Ryanair Pin-Ups Don't Fly With Feminist Groups

Feminist groups have slammed as sexist a pin-up calendar of stripped-down Ryanair flight attendants the budget airline has published to raise money for charity, reports Der Speigel. The calendar features employees in barely-there bikinis getting up close and personal with airplane parts. The Institute for Women in Spain, where the calendar was shot, is considering legal action. "It's significant only women are used in a sector in which there is a considerable percentage of men," said a spokeswoman.

A consumer group has criticized the campaign for perpetuating stereotypes of flight attendant that workers have battled against. A company representative vowed Ryanair "will continue to defend the right of girls to take their clothes off," according to the Daily Mail. Some 700 women applied to pose for the "Girls of Ryanair" 2009 calendar. At least $180,000 of the proceeds will go to a charity for the homeless in Dublin. (More Ryanair stories.)