FLIGHT ATTENDANTS--Singapore Airlines' iconic Singapore Girl first appeared in 1972 wearing the "sarong kabaya" uniform, inspired by traditional attire found across much of Southeast Asia. (Photo/Singapore Airlines). by Ramy Inocencio in Hong Kong and Frances Cha in Seoul (CNN) -- Images of bikini-clad women in Thailand posing suggestively in an online ad for a local airline inflamed passions -- both positive and negative -- earlier this year.