hundred (employees) have been affected by this, but most of them have families or old parents or small children so they're trying to hold onto their jobs any way they can," said flight attendant union representative Ilona Borisova.

At a news conference, a representative from Aeroflot's public council encouraged fuller-figured flight attendants to lose weight or find another job. The airline, however, later denounced the man's claims while still standing by its actions.

"Cabin crew of a national flag carrier are the calling card of their country. Their deportment and how they serve passengers creates the first impression of and attitude toward Russia," the airline said.

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