Uniforms
 

What is the policy for wearing hats and jackets? I don’t work for a major pax airline but it seems that mainline American is the only wide body airline that looks super generic. I understand the silver Epaulets are an AAL standard but that along with no jacket or hat just seems inferior to the others. Why don’t you wear it?

Oh boy, here we go...

Lol idk man being able to wear the blazer without a hat is a way better look anyways. I think AA is the only of the 3 that doesn’t require the hat with the blazer, which I envy.

I wish we had that problem at DL but unfortunately we’re required to walk around on airport property looking like clowns wearing bucket hats even without the blazer. My favorite are the guys with oversized hats and blazers that haven’t been tailored. We seriously look like f*cking idiots but as long as the paycheck keeps on coming I’ll comply.

I’m guessing lots of people will take the bait, and this goes 5 pages minimum.

some wrong info there.

We’re required blazers from October 1st-May 1st I believe. Unless traveling to tropical locations. WB international is required Blazer at all times.

Hats are optional, thank goodness.

Wearing your hat indoors unless you are an emergency worker is rude and tacky. You want to look like a square you can do that at American as with any other airline. Hat's and your cute little coat in the summer time is authorized.

I don’t frequent American hubs but I have recently. Thanks for answering the question. Required on WB international makes sense. I almost never see the hat, though.

I wear my coat 90% the time just because I get cold easily. The hat once in a while if I feel inclined to, it is great to have the option to wear it or not, thank god it's not a requirement.

😂😂😂😂😂 Golden!

Are uniforms provided, or do we have to buy them ourselves?

First set of uniforms is free. After that, you have to buy them. The company reimburses alternations on the first set as well.

I think it is something like 5 shirts, 2 pairs of pants, a blazer, hat, and over coat. Ties, epaulettes, and wings are available from the Chief Pilots office for free as needed. Many pilots buy uniform pieces from other (not approved) vendors for pants and shirts that are much better quality.

Whenever uniforms change (every 5-7, maybe 10 years or so), we get a new initial set free.

Thank you!

My only nit is the color. They start out faded blue like they’re already a decade old and then get worn from there.

dont we receive annual uniform allowance??

Correct. They updated the color from faded grey to faded blue recently. Both look worn out to start and only get worse from there. I'm also not a fan of the polka dot tie.

Gus Polinski? Ha!

I get tons of pilot uniform ads in my news feed. Coming from military and "non-standard" company uniforms, any recommendation for the upgraded "stain-resistant" shirts?

at mainline no. Eagle? No idea

It goes great with the Airbus carpet! Just like the AA logo goes so great with the Greyhound bus logo LoL

Well I for one am glad we don't have a uniform like DALs... looking like you're about to go down with the Titanic.

Not only no, but unlike DAL and UAL, we don't even get reimbursed for dry cleaning. Maybe we would look a little sharper if more folks were taking their uniform in to the dry cleaners more often than once a year. My buddy at UAL says his dry cleaning reimbursement is even enough to knock it out with service at hotels on layovers.

really??? Even JetBlue guys get 250$/year uniform allowance, even regionals. What?? That can’t be right, are you serious?

you get what you negotiate for. Company and union see uniform uniformity and appearance as low value

I like the Delta look and wish I Were there . You guys / gals always look sharp . It would be nice if they changed to more casual options , though. I Love the military and what it means but I think trying to make all the airline pilots mirror the military is more a thing of the 50's, 60's 70's, 80's and 90's . It's probably time to have airline pilots with more casual look or at least different options . There are way more civilian pilots now at the airlines and I think the public stigma that we are all former B52 or SR 71 drivers has kinda worn off. Just my thoughts .

I have a class date in a couple of months but I need to get some new shoes before then. Been putting it off, but some lady just rolled her window down and gave me a dollar outside the terminal. What are my options at AA? I don't want to run into the uniform police while i'm on probation. To be clear, I'm talking about uniform shoes. I already have some New Balance.

No uniform police here

Unless you wear the hat, then everyone judges you.

We are treated like adults here, nobody will police your uniform. Show up looking professional, don't embarass yourself in front of passengers, and don't make your colleagues look bad. It's an honor system. We don't rat eachother out over stupid uniform details like they do at Delta.

Wear whatever you want as long as they're black. Now if you actually want to look good, Allen Edmonds Park Avenue.

Well, military pilots wear a way way more casual uniform than airline pilots so I'm not sure what you mean by that. I wore a flight suite 99% of the time. Would go years without wearing dress blues, or mess dress. I wore my leather Jacket maybe twice a year, wore a much more comfortable and casual green flight jacket. I was Air Force, maybe other branches wear their other uniforms more...but I doubt it.

Bostonian makes a nice light-weight shoe. My pair has held up for several years, still shines well when I refresh them.

I have been rocking these rockports for years i get about 10 months out of a set, but im a lazy walker and drag my feel when im tired. that being said before these i loved my bostonians.

might try some amberjacks now that i have 4 stripes and can justify more money on things.

I'm lazy as well when it comes to shoes. I bought a pair of slip on dress boots from johnston and murphy. (currently half off) Never buying laced dress shoes for work again.

Better options for the slacks/jacket?
 

Are there any better options for the slacks and jacket than the trash from M&H? I have ordered from a couple of others (ACA, etc...) and have not found any that match the M&H coloring. Hell, I would be willing to fly somewhere to get them custom-made given the option...

Have you tried the tropical? I switched to Tropical pants and blazer last year. It's fine.

Yeah, the tropical fabric is light years ahead of the sharkskin. Much better offering. Holds the color better too, IMO.

Yeah, I have one of each tropical/sharkskin. Even after being tailored, the fit is horrible.

Not satisfied with the ACA pants? Or are you mixing & matching the ACA ‘charcoal navy’ pant with the M&H blazer and the color/texture doesn’t really jive?

M&H is trash for sure. Regional gave me a set, years ago. Awful. Straight to goodwill, thankfully the blazer wasn’t required so I just got a good pair of black slacks. Next company blazer was required, and of course M&H was the outfitter. I should have gone for the tropical, but they *insisted* the sharkskin was better and wouldn’t wear. Should have just trusted my gut. Sharkskin was rough, thick, heavy. The tag said 3 or 4 percent spandex, idk where they hid it. Had them altered, she did her best but they were still horrible and had no stretch in the actual pant material. And were heavy and hot. The “Cody slim flat front” couldn’t be further from a “slim fit.”

Definitely going with tropical this time around. I was hoping to shop around other options especially for the non-blazer months. But as always, come up with few if any options. ACA reviews on that Falcon poly pant are super mixed in general, and the company seems to be trying their best to degrade quality year over year. Jetseam is supposed to have nice pants, but the AA color is TBD (and they don’t make blazers).

Jetseam…….

^^^THIS

Color match with the M&H blazer is 95% (no issues whatsoever). Super comfortable and lightweight pants! Must buy for sure. They'll even hem it for you if you know the length.