United doesn’t pay for uniforms ever. Not new hires and no re-up a 18 mo later. They do however reimburse all dry cleaning

They are if they are actually worn over the shoulders like a school kid. I’ve seen mostly single shoulder which is bad enough but I have seen a spirit pilot with a Jan sport over both shoulders like he was going to kindergarten. It was embarrassing

I agree with you. The worst offenders seem to be very very senior captains from when spirit had 10 airplanes and also the guys from heavy cargo. RJ and corporate types don’t seem to be a big issue overall except when I comes to jackets in the winter.

They pay for new hires' uniforms, and when the company changes the uniform.
You are correct that they don't pay for replacements due to age and wear (which wasn't a problem until the tax change. I used to write that off)
And they do reimburse for cleaning.

I stand corrected on the new hire uni. Thanks

The way we dress is a form of communication. What do you want to say about yourself?

https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/how-to-dress-to-convey-power/

I agree everyone needs to act professional and take the confidence the flying puts in us seriously but some of the most professional, safety conscious pilots I’ve flown with in my career wore a north face or brought a backpack or didn’t wear the company approved pants. Some of the biggest “cowboys” I’ve flown with wore the uniform perfectly. Sure it looks sloppy but the type of jacket the person is wearing doesn’t have any bearing on how much of a professional the pilot is when in the cockpit.


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So very true. How we convey ourselves in public is part of the job too. The job doesn’t stop outside the cockpit door.

New hires wouldn’t look like chit unless they felt it was acceptable to do so. The problem is we have captains and veteran FOs that send the message to new hires that dressing like crap and or out of the approved uniform is ok so it proliferates.

I agree with you, I am a civilian never once went to work without ironed uniform in 11 years.

Back on topic now 😂

Company doesn't provide shoes, underwear, socks, undershirts, etc...should we not wear those if not provided by the company?

The blazer is payroll deducted at like $9 a month. So end this ridiculous "too expensive" or "im not wearing it if its not provided" junk.

You are trying to conflate 2 things...

Someone representing the pilot group needs to have a blazer and look professional when in a government affairs position, thats as simple as that.

On the line, pilots should wear the approved uniform, simple.

Guys don't need to have a blazer on the line, but wear the uniform correctly. Is this so hard? Just admit that this has nothing to do with "company needs to buy it" and more of "Im a slob and dont want to pay $8 a month for a blazer and would rather wear my Columbia fleece". Be honest, this is what it is.

ALPA cropping this guy out of the photo came from OUR MEC because of the blowback from OUR pilots when seeing that photo. This was not a ALPA National thing, this was a large group of our pilots saying "Im tired of being embarrassed by 15% of this pilot group that continues to look like a slob and makes excuses about it."

Winter is coming for the Columbia/North Face pilots. Management is taking notice and crackdowns are coming, and expect the MEC to not get in the way....Winter is coming....good thing you have a Columbia to keep you warm.