Donning my hard hat for this one - cabin crew appearance

[TellerTuesday]

I do realise I'm probably going to get flamed for this but has anyone else noticed a real decline in the appearance of cabin crew members?

Just had a flight with Virgin and the female members honestly looked dreadful. Ill fitting uniforms, red trousers stretched over VPL bottoms, tight white gaping shirts, one had a drab cardigan over the top.

I realise it's a sexist notion but when I was younger they always looked so glamorous strutting through the airport in their heeled court shoes (mainly flat now it appears), immaculate hair and make up.

Also thought the same when I last flew with TUI. The male cabin crew always seem to look well turned out.

Wasn't there a huge row a few years ago about a female employee (not of an airline) being forced to wear high heels? Law might have changed in regard to this. Would be the least of my worries getting on a plane these days, I'd be more concerned about bad behaviour, shouty football fans or a rowdy hen party or some fool kicking off than what the cabin crew are wearing!

They aren't just waitresses. They are also trained to evacuate in the case of an emergency, to give safety briefings etc etc. And cope with medical emergencies/passenger death. There was that recent case where a plane hit bad turbulence and the cabin crew were injured themselves but still had to deal with injured passengers, give first aid and also deal with the fact there was a dead body on board. Its an odd job really.

The last time I flew I was taken ill half way through a long journey, very sick, shivery and dizzy, I fainted too, it was horrible and scary. The cabin crew who looked after me were exceptional, their help and kindness is what I recall, nothing about their appearance

Virgin is a budget airline. I doubt there will be much money to spend on staff uniforms.

I cannot think of any subject on Earth that concerns me less than what cabin crew wear.

I don't like the bun on top of the head style that seems to be part of the Virgin look, and I hate their silly blouses with the weird ruffle across the neck, but I don't think they look any less put together than usual. They do seem to be more diverse in body type - I remember when Flight Attendants had to be a certain weight in relation to height.

A VPL?! God forbid anybody realise that women -shock horror- wear UNDERPANTS!!!

The job is much more about safety than glamour these days. They have to be able to deal with emergency landings, terrorism threats, various emergencies, and to spend ridiculous working hours on their feet walking for miles when they reach airports and staying in, um, "basic" accommodation away from home. If they are allowed to wear flat shoes now then thank fucking goodness for small mercies.

@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!

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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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.....

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.