Most of the airlines offer worse contracts than before and a lot of them only offer temporary contracts. As the pay is quite low, mostly very young people apply for this job and the majority quit after 1-5 years. I think that's the situation in Europe now. I don't think that it's an attractive career nowadays.
There is a huge difference between an "old" (before 9/11) and the "new" contract at the major carriers. My good friend at Lufthansa (43, has two kids, flies part-time to the Americas) told me that she wouldn't apply today for sure as the starting salary is around 1100 euro netto. My friends have permanent contract at EasyJet, however the company offers only temporary contracts nowadays. My collague who used to work for Ryanair loved it: he bacame Purser after a year, didn't pay for the training and made more than 2000-2500 euro when he left in 2001. Now: they make around 1200-1400 euro per month, pay for the training and you might be on agency-contract even after 2-3 years without basic salary.
We will only be seeing young people soon.
Weight control should be stricter and grooming standards higher in general. Look was always important in the service industry. It's sad that some people just let themselves go over 30.
Brain: you don't have to be a extremely clever to become a flight attendant, you don't need college or university degree. It's an easy job.
I saw a very shocking thing once in a Shanghai hotel. We bumped into the American Airlines crew. The purser was around 50, tall, good-looking, excellent make-up and grooming: she could be a role model for everyone. On the other hand I couldn't believe my eyes as I saw one of the crew who looked around 70 with white hair and curved back. I felt so sorry for the poor lady as she hardly could walk... Amazing that she was able to perform her duties...