Nelly servant

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Nelly Diener, first stewardess in Europe, in front of the Curtiss AT-32C Condor, CH-170, presumably in Dübendorf

Nelly Diener (born February 5, 1912 - † July 27, 1934 near Wurmlingen ) was the first female flight attendant in Europe for the Swiss airline Swissair .

Life and work

The first flight attendants

The world's first steward on board an aircraft did his duty in 1911 on the airship LZ 10 “Schwaben” for DELAG . On May 1, 1927, a flight attendant from British Imperial Airways started the world's first flight attendant service on the London – Paris route. The job description of flight attendants goes back to the operations manager of Boeing Air Transport (today's United Airlines ), who in 1930 took the view that female flight attendants had a calming effect on passengers, and thus the fear of flying , which was still exotic and at the time Reduce the newly perceived means of transport airplane. On May 15, 1930, the American nurse Ellen Church (1904-1965) was the first stewardess to accompany the passengers of a three-engine Boeing 80 A operated by Boeing Air Transport .

Europe's first female flight attendant

Nelly Diener in the galley of the Curtiss AT-32C Condor (1934)
Nelly Diener with passengers in the cabin of the Curtiss AT-32C Condor (1934)

At the beginning of 1934, Nelly Diener became Europe's first female flight attendant for the Swiss airline Swissair . The magazine Aero-Revue glorified her as a “blonde, curly, long-lashed lady” as the “angel of the air”. She pampered her passengers with food and drinks that she prepared herself. In the early years of Swissair, catering was not included in the flight price; In the pioneering days of commercial aircraft there was no room for a galley in the limited space . On offer were tea, coffee, sandwiches, soup and fruit. Nelly Diener spoke reassuringly to passengers who suffered from fear of flying, and with many she played cards or knitted to distract from the fear of flying, sang songs together or even yodeled. The flight attendants at Swissair initially did their work without a uniform and had to be content with a white apron - contemporary shots outside the aircraft, on the other hand, mostly show Nelly Diener with a flight jacket, trousers and hat. Her job title is stated on a postcard as "Stewardess of the high-speed aircraft" Condor "of Swissair".

Nelly Diener was the first flight attendant in Europe to become known far beyond the country's borders. She was killed after 83 flights in the crash of the 14-seater Curtiss AT-32C Condor ( aircraft registration CH-170) on July 27, 1934 on the Zurich – Berlin route near Wurmlingen, along with nine passengers and two other crew members (see also article: Plane crash on July 27, 1934 near Tuttlingen ).

The Swissair report on the 1934 financial year states about the accident and its causes:

“In the past financial year, our company had its first serious aircraft accident when the Curtiss-Condor crashed on July 27, 1934 near Tuttlingen. According to the report of the official investigation commission, the cause was to be traced back to a hidden fatigue break in the connection tab of the two right front tension wires in the engine installation. All claims from this accident have now been completely settled. We will always keep an honorable memory of the loyal crew, Mr. Armin Mühlematter, pilot, Mr. Hans Daschinger, radio operator, Miss Nelly Diener, stewardess, who lost their lives in the fulfillment of their duty. "

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Pascale Marder: Nelly Diener. Angel of the air. Bilgerverlag, Zurich 2018, ISBN 978-3-03762-076-2 , p. 140 .
  2. ↑ SWR2 verb (May 15, 2008): May 15, 1930: Finally, small bites from women! Ellen Church, the first stewardess in the world, takes off for her first flight , audio file 4:45 min. ( Memento of the original from June 19, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / podster.de
  3. ↑ Benedikt Meyer: In flight. Swiss airlines and their passengers, 1919-2002. Chronos, Zurich 2014, ISBN 978-3-0340-1238-6 , p. 40.
  4. ↑ With the introduction of the Douglas DC-4 in 1947, Swissair was able to offer hot meals during flight operations.
  5. ^ Swissinfo (April 2, 2002): Pioneer of civil aviation. swissinfo.ch, accessed on December 13, 2008.
  6. ↑ swissair-memories.ch: How Swissair came about. ( Memento of the original from November 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 13, 2008. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.swissair-memories.ch
  7. ↑ Nelly.ch , accessed on 13 December of 2008.
  8. ↑ Pascale Marder: Gallery. Retrieved June 26, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Schweizer Radio DRS : The most serious accidents of Swissair. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  10. ^ Swissair, Schweizerische Luftverkehr-Aktiengesellschaft: Report on the IX. Fiscal year from January 1 to December 31, 1934 (PDF; 2.79 MB), accessed on December 21, 2008
personal data
SURNAME Servant, Nelly
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Servant, Nelli; Servant, Nelly Hedwig
BRIEF DESCRIPTION first female flight attendant for Swissair and Europe
DATE OF BIRTH February 5, 1912
DATE OF DEATH July 27, 1934
Place of death at Wurmlingen