Airline Pilot Forums

One of my friends has a lot of tattoo´s on his body, they are all inside the shirt area, has a PPl and wants to get a class 1 medical.
Will it be a problem?
And how about job´s later ?

One of my friends has a lot of tattoo´s on his body, they are all inside the shirt area, has a PPl and wants to get a class 1 medical.
Will it be a problem?
And how about job´s later ?
Well, he has demonstrated a complete lack of judgement but other than that, should not be a problem.

Yep,regarding tattoo´s he has.
regarding flying he is quite the opposite.
thank you mike.

Why is a tattoo a complete lack of judgement?

No reason he will not be able to get the medical. Finding a job, assuming they can't be hidden, most likely will be a differant matter. The fact is, for the general public, meaning airline ticket buying public it is preceived as showing poor judgement.

In the words of B.J. Hunnicut (of MASH fame).."Why would anyone want to put something on body that he wouldn`t want to have framed and put on his wall?"

JAL doesn't allow any visible tattos. If it doesn't fit under a long sleeve shirt you are out of luck.
A couple guys in LAX had them and had to wear long-sleeves year round.
In Japan the only people tattoos are gangsters.(Yakusa)

I think it is safe to safe say that any significant visible tattoes would prevent you from being hired at almost any airline. If you cover it up to get hired, expect to have to cover it up when in public view in uniform forever.

I'm getting a cool one, a P-47 from head on and too the side slightly wrapped around my arm with an FW-190 going down in flames! Can't wait! This answered my question, thanks guys.

I'm getting a cool one, a P-47 from head on and too the side slightly wrapped around my arm with an FW-190 going down in flames! Can't wait! This answered my question, thanks guys.

Yea, how cool will it look in 20 -30 yrs. Besides if you have to turn to a life of crime if your aviation career doesn't play out, you do not want any identifying marks!!!:D

Why do you guys care what someone puts on THEIR body.. sheesh :rolleyes:
Seriously, why all the negativity?

I come from 2 lines of work where tattoo's are pretty common. (Former Marine and Firefighter). I can see tattoo's being bad if they're visible--i.e. neck, full sleeve's etc--but I wonder if one's that are on the shoulder, legs, calf-though reportable--are not neccessarily disqualifying.

I myself have a couple of military related tattoos but you could not tell even if I am wearing a short sleeve shirt (Upper bicep and shoulder)--though I mentioned them in my medical (as required) you really can't tell. I don't foresee those as a problem but those guys that feel the need to put them on the lower arm or neck (!) I don't see those guys having much luck.

BTW, I wonder how many FA's out there have tattoo's on the lower back, buttocks or shoulder? I don't think they need to report them in a medical like pilots do, do they?

If not, I can see the "unfairness" of it since they actually spend more time directly interfacing with the customer.

Too many pilots look like sissy boys. More pilots need tatoos and beards. If we all looked more like Evan Tanner, management wouldn't **** with us.

http://mrsunshinevegas.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/tanner1.jpg

Why is a tattoo a complete lack of judgement?

It's not. It means either you were in the Navy and had too much to drink during liberty, or you have ****** for brains!

Or just wanted to make it easy to identify the body parts

We have a harley riding A300 Capt at Fedex that has the full body suit, excluding the neck up, and wrists down. He wears a long sleeve shirt year round. Most know of it, but they don't show in uniform.:cool:

Awesome website. When I get my P-47 with a Zero going down, I'll try to submit it to the site.
I was also thinking of getting a B-29 with the 73rd's Ball And Speer with my granduncles name and date shot down on the speer. Thanks again for sharing that.
That would be great! Email to tattoosinflight@gmail.com. Thanks!

Airlines are a conservative bunch. Tattoos aren't very welcomed. Now maybe on a sealiner.....

Airlines are a conservative bunch. Tattoos aren't very welcomed. Now maybe on a sealiner.....

Oh I certainly believe you are correct... aviation in general is extremely conservative, and for those who are a bit more on the eccentric side, professionalism is still of primary importance. I know of no airline that allows visible work to be seen... and I know that policy will stay that way for a good many years. And I agree with their policy...

But a lot can be hidden with a uniform, and certainly I think there are people out there in the aviation world that are passionate enough to express their enthusiasm for flying via a tattoo... even if not publically shown. Flying, much like motorcycle riding, sailing, and car racing... attracts people with a particular dedication for their skill/hobby/career. Though pilots in general are much more socially conservative than the others, the passion is still there as evidenced by the life-changing decisions some pilots are willing to make just to fly (lower wages in early career, relocation for flying jobs, long hours, etc)... so committment is surely there in some form, even if not translated to a tattoo.