News

Six new airline uniforms

30 Aug 2017 by Craig Bright
Third generation Eva Air uniforms

Eva Air

Taiwan’s Eva Air unveiled its new staff uniform earlier this month on the same day it retired its “Queen of the Skies”, the B747.

This is only the third uniform the airline has rolled out, its previous change having taken place 14 years ago. Perhaps the most notable facet of the new attire is that it was designed by Taiwanese fashion house Shiatzy Chen, which sent teams around to different airports and aboard flights to observe staff and crew at work to understand the requirements of their uniforms.

Eva Air’s new uniforms are set to make their debut this November.

evaair.com

New United uniforms

United Airlines

August also saw the announcement of plans for new uniforms from United Airlines. As with Eva Air, these are being developed in collaboration with a fashion house – well, three in this case. Brooks Brothers, Tracy Reese and Carhartt will all contribute to the new uniform designs, which will undergo a comprehensive series of tests, focus group analysis and consultation before it gets rolled out. Meanwhile Tumi will be responsible for developing luggage for all 24,000 of United’s flight attendants.

The current timeline for the new uniforms to enter use is sometime in 2020, so travellers will have to wait quite some time before they can witness the fruits of these labours.

united.com

Flydubai

Low-cost carrier Flydubai rolled out its first uniform redesign back in July, with adoption scheduled for later this year when the airline acquires its first B737 Max 8 aircraft.

The distinctly casual attire features patterned shirts and zip-up jackets alongside more formal features such as long skirts, blazers and three-quarter coats – all of which were designed by Dubai-based hospitality supplier, A. Ronai LLC.

flydubai.com

Scoot uniform

Scoot

Singapore-based budget airline Scoot underwent something of a rebrand recently following its merger with fellow low-cost carrier, Tigerair. New routes were announced, as was a fresh aircraft livery, along with a revamped staff uniform to match.

New details include subtle mentions to the airline’s brand colours – black buttons with yellow thread, for instance – along with wider changes, notably switching from t-shirts to polos for men. The new uniforms also have more black and less yellow compared to their previous iterations.

flyscoot.com

Hainan Airlines New Uniform in Paris

Hainan Airlines

Arguably the most distinctive and “high-fashion” uniforms on this list – its debut at the 2017 Laurence Xu Haute Couture Show in Paris certainly helps – Hainan Airlines’ new staff attire showcases the carrier’s Chinese origins. Designed by Xu, the clothing range features cheongsam dresses and Mandarin collars, though with distinct Western features also, notably a full-length double-breasted pea coat-style overcoat for male staff.

While it’s unclear when exactly these new uniforms will enter use – these will be the airline’s fifth generation of staff attire, its last update being in 2010 – what is known is that they took about two years and more than 1,000 design blueprints and a hundred garment samples to develop, so hopefully the wait won’t be too much longer.

hainanairlines.com

Air Canada new 2017 uniform

Air Canada

Air Canada has announced a swathe of new updates to all manner of facets of its business this year, from a new loyalty programme that’s set to come into effect in 2020, to a brand new airline livery for all aircraft in its fleet.

It was with this latter livery redesign that the carrier’s uniforms also got their update, taking on a red and black colour scheme to match the new look of its aircraft. Featuring accessories developed by Canadian designer Christopher Bates, the uniforms are among the more conventional on this list, offering a smart and quite formal look. Air Canada expects to begin introducing the new uniforms on its flights this year.

aircanada.com

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