RUSSIA (REUTERS) - Flight stewarding might look like a glamorous job but it certainly comes with its challenges. When a few extra pounds resulted in a pay cut an Aeroflot stewardess decided to take her employer to court.

A Russian judge ruled that the Russian airline cannot tell staff what size clothing to wear after the flight attendant complained she had been taken off international routes because she did not fit into the regulation-size uniform.

"Thank God we have solved this issue inside our country. We were ready to go further and of course that would have been a shame for Russia," Aeroflot stewardess Yevgenia Magurina said.

The stewardess said she had been downgraded to lower paying domestic flights because she did not fit in Aeroflot's maximum uniform size of 48. That is a size 12 in the US and the appeal court overturned a previous order by telling Aeroflot to pay Magurina her previous salary plus some US$87 (S$116) in compensation for moral suffering.

"I have worked for 27 years and continue to work. And I'm sure that the size of clothing cannot reflect professional qualities - it contradicts common sense. One should be a professional and looks are secondary," Aeroflot stewardess, Irina Iyerusalimskaya said.

Magurina's victory was only partial though as Aeroflot's actions were not ruled to be discriminatory.

It is a step in the right direction nonetheless for the flight attendant and her colleagues.