PC Air, New Thai Airline, Seeks To Be The First Airline To Employ The 'Third Sex'

In a first for the global airline industry, a newly-formed Thai airline seeks to employ the "third sex" to promote equal opportunities for transsexuals, according to the Telegraph.

PC Air boss Peter Chan has already recruited six transsexual crew members and will hire more. He told the Agence France Presse that the recruitment was driven by a belief in equal rights.

Chan added to the Telegraph:

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.

Although being transsexual is hardly a must for the position, Chan insists that all job applicants be able to speak the language and be able to provide good service to customers.

Roughly 100 people applied for the first round of jobs, according to the AFP, including the winner of the Miss Tiffany pageant in 2007, Thanyarat "Film" Jiraphatpakorn.

The 23-year old told Thailand's Nation newspaper: "At first I thought they would just take applications but not actually recruit us, as happened at other places before," but she was nevertheless delighted to be hired.

All transsexual flight attendants will have a "third sex" name tag attached to their uniforms to help with immigration, according to the Nation.

Comments

[xmw]

03:07 PM on 01/29/2011

It shouldn 't even be "pc" to do it. people deserve to work no matter what the sexual orientation.

[Syrlinus]

11:23 AM on 01/30/2011

I agree with the above but would like to point out:

Sexual orientation: who are you are attracted to

Gender Identity: the gender you see yourself as (e.g., male or female)

[xmw]

08:58 PM on 02/01/2011

that was clearly a mistake because i do know the difference but the same goes, it shouldn 't even be "pc" to do it. people deserve to work no matter what their "gender identity".

[rougebaisers]

08:38 AM on 01/29/2011

It's about time.

[Jamie Dufour]

07:30 AM on 01/29/2011

commendable...

...but honestly this should be a "non" issue.

All persons should be hired based on qualifications, not by what makes them individual.!!!

[OldHeart]

07:21 AM on 01/29/2011

It's still sexism. Only the "prettiest" will be hired, I'd bet, and no female to male. How is this progressive?

[cole meaney]

08:17 AM on 01/29/2011

Your making assumptions, aren't you? How progressive is that?

[OldHeart]

08:21 AM on 01/29/2011

Well, exactly how many "beauty" shows are there in Thailand that feature female to male transgendered people? Hmmm? Men don't go to look at anything but the male to female, you know.

[proggirl]

09:51 PM on 01/28/2011

I'm so grateful people like you are around to define everyone else.

[ChiTownYankeesFan]

11:17 PM on 01/28/2011

She rights, there is no 3rd sex. Now when you get to church this Sunday you tell that to your 4th sex preacher that it's ok if he marries that 4 legged hermaphrodite.

[dmherb]

08:28 AM on 01/29/2011

In addition to male and female there are actually seventeen different intersexed bodies that can occur as often as 1 in every 66 births.

http://www.isna.org/faq/frequency

[ZeFoussa]

06:09 PM on 01/28/2011

"All transsexual flight attendants will have a "third sex" name tag attached to their uniforms to help with immigration" Really? That just doesn't sound right. So you have to advertise your transgenderedness.

[devinkay]

07:57 PM on 01/28/2011

On the face of it, this seems discriminatory to me, too. But in context it bears up. Peter Chan is hiring "third sex" attendants to promote the idea of opening career paths to those who have been marginalized forever. In that light, this looks like a well-intentioned baby step toward making transgenderism irrelevant.

[mrkurtzhedead]

03:47 AM on 01/29/2011

They will be hassled in immigration in some conservative countries for the gender on their passports. I think what this is an attempt to help them get through immigration.

[610]

07:54 PM on 01/28/2011

You got a laugh from me.

[Brian Gorrell]

12:42 PM on 01/29/2011

:-(

[hackerblaster]

05:53 PM on 01/28/2011

While I find the word 'ladyboy' incredibly offensive it is the way they do it in Thailand. It is one of those things where culture's clash. I don't think there would be very many transsexual women in the US that would react kindly to being called that.

[Brian Gorrell]

12:44 PM on 01/29/2011

The term 'ladyboy' is appalling.
My transexual friends are very offended by it.
It's the same as n*&&er or Fa@#ot to them.
It's cruel.

[hackerblaster]

09:22 AM on 01/30/2011

I totally agree! But it is embedded in their society and won't be going away soon, unfortunately.

[proggirl]

04:54 PM on 01/28/2011

It makes sense that a Thai airline would take this step, since Thailand now has one of the best TS surgical centers in the world.

[eduardo fernandez]

04:42 PM on 01/28/2011

If you see someone near you whose head explodes it was a religious right fundamentalist reading this article !

Anything that gets those people riled up I support !

[hackerblaster]

05:45 PM on 01/28/2011

So you support human rights! Good for you! :-)

[eduardo fernandez]

08:28 AM on 01/29/2011

I most certainly do!

[cole meaney]

09:11 AM on 01/29/2011

#FF & mwah! ^_^

[eduardo fernandez]

10:19 AM on 01/29/2011

Thank you and back at ya !

[eduardo fernandez]

10:30 AM on 01/29/2011

Funniest thing happened I was listening to Sirius 80's while i wrote my first response and this comes on while I was typing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf0oXY4nDxE

LOL

[RAMstein]

04:36 PM on 01/28/2011

.....And here I thought it was frowned upon to carry a concealed gun aboard an airline.

[proggirl]

04:52 PM on 01/28/2011

They've probably had surgery, Oscar Wilde.

[RAMstein]

04:54 PM on 01/28/2011

As far as I understand Thai ladyboys, I think they probably have not had surgery.

[hackerblaster]

05:47 PM on 01/28/2011

You don't conceal your ahem.. 'weapon' . Maybe you have a tiny caliber?

[raisedinaz]

09:18 PM on 01/28/2011

Old hockey expression---

"Cheap shot...AND a beauty"

LOL

[LiberalLee]

04:17 PM on 01/28/2011

Who cares what gender designation they use?
As long as they're competent, and not like the 300 lb sourpuss banging down the aisle on the last flight I was on...
70 years old if a day, and didn't really fit between the rows of seats. Kept banging passengers heads with her elbows, pinching blankets between her bulk and whatever until they got dragged off people, and spilled at least 3 drinnks thsat I could see.
And rude to boot.
Gimme a polite 3rd-sexer ANY DAY rather than The Horror of the Skies again!

[castleblanca]

04:08 PM on 01/28/2011

First, I commend this new Thai airline for hiring transgenders. Chances are they will give better service than other "traditional" flight attendants.

Second, does "PC Air" stand for "politically correct"?

[LiberalLee]

04:14 PM on 01/28/2011

" Perfectly Charming"?

[devinkay]

08:00 PM on 01/28/2011

"Pretty Cool"?

[USCOASTGUARDVET]

03:56 PM on 01/28/2011

Cool. It gives a new meaning to Trans-Atlantic flights.

[devinkay]

08:01 PM on 01/28/2011

Bet Trans-World Airlines is kickin' itself now!

[Ioan Lightoller]

03:49 PM on 01/28/2011

Nice to see a country that doesn't have issues that cause hatred and bigotry. My best wishes and congratulations to the ladies. Smooth skies!