Wearing the uniform as a freight pilot

[Panel Monkey]

What a funny thread.


I'd dress up like Liza Minelli for a decent paying
PFE gig right now.

 

[flighter]

True Story:

I was stationed in Korea with a n F-16 squadron. One of the pilots on his last flight there decided he would go flying in shorts and t-shirt instead of the flight suit. When he was taxing in, the security police noticed he did not have on standard issue flight suit, so they decided to follow his plane to the hardstand. He got out wearing his harness, helmet and boots along with his jeans, t-shirt. The security police promptly showed him the business end of an m-16 and hauled him away for questioning. When it was all sorted out, the wing commander was not amused. If I remember correctly, he was grounded for 6 mos. The moral, uniforms are important.

 

[Midnight Flyer]

What a funny thread.
I'd dress up like Liza Minelli for a decent paying
PFE gig right now.

Hey monkey, have you tried applying at Capital cargo?

they only hire pfe's and the pay's decent.

www.capitalcargo.com

also, you can xdress if you like...some of the old guy will probably hit on you.

 

[EuroWheenie]

With our lot (DHL/EAT in Brussels) uniforms are, hardly surprising, mandatory too, for the reasons stated above - professionalism and identification. However, we don't carry pax and once the door is closed and all that. We do have the occasional 6-hour flights, quite often to rather hot places. Since I moved over to the left hand side, I have been known to get out of the uniform and into shorts and t-shirt while the ship is being loaded. When I was a mere Flap Operator it was follow the lead so to speak, and we do have (like any other operator) a few grumpy old men who stick to the book in all it's petty details (like wearing a polyester shirt in 35C and 95% humidity).

When the company bought the fleet of 757-200SF, I brought one ship up from Tel-Aviv and one over from Wichita; both flights were done in civvies. Catering out of Wichita was quite good, and we did manage to go non-stop direct to East Midlands in just shy of 8 hours.

Oh, we smoke onboard too - how's that! Usually not in the cockpit, out of deferrence to non-smoking crews who'll occupy the ship when we're done with it, but there is a cosy little area between cockpit and cargodeck that's just made for smoking - even the ashtray is still installed.

 

[PurpleInMEM]

Nothing to do with professionalism...

I hate the uniform, no matter what BS reason people come up with. I have NO customer contact and wearing a short sleeve shirt with a tie looks ridiculous anyway. My professionalism is measured in how the equipment is operated, not how I look doing it.

Some of the 'real' airline pilots will disagree I'm sure, but our days of being compared to maritime officers has long since come to an end.

One valid point might be that particular companies want their employees to look the same. McDonalds, Home Depot, Target all share this philosophy. My beef is what I wear, not why I wear it. We have so many uniform combinations we don't look standardized anyway, so what's the point. A simple pair of work pants, a logoed golf shirt (long or short sleeve), and a functional jacket/coat would easily identify our particular employee group and provide a greater level of comfort and durability. I'm sure it would also be a lot cheaper for all involved. Function should be emphasized over form.

My opinion only, your mileage may vary.

 

[Snakum]

My boss has suggested that I start wearing a uniform on company missions when I'm not required at the actual client rendezvous. He thinks it will look more professional for the bosses to climb out of the back with me bowing and scraping to get their laptop cases out and get them sent on their way.

However, I don't think I'd be comfortable climbing out of a rented Skyhawk with a navy blue suit, hat with scrambled egg braid, and silver stripes on the sleeves.

Minh