Originally Posted by
gloopy
That AF 340 in YUL (I think) that slid off and was ttoally egulfed in a couple minutes performed as close to the optimistic certification evac as there ever was in aviation. I give 100% of the credit for saving hundreds of lives to those FA's. Everyone got out OK in I think under 2 minutes with the plane engulfed in flames immediately after just like in the movies. Alternate uniforms are fine for a transitional period, but that's still no time for casual a Friday borderline anonymous look for FA's who are too lazy to at least wear wings and ID.
Visual cues like uniforms in those situations are far less useful than someone chanting authoritatively. If I stood up in the airplane and started saying the same things the FAs were saying if I was in civilian clothes, people would listen. The uniforms are more for branding recognition than safety.