Weird: Recruiting more ladies to reduce weight to save fuel costs

Fuel costs are high, and airlines claim that they are bleeding costs for a long time. So, over a period of time airlines have done a number of cost saving measures - these include reducing the amount of weight allotted to a person (many years back flights to and fro the US allowed 64 kg, which is now down to 20 kg), more and more flights are now charging for other services such as seats on the emergency exits (which have more leg space), and low cost airlines would even start charging for going to the rest room on the flight. So, there is a lot of focus on trying to find new places where money could be saved, but this airline has taken an interesting turn. Carrying more weight on board the flight means that it takes more in fuel charges, and fuel is expensive, so the airline is actually now preferring to hire females rather than male attendants because they tend to be 10-15 kg less in weight (link to article):

An Indian airline has hit on possibly the worthiest excuse yet for hiring slim women as cabin crew -- it saves fuel and therefore money. While some airlines admit to hiring women for their sex appeal, budget carrier GoAir has told The Times of India it will be hiring predominantly female flight attendants in future because they are 15-20 kilos lighter on average than men. The airline estimates each extra kilo on board costs Rs3 ($0.05) per flying hour, and the new policy will save it up to $500,000 annually. A spokesman for the airline denied to CNN that it had implemented a gender-biased recruitment policy. But he confirmed that the airline's male-female cabin crew ratio of 40:60 was among the most male-heavy in the industry in India.

Maybe this is also an opportunity for the most slim people to come forward and claim a preferential right when applying for jobs in airlines. :-)