His pants at least fit properly. Better than a couple up there.

ALPA decided to crop out this guy because they felt he didn’t personify the image of a professional pilot; the face they want displayed to the public.

Like it or not, this is a FACT.

If only we had a way to “crop out” the rest of the guys we have that continue to look like slobs on a daily basis and wear whatever “uniform” suits them.

Does the company even offer a uniform hat for those who want to wear one? I have nothing against those who decide not to wear a hat or jacket, but sometimes there is a time and place that calls for wearing a hat and jacket.

Give the guy a break. Nobody here knows what transpired to end up at this picture. I agree he doesn’t look nearly as professional as the other pilots but who knows what was happening. He could have just come out of the bathroom when they called him over for a quick picture. Maybe he was walking down the hallway and they grabbed him. If anything this picture should have never made it onto social media in the first place. Also give the guy some credit at least he’s volunteering.

No “ hot button “ item is too small for you know it all keyboard warriors to blow out of proportion.......

Deleted......

Yeah sure, that could have been possible. But let’s be honest, the fact that our pilot group collectively has a history of looking unprofessional on duty doesn’t help his case. (Backed by many chief pilot and union emails stating such, not solely my personal opinion)

I agree. Looking professional is definitely a small issue here but throwing this guy/volunteer under the bus doesn’t fix anything. Not to arm chair quarterback but if I were in that situation and saw how the others were dressed I would have a either put my blazer on or if I didn’t have it sat that picture out but maybe he didn’t realize this was going to be posted to ALPA’s social media accounts. I also think whoever is running ALPA’s social media should have seen that and either changed it or not posted it to social media in the first place.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That’s the truth. The United FO’s get- up looks disheveled. His pants, and jacket need about $200 bucks worth of alterations. Hint: If you’re wearing a vendor jacket you didn’t bother having tailored, it looks like costume rental crap. The sharpest looking uniforms I’ve seen are personally modified suit jackets.

You can keep your double breasted jacket and MacArthur styled captain hat. He’s got Lafawnduh and a hot mix tape in in his pocket, and that beats profit sharing every day.

When you're representing our pilot group and our airline you should look and act the part of a professional. Period. This is lost on too many who never served. Shine your shoes, press your tailored pants, straighten your tie, button your jacket, shave your face, and comb your hair. This is basic adult 101 stuff. Maybe we need a course to refine the backpack and earbud regional and polo corporate crowd that we pull so many from the ranks of. This is an embarrassment to us and a reflection of our leadership who should be held accountable for this.

Do you serve?

I mean us unwashed civilians. Gross.

Do you even lift, bro?

Don’t quite think this falls in the same category. Also, not really a regional pilot thing either. It’s industry standard.

You mad, bro?

Nobody:






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

At least he didn’t have a North Face jacket on and bright blue pants like some fellow Spirit pilots.

good lord, I’ve seen FAR more backpacks from Major and LCC pilots than regional.

F9 captain here.

Go to both interviews, hopefully you get both offers and can the make a decision. All signs are pointing towards an IPO here so that will be good. I think both airlines are great places to be. We seem to have better chances at upgrades right now, but that can always change.

Think of the two which one will give you the better QOL, driving beats commuting on the long term.

Think we are on the same side here. My point was backpacks really aren’t a “professionalism” issue.

Yes, I did. Spirit pulls most of our ranks from the regional and corporate world which unfortunately lacks some refinement. Sufficient company emails and the aforementioned ALPA Twitter pic serve as my proof. Our FA's and GSA's were subjected to the Disney Institute 3S (or was it 4S?) training and I think it's high time for our pilot group to receive a Professionalism 101 course. Too few here were subjected to a review or promotion board and could use some adulting assistance.

We should be blowing up that Instagram post. We are dues paying alpa pilots and our money is just as green.

If you want an FO to wear a blazer, maybe negotiate a uniform for new hires. You can’t expect a guy to wear something he doesn’t even have...

I have to agree with a lot he says...
Some, not all of our group needs to clean up the “uniform”.

spent several minutes trying to think of something witty to say to you. Failed. So I’ll just say this...

Lack refinement? Too few? Oh, come off it, general.

Feel free to disagree. But ALPA just cropped our guy out of a pic and both the union and the company are filling our inboxes with emails about uniform compliance and dressing the part of an airline pilot. We have no less responsibility than any other crews and we should take a little pride in our profession and our appearance.

This is going to turn into civilian vs military thread now

No, it isn't. It's a discussion about professionalism, personal appearance, and pride in ones self, coworkers, and profession. Have some respect for the position of trust that we're in and for the men and women who came before us. We're in the top 10% of income earners and are entrusted with millions of dollars in equipment and liability. Not to mention the lives that we carry in our hands. Shining shoes and pressing some clothes shouldn't be a major hurdle to cross.

And if you're representing our airline and our pilot group to Congress then you'd damn well better look the part. A blazer is a whopping $120 and if ALPA, or SPA, or the individual can't scrape that together then we need to send someone else instead.

It is very sad how some pilots dress. We have pilots at F9 that I swear slept in their uniform and simply rolled out of bed. People wearing their own tides, sneakers, etc. I often joke that our uniform is a combination of Columbia, north face and a little Patagonia.

Take a little pride in your appearance. It is very simple to do and no need to argue mil vs civilian, but rather professionalism. You are responsible for a multimillion dollar aircraft and hundreds of lives. Take a little pride on what you have accomplished.

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.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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.