In 1930, American Boeing Air Transport (a forerunner of United Airlines)
recruited eight nurses to be employed as flight attendants, and therefore, became
the first airline to employ stewardesses (Franklin, 1980). Nurses were employed
because aeroplanes at this time had unpressurised cabins and flew at relatively
low altitudes. This meant that the flights were frequently bumpy, and along
with the lower levels of oxygen at altitude, resulted in many passengers feeling
unwell and vomiting