Flight attendant uniforms now offer employees more choice and flexibility in their appearance, as airlines continue to step away from the tradition of requiring gender-specific styles. Just last week, Qantas was the latest to relax its standards, getting rid of gender categories, and allowing men to wear makeup and women to go without heels.
“Fashions change and so have our style guidelines over the years,” the national airline for Australia said in a statement, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “Our uniform standards have always been reflective of the times.”
In addition to allowing all of its staff to wear makeup and flat shoes, the carrier also says employees can all have long hair, as long as it’s worn in a bun or ponytail. Diamond earrings are also now allowed, as are watches of any kind, a retraction of former restrictions on size and style, the national outlet reported. Stockings are still required with skirts and dresses and tattoos need to remain covered, but instead of listing the flight attendant uniform options by male or female, they now list them as a “capsule.”
Qantas joins a growing number of airline companies pulling back from the long-rooted tradition of tight rules on flight attendants’ appearances, particularly with gender-based distinctions.
Alaska Airlines announced in March that it had worked with its employees to update its uniform guidelines “to provide more freedom and flexibility in individual and gender expression.” Developing new styles with designer Luly Yang, gender-neutral pieces will be available for all frontline employees, including customer service and lounge staff, in addition to flight crews. The Seattle-based carrier also changed its uniform kits to be labeled by fit, not gender.
“This is so important not only for the well-being of our employees, but also as a company,” an Alaska Airlines JFK lounge concierge, who was only identified as David, said in a release. “It allows us to focus on what we can do for each other and what we do for our guests while being the best employees that we can be.”
“Seeing an organization take steps to recognize your needs and embrace your individuality so openly is incredibly affirming.”
Virgin Atlantic announced its gender identity policy update last September to one that “champions the individuality of Virgin Atlantic’s people by enabling them to wear the clothing that expresses how they identify or present themselves,” allowing them to choose which of the Vivienne Westwood-designed flight attendant uniforms they preferred. British Airways also loosened its policies last fall, reportedly telling its employees to “be bold, be proud, be yourself” in a memo, according to The Guardian.
Back in the U.S., United says that it “updated its customer-facing employee appearance standards, including the employee hair and makeup policy, in September 2021 to provide a singular standard not dependent on gender.”
Also in 2021, JetBlue “rolled out a new uniform policy with a vast range of apparel and hair and makeup preferences for all crew members,” according to a release the following year. Delta now allows its “flight attendants the freedom to select pieces from a multitude of uniform collections, regardless of gender identity, provided they are worn with properly matched garments and accessories,” according to the Wall Street Journal.