Transgender airline staff make inaugural flight in Thailand
Thailand’s first transgender air stewardesses have taken part in PC Air’s inaugural flight from Bangkok to Surat Thani.
The new airline took on four transgender crew last year when hiring thirty in-flight staff.
PC Air boss Peter Chan told the Daily Telegraph last year: “I think these people can have many careers – not just in the entertainment business – and many of them have a dream to be an air hostess.
“I just made their dream come true. Our society has changed. It’s evolution. I’m a pioneer and I’m sure there will be other organisations following my idea.”
Thailand is considered one of the more tolerant countries towards the wide spectrum of transgenderism.
Transgender women are often referred to as “the third sex”, or as “katoeys”, which is sometimes seen as a pejorative term.
A number of celebrities are transgender, while some schools have installed special “third sex” bathrooms after finding that a large proportion of students want them.
The Telegraph reports that despite differently-coloured name tags, few passengers could tell the transgender stewardesses apart from the other female crew.
Passenger Anut Pruksuwat said: “I still don’t know who is a ‘ladyboy’. I think they’re all very friendly. They provide great service to the passengers.”
