Donning my hard hat for this one - cabin crew appearance

YABU OP but you know you are already. I agree with comments in decline of quality of uniforms though but the comment about they are primarily safety officials hits home this week. I waved a good friend back to NZ last week on Singapore Airlines only to realise she was on the flight where 31 were injured and 1 man died of a heart attack. She cannot stop saying how amazing the staff were and how although she could see the horror in their eyes they kept calm and helped everybody - 1 Woman air steward kept going despite having an obviously broken arm. They were in the aisles with those heavy heavy trolleys when everyone not in a seatbelt hit the ceiling along with every untethered item and then hit the floor - repeated several times. I wasn’t even there and her descriptions make me shudder. I will keep a seatbelt on at all times (except in the toilet natch) Fuck that for minimum wage but above and beyond professional. She didn’t comment if their uniforms were flattering or not strangely!

Well OP looking forward to seeing your Daily Mail article in a few days.
Honestly if you can't write your own articles why are you a journalist?

I worked for that company up until about 20 years ago. The uniforms were always cheaply made. (Fabric like cheap Primark clothing.) Working in heels as a flight attendant causes physical problems like back and hip issues as well as foot and toe ones. The average flight attendant walks up and down the aisles so much they are literally walking miles.
The next thing you need to think about is the declining behaviour of passengers. Most think that flight attendants are there to look pretty and serve. A “waitress with wings” or a “trolley dolly” if you wish. The truth is that they are primarily safety officers. All skilled with first aid and aviation-specific medical emergency care. Also fire and evacuation officers. And security.

I think if the uniform has changed to flexible, breathable fabrics that work with the body, then that’s great. Obviously heels are ridiculous things to wear on the daily. It would be fab if they could wear sneakers, tbh.

People in general dress like slobs these days so it's not surprising that most of the PP are flaming you, OP.

You can be comfortable AND well-groomed. It's called a professional appearance.

Lol to VPL
Are you serious?!

I think the budget airlines try to copy that 1960’s glamour look but fail because of the quality of the uniforms ect…. They should really just move to a simple, comfortable, practical, durable uniform. The world has moved on from the high heels and pencil skirts.

The old ads are, erm, enlightening.
https://www.vox.com/2015/8/7/9113743/vintage-sexist-airline-ads

They still wear the full uniform, including heels, when strutting through the airport but change to practical flats on the flight.

Not sure I would fancy wearing a thong for my 15 hour shift so VPL all the way for me.

When I was younger, I definitely found people in general looked more glamorous than they do now.

It's actually perception, IMO.

I was so impressed by women with MAKE-UP and HEELS who smelt nice. Every man in a suit looked professional and successful! Those crop tops and denim bootcuts were so cool!

Also...hobbies! Oh, a night out at Wimpy was exciting! The cinema was the height of sophistication! Imagine going on a DATE with a BOY!

I hadn't seen many people or had much life experience. That was why! Now I can apply make-up myself, or wear heels, I've actually gone full circle and gone natural (no criticism of those who choose them).

I don't think I'm judgemental of people now, obviously I do try to be civil and kind not critical. And it's nice to still be excited over things.

But as I'm older I'm more discerning, and notice more. That's just due to more life lived.

Where to even start with this? Oh I can’t be bothered. YABVU

Why do you care? How does it affect the job they are doing? Have you mistaken this decade for the 1950s? I couldn't care less if they were wearing onesies as long as they are doing their job well.

Guess what... they let women fly the damn planes now! Whatever next?!

coulnt give a fig if i see vpl or what they wear -it all looks uncomfortable for what they do all that skirts and high heels is so dated

Eh? The uniform is free so makes no difference how much they earn.

Disagree with this- the uniforms have changed to make working in them better, and not the crew juts to be objects. The service on board has gone to shit though- haven't had decent cabin crew in years. And the snacks suck- if you even get any.....

Here's a look at how make-up and hair training used to be. 16:13 into this video.

3

I flew Easy Jet recently and the cabin crew were well groomed and smart but not overdone with make up.

Yeah they do. British Airways ones can be really quite elderly too. I think it is due to more fairness in the workplace. They definitely used to have height and weight limits but that looks like it is out the window now as some so fat they can barely get up and down the aisles. I would have thought being tall and slim would be needed to manage the aisles easily and reach the overhead cabins. Plus I would expect them to be very physically fit for the health and safety side of it.

Outside of modelling, how someone looks has no bearing on how capable they are at their job. Maybe stop looking at their bums and chests and just watch a movie

I definitely don’t want cabin crew in high heels, what if there was an emergency!?

"Flamed"? No, dear. Just pitied. Sorry you hate women so much.

I used to fly for Emirates and putting luggage in the overhead compartment is not a job for the cabin crew. If they are helping, it’s out of the goodness of their hearts - if they are injured doing it they aren’t covered for medical treatment or sick pay as they are not meant to be lifting passengers’ bags for them.

Cabin crew here (red uniform and all) 😉

For safety reasons we only wear heels in the airport. As soon as you board the plane you have to change into flats. It’s a requirement.

The uniform is not the best quality and looks better on some than others depending on your size / shape.

Yes - there are uniform and grooming standards we have to adhere to and we are supposed to maintain that throughout the flight. Not always possible though as we are often so busy.

The other day on an extremely busy flight when I eventually managed to use the toilet after being in the air a good few hours, I’ll admit I wasn’t looking my best either. This however was after dealing with two medical incidents, a meal service, two drinks services, splitting up a fight between three passengers, bad turbulence and trying to calm and reassure two very nervous fliers who got themselves into a right state and cleaning up after some poor child had vomited everywhere.
I’d had 6 hours sleep whilst away at my destination, I was jet lagged, exhausted, dehydrated and when I landed at Heathrow I didn’t look like I did when I had boarded my flight.

Our role is mostly safety related.
As for VPL I’m sure I have that sometimes but whether I’m looking ultra groomed or whether my hair and makeup needs touching up, please rest assured that myself and my colleagues are trained to save your life in a medical emergency, an emergency landing, decompression or a ditching and we can evacuate you all from that plane bloody sharpish if needs be. As long as my colleagues can grab me a defibrillator, restraint kit or a fire extinguisher and back me up when I need it then I’ll overlook a drab cardigan and still go back to serving gin and tonics with a smile when I’m done.

@Avatartar The clumsy English is usually written by bods in head office. It drives me mad, sometimes I don't think they bother to read it out loud once they've written it. But, we are supposed to read it word by word.
I do agree that some people are awful on the PA though. I always make a point of complimenting colleagues who do sound professional!