Iberia has commemorated 80 years since Spain’s first professional female cabin crew members served passengers, recalling a Madrid–Buenos Aires flight operated by a Douglas DC-4 on 15 October 1946. The transatlantic service carried 28 passengers and took approximately 36 hours, with stopovers in Western Sahara, Brazil and Rio de Janeiro. Four women staffed the pioneering flight, marking the start of Iberia’s cabin-crew history. [1][2]
The four flight attendants were Pilar Mascías, Marichín Ruiz, María José Ugarte and Ana Marsans. Iberia’s first male cabin crew member, Fernando Castillo, joined the airline in 1947 after working as a waiter at an upscale Madrid restaurant.
Early duties centred on reassuring passengers and distributing catering. The role now focuses primarily on safety, including checking emergency equipment, managing evacuations, identifying behaviour that could affect safety and responding to medical emergencies.
Iberia currently employs 4,062 cabin crew members. Women account for 2,735, or 67%, while men account for 1,327, or 33%. The route that was once operated approximately every ten days is now served three times daily, generally using Airbus A350 aircraft. The anniversary concerns the introduction of female cabin crew on 15 October 1946; Iberia separately dates its first Madrid–Buenos Aires flight to 22 September that year. [1][2][3]