word choice - How should I address a woman who serves food and drinks to passengers on a plane?


When I want to speak of a woman who serves food and drinks to passengers on a plane, should I use 'air hostess' or 'stewardess'? What's the difference? And when I take a plane, how should I address her?



Answer



In the US at least, both have fallen out of favor in recent years for a couple of reasons: because there are more men working in the field than there used to be, and because of a general trend towards less gender-specific occupation titles. The more widespread term now is flight attendant, for both men and women.


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