Facial Hair In Uniform

cmhumphr

cmhumphr

Well-Known Member
I'm just curious why foreign carriers allow pilots to have facial hair and the U.S. doesn't. Does it have to do with the type of mask? What would you consider acceptable facial hair? I know most US carriers have grooming standards in their FOM.
 
Flying out to Bali-Denpasar Airport on Garuda few months back on the 330 and our CAPT had a full-grown beard. I told my wife, "that doesn't look too professional."
 
gocaps16 said:
Flying out to Bali-Denpasar Airport on Garuda few months back on the 330 and our CAPT had a full-grown beard. I told my wife, "that doesn't look too professional."
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It depends on the culture. I don't think many cultures view it as unprofessional. A full beard in the US would probably be viewed as unprofessional by most, though.
 
ATN_Pilot said:
It depends on the culture. I don't think many cultures view it as unprofessional. A full beard in the US would probably be viewed as unprofessional by most, though.
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I would have to agree with you.
 
I can see maybe a trimmed cleaned beard or a goatee might be okay, but personally, a beard should not be allowed. The Navy has high grooming standards for male and females. If the military has it, I think the airlines should. I have never yet seen this happen when I fly commercially. Do airline pilots go through some sort of personal inspections prior they fly? What if one F/O or Captain decides not to shave because he didn't have the "time" and his 5 o clock shadow stubby hair on his cheeks is noticeable?
 
gocaps16 said:
I can see maybe a trimmed cleaned beard or a goatee might be okay, but personally, a beard should not be allowed. The Navy has high grooming standards for male and females. If the military has it, I think the airlines should. I have never yet seen this happen when I fly commercially. Do airline pilots go through some sort of personal inspections prior they fly? What if one F/O or Captain decides not to shave because he didn't have the "time" and his 5 o clock shadow stubby hair on his cheeks is noticeable?
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ugh... I have a buddy who flies hornets in the Navy and during his last cruise him and a lot of the guys in his squadron all had beards.
 
chrisreedrules said:
ugh... I have a buddy who flies hornets in the Navy and during his last cruise him and a lot of the guys in his squadron all had beards.
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Naval aviators are a different breed. Our sister VFA squadron when I was Atsugi-based was caught drinking alcohol during a no-fly day. BIG Skipper found out and he wasn't too happy. The Maintenance Officer lost his flying privledge from what I heard. They do whatever they want.
 
gocaps16 said:
I can see maybe a trimmed cleaned beard or a goatee might be okay, but personally, a beard should not be allowed. The Navy has high grooming standards for male and females. If the military has it, I think the airlines should. I have never yet seen this happen when I fly commercially. Do airline pilots go through some sort of personal inspections prior they fly? What if one F/O or Captain decides not to shave because he didn't have the "time" and his 5 o clock shadow stubby hair on his cheeks is noticeable?
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I think a nice trimmed goatee/mustache can look very professional and dignified. If you need a comb for it not so much.

And for the love of god no soul patches.
 
chrisreedrules said:
ugh... I have a buddy who flies hornets in the Navy and during his last cruise him and a lot of the guys in his squadron all had beards.
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And they flew with them?

There are lots of places where deployed military folks have relaxed grooming standards that allow facial hair. So far as I know, while those standards may occasionally exist on the boat, it doesn't include in flight.
 
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