Should pilots always wear a full uniform?
 

Just wondering what folks in general think about their uniform and hat. At UAL there is a strong trend towards "who cares" and I was curious to see if it is the same industry wide. Sorry if I missed the option you think I should have included. If you feel I missed an important sentiment I hope you'll post a comment with your feelings, and for the record I think it matters and am slightly saddened when I see UAL crews that look disheveled and unidentifiable as crew which seems to be more and more the case, especially when you're standing next to a Singapore crew or a Lufthansa crew waiting for a bus.

Cheers!

My airline doesn't require hats. Others I know don't require them as well. I think they look more professional but they are a pain to carry around IMO.
Wearing your uniform is definitely important though, try to go give something (like wings) to a kid in the airport without it. You would get weird looks instead of "oh cool, look what the nice pilot gave you!"

Hats or not....don't have a preference. If your company uniform includes the hat, just please avoid this look:

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/wp-...-pilot-hat.jpg

What do you mean by "Full Uniform"?

At Delta we have to wear hats, year round, but we only have to wear our double breasted jackets in the 'winter months' which they define as Nov-Feb....UNLESS...you are going to a destination in the southern hemisphere in the winter months, then you can go in short shirtsleeves.

I used to bid Sao Paulo all winter and didn't wear my jacket for a couple years straight!

The hat, well...that's another issue. After 29 years I've become so used to it I feel naked without it, but I'm sure I could get over that, in time! Besides, it comes in handy when I'm playing my guitar on the street corner...

I'm in the "who cares" crowd. Colgan back in the day had hats and we had to wear them during winter/jacket season. Me wearing that hat didn't make our horrible training department any better, planes more reliable, or operations run any smoother. It was frosting on a turd cake.

I know it's fun to wax poetic about the good ol days and the image of a pilot. Sadly that is gone and not having the hat wasn't the cause

Actually, I believe the hat and uniform IS part of the reason for the degradation of our profession....even if it's only part. I'm relatively young that was raised by an older father and he always told me to "Dress for the job you want, not the one you have." With a uniform job, I take that as to dress sharp.

Yes but only for the Saturday morning parade before we are dismissed.

Did you learn your poll questioning technique from studying the NY. Times? Is there an option in between looking sharp and not making a difference? Looking professional may or may not have anything to do with wearing a hat. That should be your question.

If you're company treats you like you don't matter and are worthless, it doesn't matter how sharp you dress, even if it's for the job you want. That'll eventually wear down even the starchiest shirts to the point of "I don't care anymore." It's been proven that, yes, if you look good and feel good, then you'll do your job better. However, as Juice said, it's not going to make the gate agents more professional, the rampers won't work harder, the passengers won't stop complaining about the price of their ticket and management CERTAINLY won't treat you better because you wear a hat.

I think hats should be optional. With that said, your uniform should always look sharp. Don't look dumpy and don't wear non-uniform jackets, etc.

I think most FO hats look terrible. Those things make us look like sky caps. Personally, I wear my hat when the weather starts becoming an issue. I don't have much hair left on top of my head and don't like large drops of cold rain hitting my scalp when I'm doing the walk-around.

Again, I have to disagree...It is a lot harder for a company to get away with treating you like you don't matter if you believe in yourself. As you pointed out once you get to the point of "I don't care anymore" how do you get to a point of UNITY to demand to be treated better. Management love for you to not "care anymore."