Pilot Uniforms and Public Perception

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ZapBrannigan said:
I really and truly HATE this phrase more than any other phrase i've ever heard a pilot utter. I've heard it my entire career in several variations.

"When they pay me like a professional, i'll dress like a professional."
"When they pay me like a major airline pilot, i'll act like a major airline pilot."

It's like fingernails on a blackboard to me. ARGH!
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That's not what I said though, I can't dress to your standards at my job, I'd ruin all my clothes, and be too cold. If i'm an airline pilot, I don't have to throw boxes etc. and thus can have the luxury of suede and a cool hat. It doesn't mean I go out of my way to dress unprofessionally.
 
Wow. Just wow.

You know, this morning I woke up in a nice hotel, showered and shaved, pressed my uniform (a clean shirt no less) to FlyChicaga-like standards, and went to work.

That was at 11am. It is now 8pm, and I am sitting out a 4 1/2 hour delay for weather. I can't find my gum, my pants are somewhat wrinkled from the lap belt, and I have blood on my collar from the finger I skinned on the main cabin door. I had to jump out the door of my airplane onto the ramp and ride in a dirty tug from the cargo ramp where the airplane is parked back to the terminal. Tonight when we arrive at 2am I will likely sleep on the crew room floor for a few hours until I can catch a flight home. I'll at least hang up my shirt so I don't make a mess of it.

My point is, we'd like to treat this as a white collar job, but the truth is that many of us cannot keep our uniforms in spotless condition for an entire workday. The "image" most have of pilots comes from television and movies, and not from reality. Imagine the pilots of the 1920's and 1930's... do you think they argued about whether the hat was professional or not? I'd venture to say they instead discussed how to stay warm in the dead of winter and how to stay cool in the heat of summer.

The long and the short of it is this: Try your best to present yourself in a professional manner, whether your uniform consists of a hat and double-breasted blazer or a leather jacket and novelty tie. More importantly, ACT like a professional. Anyone can dress like a pilot. Its walking the walk that takes effort.
 
But Matt, part of that just adds to the problem. What you and I may see as a normal amount of effort to keep the uniform looking presentable may be leaps and bounds beyond someone else's. So it's left to individual discretion and that's where the disconnect is. Some people care and some people just don't. If you pressed me, I'm sure I could come up with 1001 excuses for why my shirt is untucked or my pants are a little wrinkled or my shoes are scuffed to hell. The difference is that'd I'd care and some other guy might just be paying lip service. I honestly don't know how you can fight the lip service guy or help fix it.
 
PCL_128 said:
I have two: one is a navy blue tie with white snowflakes, the other is a navy blue tie with christmas lights. I think they're pretty subtle, but still "Christmasy." Do you think something that subtle could be construed as unprofessional?
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The snowflakes, depending on the pattern, might be okay. Christmas lights is over the top for me. Not sure how you could call any tie with Christmas lights "subtle."
 
I want a tie with Christmas lights that actually light up!!! that way people won't run into me on the ramp at night..... yeah... thats a good excuse for me to wear it right??

:sarcasm:
 
ppragman said:
135 Charter and Scheduled service in Alaska, so its apples and oranges I know, but at the end of the day we're all pilots.
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Ok Pat, so you're a bush pilot. If your profile pic is the plane you fly, you'd look like a clown wearing a tie and long sleeves. The situation in Alaska is fairly unique, and not "typical". Thus you would normally have some more flexibility in how you turn up for work. However, if you chose to go on to an airline in the more traditional sense, you would be expected to look and act the part. Something like this guy:

A380SIAPilot_gallery__297x400.jpg
 
For Christmas I wear a tie that is an airplane with Santa and some reindeer hanging onto the tail for dear life. Also, I used to hang battery powered Christmas-tree lights in the cockpit during boarding and deplaning.

It's not the tie that makes me professional, it is the 200% more buttons on my double-breasted coat.:sarcasm:
 
Capt. Caucasian said:
For Christmas I wear a tie that is an airplane with Santa and some reindeer hanging onto the tail for dear life. Also, I used to hang battery powered Christmas-tree lights in the cockpit during boarding and deplaning.

It's not the tie that makes me professional, it is the 200% more buttons on my double-breasted coat.:sarcasm:
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I love the button-ness of those coats! So shiny!
 
Nick said:
That Singapore pilot pictured above has NOTHING on Capt. Caucasian and the rest of SJI.

Well except for the super premium plane he probably flies :buck:
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Highly sought after, super duper premium even.

Can't wait to meet that character.
 
That's what some would like to believe...

Super-duper-extra-special-really-we're-better-than-you-uber-premium widebody flying.
 
Capt. Caucasian said:
Also, I used to hang battery powered Christmas-tree lights in the cockpit during boarding and deplaning.
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You might want to be careful about this one. We had a crew violated by an FAA inspector because the battery powered Xmas light they hung in the galley are not STCed for use in aircraft.

Just passing the info on.
 
You've got to be kidding. It isn't connected to the aircraft system, why would it be a problem? I guess you iPod needs to be approved too?
 
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