The initial PC Air crews will have three transsexuals, 17 women, and 10 men in their ranks.
'Our initial quota was set at three transsexuals, but we will consider taking more in the future depending on their qualifications,' a PC Air spokeswoman said.
One thing that does concern me is that according to that same spokeswoman, the trans attendants will wear a special gold-colored "third-sex" name tag to help passengers and immigration authorities know what gender they are dealing with.
That special tag could potentially open them up to discrimination as well..
Peter Chan, the president of PC Air stated recently that the recruitment of trans women in the "Land of Smiles' would continue. His company's recruitment of transwomen was motivated by a belief in equal rights and complaints by Thai transwomen about the employment discrimination they face.
"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," he said.
Over 100 Thai transwomen applied for the jobs including 2007 Miss Tiffany winner Thanyarat "Film" Jiraphatpakorn, who was successful in garnering one of the three flight attendant jobs slotted for transwomen.The airline is not requiring candidates to have gone through genital surgical procedures. PC Air only desires that they meet job criteria that include language skills and good service.
"When it's their dream job or the job they love, they can do it even better," Chan said. "Our society has changed -- it's evolution. I'm a pioneer, and I'm sure there will be (other) organizations following my idea."
We can only hope and pray other air carriers will follow your lead as well Mr. Chan, and may you have much success when your airline does start up its charter flights.
