Galley Gossip: Airline uniforms (plus a chance to win free tickets on Olympic Airlines)

by Heather Poole on

Just like Cliff Muskiet, the uniform freak, I have a thing for airline uniforms. I think most flight attendants do. In fact, inside my guestroom closet hangs three different uniform styles from two different airlines. I’ve saved it all – the pants, the skirts, the dresses, the jackets, the vests, the blouses, the wings, and even the blue tie I snapped around my neck and the epaulets I wore on both shoulders with the pleated Bermuda shorts and high heels at Sun Jet International Airlines. Talk about embarrassing. I still own everything except for the silky red and blue scarf I wore thirteen years ago when I first got hired to fly for the airline I currently work for. Oh how I wish I still had that scarf. I wore it off to the side, tied in a knot around my neck. That simple scarf made the conservative navy blue polyester uniform appear sexy and feminine.

“I loved that navy blue coat dress we wore years ago,” said Cady, an ex flight attendant who is also my very best friend.

Personally, I prefer the look of the white starched blouse paired with the navy blue knee length skirt and fitted blazer, even though I always end up wearing the uniform dress. As a commuter, I have to pack what’s easy.

Now my all time favorite airline uniform is worn by the flight attendants of Air France. Though they look great, I’m not quite sure how I would actually feel about serving drinks while wearing the big red bow at 35,000 feet. Delta looks fantastic in navy blue with just a hint of red. However the white bell sleeves, while stylish, seem like they could easily get dirty. That could be a problem for me. I’m a bit of a mess when I get stuck working in the galley, and a dirty uniform is an ugly uniform. Emirates‘ uniform is pretty nice – that is if you look good in Khaki and don’t mind wearing a head scarf. The worst airline uniform has to be First Choice Airways. I mean seriously, pink?

As I began writing this post, I wondered what others thought about all the different airline uniforms, so I posed the question, which airlines have the best uniforms, on twitter.com and here’s what a few people had to say…

  • Flyingphotog: ” I think Virgin Atlantic’s uniforms are awesome. They’ll make you turn your head. Well… at least if you’re a guy they will. US Airways f/a uniforms are super-boring.
  • Paulrobichaux: “I really like Delta’s red-dress uniform. very classy looking.”
  • HeatherMark: “I love Delta’s red wrap dress. The fabric doesn’t look breathable, tho. Those Virgin girls always look fabu, too.
  • Wkali13: “I’m partial to Delta’s uniforms. They always look so professional.”
  • CBI28: “best uniform: Air France-I love that dress with the red bow. Worst-First Choice in Britain, a.k.a. the pink flamingos”
  • Mathew: “Best – Quantas long haul. Worst is Virgin Atlantic & United Airlines
  • Brajit: “AAs uniforms are dowdy. Skybus uniforms were AWFUL! “
  • AKnickerson: “Worst? Don’t know. But best: Korean Air. They are gorgeous! Very chic!”
  • Clipperkid747: “I like Lufthansa uniforms. They do look classy.
  • Tlonyc: “Got to like the laid back look of Southwest, but not as much as Delta. United and US Airways at the bottom.”
  • Stgabriel08: “if you are including foreign airlines, thumbs up to Emirates and Thai Air, thumbs down to Singapore Air”
  • Tyflyguy: “my vote for worst uniform HAS to be Southwest.”
  • FlightattdntJen: “oh God!The old Air Canada green ones: HIDEOUS! Affectionately named by passengers as the “vagina dress” Yay for new ones!”

Okay, for the record, I have never heard of the vagina dress, but now I must see it, so I emailed Jen and asked her to send me a photo. She said she would.

So why all this talk about flight attendant uniforms? Because Olympic Airlines’ flight attendants and pilots are getting new uniforms and you can help choose the final design. You’ve got until June 7th to vote, so click here to go to the website and pick your favorite uniform design. A few voters will even be chosen to win airplane tickets to destinations in Greece and abroad! Warning: the website is not in English. But good luck anyway!

For those of you still with me, I hope you enjoy this youtube video featuring airline uniforms of yesterday and today…

Photo courtesy of (two flight attendants) Dmytrok, (flight attendant in red) Sagado Corazon

Air France jet diverts after being told to stay clear of US airspace

by Scott Carmichael on

If you ever wondered just how serious the US takes its security policies, then read on, because even people on the terrorist watch list that are flying over the US are enough of a threat to force a plane to divert.

An Air France flight from Paris to Mexico had to make an unscheduled stop in Martinique when US air traffic controllers notified the jet that it would not be receiving permission to fly over US airspace.

That’s right – the plane was not en route to the US, just passing over some of it, on its way to Mexico.

On board the plane was Colombian Journalist Hernando Calvo Ospina, who works for Le Monde Diplomatique.

What makes the whole incident even more interesting is that Air France had only sent its passenger manifest to the Mexicans, but now it is clear that Mexico shares this information with the United States.

Hernando Calvo Ospina has written articles about the United States involvement in Latin America, and is currently writing a book about he CIA. The exact reason for him being on the terrorist watch list is unknown, and we’ll probably never know what criteria are used for adding people to it. Air France is considering asking the United States for compensation. Good luck with that.

Update: A commenter left this link to a detailed descrption of what happened, written by the “terrorist” himself.

Spring fever hits early with discounted flights to Europe

by Alison Brick on

Forget the snow, forget the winter. Trade in your down coat for a cardigan, and hot tea for iced tea (in your mind, if nowhere else). It’s time to start thinking about spring.

The springtime sales on European flights have started. American Airlines has a slew of cheapies from the US — including San Francisco-London for $569 (after taxes) and Chicago-Frankfurt for $527 (after taxes). Book your ticket by February 10, and travel outbound by April 2, and inbound by May 2.

American has also extended its companion ticket offer to the UK and the Caribbean for AAdvantage members. Book the qualifying ticket by March 31, then use the 2nd ticket by December 31. It’s not without a little spending, though. The companion flight might be free, but you’ll still have to pay the taxes and fees.

Delta also has discounted Europe flights from either New York City or Atlanta, including JFK-Madrid $454 (after taxes) or Atlanta-Milan $598 (after taxes). Book by February 2, and travel February 2-April 2.

And Travelzoo tips us off to Air France’s New York City-Dublin that’s a mere $328 (after taxes). Travel through April 2.

KLM and Air France launch Bluenity – their very own social network

by Scott Carmichael on

In what I can only describe as a “me too” move, Dutch Airline KLM and Air France have launched their own social networking site.

Bluenity is aimed at bringing travelers on the 2 airlines together, and offers a simple way of tracking where and when your friends are flying.

Bluenity also offers members the ability to share tips with fellow travelers.

KLM and Air France call Bluenity “the first social network launched by an airline”, conveniently ignoring a similar site launched by Lufthansa 2 months ago.

A spokesperson for Bluenity says the airlines expects around 300,000 people to sign up for the site in its first year.

Personally I don’t think a single-airline social networking site will ever take off. People are simply not that loyal to one airline. There are already much more established travel social networking sites out there, that are not tied to just one carrier.

Dopplr is the most famous example of travel social networking done right; they even offer Facebook and Flickr integration. Dopplr also has mobile access, as well as the ability to add flights to your profile using text messages.

Hermès Heir Gets Crotchety on Flight

by Mike Barish on

According to the NY Times, an heir to the Hermès fashion fortune got a little too touchy feely on a recent Air France Flight. It’s an odd episode that involves drinking, crotch grabbing and excessive restraints.

Mathias Guerrand-Hermès sidled up to a young mademoiselle in first class. She was a bit put off by this and woke her husband, who was – not so shockingly – similarly unamused by Mr. Guerrand-Hermès’ advances.

Guerrand-Hermès refused to listen to a flight attendant’s request to return to his seat so she summoned the captain. And here’s where things go from uncomfortable to erotic. When approached by the captain, Guerrand-Hermès decided his best mode of defense was the ol’ crotch grab. Thankfully, the captain was able to withstand this awkward maneuver and Guerrand-Hermès was eventually subdued in his seat. By three (male) flight attendants. And handcuffs. And shackles. And by being tied down.

Guerrand-Hermès claims that he mixed Propofan (a prescription drug similar to aspirin) with “quite a bit of alcohol.” I’m no doctor, but that sounds like a bad idea. But since the label didn’t say, “Side effects include lewd advances on married women and homoerotic attack strikes,” can you really blame him for the mix-up?

One can only hope that this bad publicity doesn’t hurt his career as a socialite and polo player.

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