So in 1930, she approached Steve Simpson at Boeing Air Transport with the novel idea of placing nurses aboard airliners.
A nurse from Iowa, Ellen Church wanted to become an airline pilot but realized that was not possible for a woman in her day. So in 1930, she approached Steve Simpson at Boeing Air Transport with the novel idea of placing nurses aboard airliners. She convinced him that the presence of women nurses would help relieve the traveling public's fear of flying. The addition of female flight attendants fundamentally changed the flying experience—sometimes to the detriment of the female flight attendants themselves—and would continue to shape it for years to come.