Originally Posted by Sunvox

This has been shown both by ALPA and by the company to be incorrect. The public perception of what a "pilot" is includes the full monty with the hat and they (the public) "feel" better when you wear it.

Try this for an experiment: Go one month wearing a NorthFace fleece and no hat then switch to the regulation jacket and hat and count the number of times passengers engage and or comment positively to you in both cases.

I'm not a rah-rah hat guy, but I am willing to admit that it does make a big difference in public perception, and if the folks writing my paycheck are asking me to wear the uniform and my union is onboard then I have no problem doing as asked. There's no harm in looking professional, and a 3 or 4 man cockpit crew wearing the full uniform together draws significantly more attention and respect than a bunch of guys walking together with NorthFace fleeces.

Maybe just maybe wearing the uniform DOES matter and DOES improve our professional image which certainly can't hurt and doesn't actually cost you anything personally. Why else does ALPA ask us to show up when picketing with the full uniform?