Flight attendants stand beside a Model 80A from Boeing Air Transport, Inc.

The Model 80 carried passengers in a spacious cabin appointed with leather upholstery, reading lamps, forced-air ventilation, and hot and cold running water. The first version carried 12 people, and it was followed by the larger, 18-passenger Model 80A, which made its first flight, Sept. 12, 1929. Ten Model 80As flew for the Boeing airlines.

Ellen Church, a registered nurse, convinced Boeing managers that women could work as stewards, so nurses serving aboard the Model 80A became aviation’s first female flight attendants. They earned $125 for flying 100 hours a month.