Uniforms

Im not saying you should show up looking like a slop. Just because you hang your shirt up at night and wear it again the next day is not being unprofessional. I just picture you guys up at 4 in the morning with a can of starch ironing away just to hop in a van, walk through the terminal (with your blazer on), then sit in a plane for 6 hours behind a closed door. If the shirt looks like I slept in it then I will iron it but for the most part if you just hang it up when you get to the hotel its going to look the same as if you ironed it and rode in the van to the airport. Just my two cents but its not a fashion show and I really don't think people give two shats. You should go through the terminal and ask passengers if they check all the pilots for wrinkles in their shirts. It sounds like some of you may be trying to prove to yourselves that you are professionals.

And I always wear my hat because it does tie the uniform together and I also have uniform shirts and pants that have been tailored to fit correctly. So Im not saying that it is ok to look like a slob, just that ironing every morning is not what makes you a professional.

Wow Chief. . .

I'm not going to reply with the same amount of words.

1) I'm not going to be up at 4am starching a shirt in a hotel room. . .
2) I will place the shirt in the bathroom while I shower to use the steam to help get any wrinkles out.
3) I'm also not telling anyone to iron their shirts EVERY morning before they head off to work
4) I'm also not giving anyone crap about wearing a shirt two, or three days in a row.
5) I will shine my shoes regularly (twice a week) for a couple of reasons. To extend the life of the leather, and to provide the proper image of a professional.
6) I will take time to make sure that I am wearing my uniform in accordance with whatever company established policy there is.

Hell, I wore the same uniform top (BDU) in the Air Force for up to 5 or 6 days straight. Know though, that I did/do change my undershirt regularly (daily). :)
 
How the heck do you fit 4 shirts/pants, clothes for the overnights, etc. into your suitcase on a 4 day? I usually go with 2 shirts/pants, and 2 sets of clothes along with stuff to work out in and I am doing good to fit all of that into my bag.

Well, I try to avoid 4-days. I live in base, so I don't need to get all of my flying in a big chunk like the commuters. I can back two 2-days up to each other and get 24 hours at home between pairings. I've only got one 4-day this month, and I'll probably end up trading that out. But, you'd be amazed how much crap you can fit in a nice Purdy Neat Stuff bag. I don't change the pants every day, either, though. The pants are wool, so they naturally repel odors and stains. It's bad to clean wool very often.
 
If you laundered the shirt correctly, folded it properly and hung it up immediately when you got to the hotel, it generally won't need ironing.

I did 13 straight days on the road this month, anyone guess how many epaulet shirts I took? Four. BUT I did laundry on day six! :) (Six days is four crossings)
 
To each his own. I shower twice a day and wear undershirts, and I would still feel grimy if I wore the same shirt day after day. I'll admit to being a little bit obsessive-compulsive when it comes to cleanliness, though. :)

I hate when people don't wear undershirts and you can see through the dress shirt :whatever:

I have to wear the undershirt though because I would be subject to sterotypes if you saw under my shirt :(
 
Well, I try to avoid 4-days. I live in base, so I don't need to get all of my flying in a big chunk like the commuters. I can back two 2-days up to each other and get 24 hours at home between pairings. I've only got one 4-day this month, and I'll probably end up trading that out. But, you'd be amazed how much crap you can fit in a nice Purdy Neat Stuff bag. I don't change the pants every day, either, though. The pants are wool, so they naturally repel odors and stains. It's bad to clean wool very often.

I wish I had the luxury of doing 2 day trips. :)

All of that stuff that I mentioned above pretty much packs my Purdy Neat to it's max. I could squeeze a few more things in there, but then the bag would be too thick to slide into the RJ's overhead bin.
 
I could squeeze a few more things in there, but then the bag would be too thick to slide into the RJ's overhead bin.

Ahh, I had completely forgotten about that. Yeah, you can't pack as much stuff in to the bag when you've gotta cram the bag into an RJ overhead bin. I definitely pack more now than I did flying the RJ.
 
I like the way you think, Barnstormer! :crazy:

While I love the hat on the guys, I'm glad as a FA, I don't have to wear one. :hiya: All hats mess a girl's hair!

All I'm saying is, if my boyfriend was a pilot, he'd be in trouble everytime I saw him in the uniform.
And about the hair - exactly! :nana2:
 
It's even worse when they use that antiperspirant that turns the shirt yellow under their arms. Just nasty looking.

I saw a pilot in SEA who didnt have an undershirt on. It literally looked like he used a stick of butter as deodorant.
 
I saw a pilot in SEA who didnt have an undershirt on. It literally looked like he used a stick of butter as deodorant.

That just isn't right...

Wow Chief. . .

...
4) I'm also not giving anyone crap about wearing a shirt two, or three days in a row.
5) I will shine my shoes regularly (twice a week) for a couple of reasons. To extend the life of the leather, and to provide the proper image of a professional.
6) I will take time to make sure that I am wearing my uniform in accordance with whatever company established policy there is.

Hell, I wore the same uniform top (BDU) in the Air Force for up to 5 or 6 days straight. Know though, that I did/do change my undershirt regularly (daily). :)

Alright well then we agree.:) I am doing all 4 days right now because of my commute (SAN to CVG) and I always pack two shirts. Usually I just wear one and keep the other as a back up in case I spill my lunch all over my shirt. For the love of all that is holy change the drawers, socks, and undershirt everyday. I ruined my tie the other day when a Qdoba burrito decided to open up at the bottom as I was taking a bite of it and I will have to wear a black tie untill I come back through CVG and crew outifitters is open. Hopefully the fashion police won't be there to reprimand me.

And PCL I agree to each his own, my dad is a bit obsessive he won't wear anything more than once. Jeans, sweaters, anything. Either has to be laundered or dry cleaned. I am more the opposite. DIRTY DIRTY :rawk:
 
These uniform threads are hilarious. You could wrap up all the responses and say, "try to look sharp please."

I find the arguments about leather jackets versus blazers versus hats versus long sleeves versus short sleeves so tiring. You could dress up the worst pilot in the world in a sharply-pressed uniform, and you could also put the best pilot in the world in cutoff jean shorts and a tank top. I wouldn't want either one in the front of my airplane.

The key is looking and acting in a way that ensures the customers will be confident in your abilities when the cockpit door is closed. There can be a happy medium. I go to work each week with four lightly starched uniform shirts and two pairs of uniform pants in my rollaboard. I am "that guy" who is up at 4:00AM ironing my shirt for the day with an early van time. I am also "that guy" who loves my leather jacket, and doesn't even own a hat. I don't need the hat or a blazer to portray myself as a professional. I do that through my interaction with my co-workers and the customers, and in the way I handle my responsibilities in the cockpit.

There is nothing wrong with the hat and blazer. There is nothing wrong with the leather jacket. Just make sure you dress professionally, and take pride in your uniform... But more importantly, act the part.
 
Just for the record, don't think the same thing doesn't happen on the OTHER side of the steel door waaaaay back in the galley! :crazy:

Do tell! And, just a piece of advice...find out how your interphone system works. On the 737NG, if you take it out of the cradle, its hot. We can hear EVERY word you're saying. My personal policy is to ALWAYS listen to the flight interphone. Originally I started doing it for safety reasons...the F/As could just pick it up and start talking.

Now, I listen mostly for entertainment purposes. Enough said! :nana2:
 
You sly devil...That's the way the phones worked on the Saab. Not so on the Q's. However, I can't tell you how many times I've had to call the cockpit to tell them to cancel their PA...wouldn't want them to say something they didn't want the whole plane to hear. That could be quite embarrassing, no?
 
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