Originally Posted by
FliesInSoup
The revenue premium collected is not for the DBJ or hat. It is for the DL package, as mentioned above. I'll suggest it's due to the on-time performance, irop recovery (which the customer just sees as DL's "plan B" when things go bad), free bag, decent check-in experience, bording, in-flight comfort and amenities. We also get more for the origination/destination pairings and frequency of flights. These are the things customers are willing to pay a bit more for. Not the pilot costume. It helps convey the image, and the marketing of the brand, but no one has ever said, "I'll pay more to see that DBJ and hat". Instead, they'll pay more to get from "A to B" in reasonable comfort and the least amount of hassle.
The most likely thing a pilot can wear that will impress a customer is a smile. Everyone's got one and it doesn't cost a thing.
This. Standing at the door and saying goodbye is 1000% more impactful than the specific kind of uniform you wear. As long as it's worn professionally and clean, 90% of the people won't even know it's changed. Of the 10% that do, they'll shrug and say "oh, I liked the other one better but who cares what they are wearing."