The Daily Mail, the pinnacle of reputable journalism, ran a story this week about how many Japanese flight attendants are apparently turning to prostitution to make up for wage cuts. Apparently their wages have been cut from £28,000 per year in 2004 to £22,000 per year in 2013.
Their prostitution clients? Pilots, apparently:
Several unnamed flight attendants have been quoted in the Shukan Post claiming that female cabin crew are regularly paid to sleep with the pilots.
According to the women, staff can charge between £300 and £450 for 90 minutes with a client.
So, how does this work in practice? Apparently sometimes the senior flight attendants act as female pimps of sorts:
One stewardess, is quoted as saying: ‘Stewardesses who are willing to do it with a pilot pass their number to a senior stewardess who is effectively a female pimp.
And other times the pilots use hand signals during their pre-flight briefing:
‘There is also a system where the pilots use hand signals to tell the hostesses they are interested, and how much they will pay.
During pre-flight checks, the stewardesses line up before the pilot and co-pilot.
As the briefing proceeds, the pilots allegedly drop signals with their fingers.
According to the stewardess, four digits raised to the nose indicates an offer of 40,000 yen, around £225, for an overnight stay at a hotel.
My main takeaway? If true, and the pilots can afford to drop that much cash for prostitutes with enough frequency for this to be a business, perhaps they’re overpaid. 😉
Whether true or just typical Daily Mail “journalism,” I thought it was interesting enough to share, at least…
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