It's the Singapore Girl, not Granny
She's young and attractive, and has a million-dollar smile and a figure flattered by a suitably padded kebaya. What if she were 55 years old instead of the 20 to 30 average age of the SIA Girl today? -ST 
THINK Singapore Airlines and the SIA Girl comes to mind - unbidden.
She's young and attractive, and has a million-dollar smile and a figure flattered by a suitably padded kebaya. What if she were 55 years old instead of the 20 to 30 average age of the SIA Girl today?
I asked colleagues and friends and the general response was: So what? If she is pleasant, efficient, coherent and knows her job, age is just a number. But one colleague - a male - added: 'Some eye candy wouldn't hurt.'
For 60 years, the image of the Singapore Girl - despite numerous changes of hairstyle - has stood the test of time. But every now and then, the airline gets flak for insisting the SIA Girl drink at the fountain of eternal youth. It happened recently at a forum on employability.
Keeping the SIA Girl young doesn't square with the push to get older workers employed, does it? And surely it is 'ridiculous'' to suggest that good service can be provided only by the nubile?
These questions were asked by the general manager in Singapore of the American carrier Northwest. It has a non-discriminatory hiring policy when it comes to age.
SIA chairman Stephen Lee didn't bat an eyelid. Re-hiring engineers, technicians and others beyond the age of 62 is very well and good. But flight attendants are a 'special group', he said.
'This has to do with SIA's past consistent effort in branding the airline in a certain way and we think it (provides us with a) competitive edge.'
Truth is, there is nothing to prevent an SIA Girl from flying until she is 50 or 55. SIA's management-union collective agreement binding the 7,000 or so cabin crew does not say they must be grounded at 45, 50 or any other age.
But it does say that when a newbie takes off, he or she will sign a five-year contract, at the end of which the company will pay a gratuity of at least $15,000. Top performers can receive up to five five-year contracts - with gratuity to be paid at the end of every term - or a 25-year cabin crew career. Beyond that, a further three-year extension can be considered by the company on a case-by-case basis. Since the average age of new cabin crew is 22 to 25 for women and 24 to 26 for men, 25 plus the extra three years would take them to their late 40s or early 50s.
If there is discrimination, it is gender, not age, specific. In the past, stewards were hired as full-time employees, not on contracts. So they could work till retirement age, set at 57. A further three-year extension could be offered based on performance.
In August 2004, the rules for stewards were changed to put them on an equal footing with their women colleagues. A 'flying mother' programme was also introduced to allow cabin crew who were grounded when they became pregnant - for safety reasons - to return to flying after they give birth without having to start from scratch.
So is ageism even an issue?
Although SIA Girls can, at least on paper, stay in the air for 25 years or more, few end up doing so. For many, if not all, who walk through that interview door - vying with 50 or 60 others for every one vacancy - it is not a life-long career or an iron rice bowl that they are looking for.
It is a chance to see the world, make some good money and, while they are at it, enjoy the glamour that comes with being a Singapore Girl.
I am not sure many would see themselves, at age 55, gliding up and down those narrow aisles in a tight-fitting kebaya, a smile stuck on their faces even for obnoxious passengers. Hey, it's the Singapore Girl, not the Singapore Grandmother!
Of course, people don't just fly the airline because of the Singapore Girl. There is also the Airbus 380 - the world's biggest passenger jet that is flown by only SIA - the new Boeing 777-300ERs with the widest seats and in-flight entertainment screens as well as the many connections and links the airline offers. And the Singapore Girl is very much part of that package.
Sure, there are older service staff at Robinsons department store and at McDonald's who do a fine job. But people can walk into department stores and fast-food outlets at any time. They pay good money to fly a premium carrier like SIA - and they believe the ads. A flying granny would be pretty disconcerting, to say the least.
At the end of the day, SIA should be left alone to do what it thinks best for its bottom line. If it believes that staying young and current - whether by investing in new aircraft and the latest in-flight entertainment systems, or by hiring a young crew - gives it a competitive edge, so be it.
Women enter the SIA flying business with their eyes open. They know there are many other airlines which will take them on board if they quit their SIA jobs.
It would be more fruitful to discuss what help SIA can give to long-serving employees who want a second career at ground level. Some could be and are already absorbed into the company as in-house trainers and supervisors. But it is likely that these numbers would be limited.
Helping staff make the transition to the next job is something the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has been doing for years for its regulars who retire in their 40s or 50s. Career fairs are held regularly, with participation by public and private sector companies. The SAF also pays for training to equip soldiers with useful skills to make them more marketable when they retire.
If SIA can do the same to help its cabin crew find suitable second careers, it would not be doing too much for the men and women who have made it what it is today.
Long live the Singapore Girl. May she stay forever young.
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