Donning my hard hat for this one - cabin crew appearance

Really? What impact does it actually have on you if the airline staff are in polo shirts? Is the plane less safe? Your coffee less warm? Luggage less likely to arrive?

You’re entitled to your opinion but others are entitled to point out the ridiculousness of it.

Well tut. I refuse to be served, in any capacity, if a serving woman is not tarted up like a drag queen. Its not good enough, skivvies! Get a grip, get the slap on and make other people's lives more entertaining. And bring that drink over here now.🍸

That's a load of rubbish! Cabin crew should wear uniforms that are smart and stylish and professional-looking. If their uniform is crap - ie. one of drab pants and sneakers and polo shirts - then that will NOT project a good and professional impression of the airline company. I mean, who the hell wants to be served by crew that look as if they have just come from the gym or the factory???

Anyway, that is my opinion, and I am sticking to it. And I know a lot of people agree with me on this.

I don't know what you mean. You don't seem to have understood my point. I meant that for an airline to change from a beautifully smart, professional uniform - namely the Julien MacDonald one - to one that looks more like the kind of drab, dull gear that a factory or fast food worker might wear is a HUGE downgrade. Wearing a uniform that is comfortable is all very well - but if it ruins the look of the crew, then for me, that is a HUGE minus, I don't care what the casual-uniform-loving lot might say.

Keep cabin crew SMART and PROFESSIONAL. To HELL with drab slacks and sneakers and polo shirts!

Last time I flew with TUI in June, the cabin crew looked good and more importantly were very professional - and they had a job on their hands as when the seatbelt sign went on for turbulence all the bolshy dads suddenly needed to take their toddlers to the loo. They dealt with the situations well.
Some of the men were quite unpleasant & rude to the staff when asked to sit down and put belts on.

I always feel reassured when the crew are relaxed but when they stop chatting and sit in their seats with their seatbelts on and look serious you know it's time to get concerned.

This time it was just quite bouncy for a while & the expected bad turbulence didn't hit, but this was just after the Singapore airlines incident & the crew were being hyper aware.

Btw high heels & turbulence really don't mix.

That's refreshing to hear op. About time!

@PenguinLord fully agree I'd much rather have worked with someone who would either take spare food from a different class, give up crew meal/ sandwich, substitute a meal for pringles or pull the sausages off one bfast and throw in an omelette from another without breaking a sweat or having to ask for help/hold up the service but ultimately for the majority of crew we never face the scenarios we've been trained for and so have an equal footing on that aspect should the worse happen.

It's also true that some old contract crew were less able to resolve issues in economy than newer crew with more recent experience. The crew who repeatedly worked first or business are incredibly slow in economy. I'd imagine if long haul crew were suddenly thrown onto a night PMI/ FAO/ IBZ they'd be equally as slow and struggle especially with a paid for bar service. It's a different skill set.

I'm not denying the value of experience, I think airlines need that calm and authority on flights and i'd imagine even more so on cheap and cheerful sectors for the likes of Ryanair. I also think the deterioration in standards across the board has reduced the value of the role. I loved flying and I hate how it is perceived and what it has become.

I would actively seek to book with an airline that understands the importance of sturdy comfortable pants over appearance.

I’m not in the industry anymore and this is a IMHO anyway but I think the regulatory side of things is still strictly policed and there’s not much change.

Where the lack of experience sometimes showed up, certainly on Longhaul was sometimes in the time taken to maybe get through a meal service or the ability to perform miracles when there had been a catering shortfall. (E.g lack of special meals).

Many of the experienced crew members I worked with often seemed to be able perform wonders when it came to things like service recovery without breaking sweat, the newer crew not surprisingly often found it tougher.

The employees took part in testing them and picked stuff that was comfortable.
I do hope you hop on the plane in your Prada and high heels to show them what stylish look like 😂

Good grief, are you a man from the 1950s, expecting women doing a service job to look perfectly turned out, what the heck does it matter

Agree with you.

Aesthetics even

I agree but I'd rather ashetics were deteriorated than ability to perform in an emergency.

Of course all the above (pre-flight briefings, Q&A etc)., are still required.

I think the bigger issue might well be that as costs have been chased down and fed into T&Cs companies are been willing to accept an increased “churn” of cabin crew which has led to a reduction in experience levels….crews do their best with they have but it’s a bit like nostalgia, it’s not what it used to be…

I guess my long winded post was to say be grateful they know their stuff because if you really need them you won't care what they look like.

But yes I do agree standards are different now to.say 20 years ago.

I'm ex crew, when I was first employed we were weighed at the interview. We had strict guidelines in regards to appearance and had training on how to dress and apply make up etc. We were also tested in regards to things like the height of heel we were allowed to wear (in the cabin and outside of the aircraft cabin/dress shoes), type of nail Polish and even which hand to carry our handbag or crew bag in.

I think the decline of the industry and the introduction of low cost airlines has lead to the decline of standards in regards to appearance (this isn't a reflection of my view which is subjective). Also the equality movement has meant that not fitting the traditional appearance of what cabin crew was has changed.

What I will say is being a member of cabin crew is a lot more than looking pretty and serving drinks. CC are tested prior to each flight to ensure they are able to meet the safety and first requirement of their job. Imagine being tested at 2am on the pre flight check (how many, where, if there any signs of use, use by date etc), how to use in detail a piece of equipment (could be anything from a specific fire extinguisher bcf or water to oxycrew to the procedure for an evac on ground to a toilet fire to pilot incapacitation to decompression to.a hijack.... you get the idea) then being tested on any aspect first aid (nose bleeds, heart attacks, stroke, anaphylaxis,broken bones, birth......). Think of the scenarios ditching on the sea (if you manage to survive), life rafts, food equipment to take, landing on the ground in an emergency, fires, terrorism, hijacks . CC are trained for a million possibilities and hope they don't face any.

They then board 100-450ish people who judge them on their appearance. They get them seated, resolve any issues and get them to.their destination.

They may also have been called from home with one to two hours notice.

Not many people meet the requirements to be CC. You require no convictions/ dbs (or whatever it's now known as), a full five history with no gaps that can be proven for an air side pass, height requirements, swimming requirements, healthy, the ability to pass the course and exams plus the other skills and qualifications to work with the public and need to pass a x-factor style recruitment. Then and most of all the ability to smile at complete idiots on top of everything else.

I think the industry has declined unless you want to pay a premium.

Customer service has also declined! There is no way they are using the same standard of interviews as they did years ago. And yes I’ve flown virgin lately, and BA and easy jet. To be fair essyjet was very good! Great crew all round !

Smart, in the correct size, is a reasonable requirement from an airline.

But harking back whistfully to a time when women had to be on their feet in high heeled shoes that had no support (courts are horrendous for giving no support - and not suitable at all unless you’ve got really broad feet) is awful. Terribly for the feet.

So yes, YAB incredibly U.

Saying “donning my hard hat” doesn’t make it less offensive frankly.

Really? You’d work in a factory in a split skirt, heels and a satin/silk scarf tied around your neck?

I take your point. However, there are some really BAD cabin crew uniforms rolled out recently - esp from BA - who look more like the kind factory workers would wear than airline crew. It has to be said.

Maybe they are more concerned with comfort and practicality than being elegant and stylish?

TOTALLY agree with your comments about the drab, dull appearance now of some cabin crew. What the hell is wrong with these airline bosses - ruining the once elegant and stylish look of their female crew by forcing them to wear horrible, unlikeable uniforms?

BA's new uniform is a prime example of just how bad cabin crew uniforms have become. They had a beautiful uniform in the Julien MacDonald, yet they went and changed it for one that looks, tbh, more like the kind of drab gear a car tyre fitter might wear.

The airline I worked for would put you on their ‘fat list’ if you were getting a bit porky. You were then expected to lose the excess. A friend of mine was on it. But this was aeons ago.

@GasPanic..

The rot set in a while back but it’s not been helped by MOL spouting nonsense like this (and then had the cheek more recently to say people had unrealistic expectations of how low fares could go):

”"The problem with aviation is that for 50 years it's been populated by people who think it's this wondrous sexual experience," … "when really it's just a bloody bus with wings."

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/16/ryanair-moan-glamour-air-travel