Originally Posted by
nwa757
For clarification I am not advocating same uniforms so we can all "look the same" to the flying public, I am talking about how one pilot sees another pilot. A pilot is a pilot and we should treat each others as equals. Different uniforms promote the opposite whether you realize it or not.
And neither am I... I do not look upon a pilot any differently no matter what the uniform looks like. Any pilot, regardless of airline, who has jumpseated on one of my flights gets treated exactly how I would like to be treated on their airline: with a ton of respect, professionalism, and a comfy flight.
My point is that, by promoting similar uniforms, paint jobs, procedures, etc. between different airlines is airline management's M.O. in blending everything in - which, translated, includes "lowering the bar" in the long run.
We may all belong to the same brotherhood of airline pilots, but within the brotherhood exist very different agendas. When an airline tries to put pilots on the same level as F/As, mechanics, and gate agents (which they love to do,) that is a huge threat to the airline pilot profession. That is no different than dressing an airline and its regional codeshare partner - which takes outsourced flying from its mainline partner - in the same uniform: the psychological idea behind that being to blend in both groups so that it becomes "more acceptable, we're all one." That's my point, and it's destructive to the profession.