Anyone who went through US Airways Flight Attendant training in the late 90s/early 2000s (who are now gone) sure gets a shock while non-revving these days. We were the generation of "World Class Carrier of Choice" and "Impressions of Excellence". Appearance was deemed very important and you werent even hired if you couldnt maintain it. Period. We wore that uniform, boring as it is, with pride that we worked for US Airways. We even had supervisors that would not only chase you through the concourse but surprise a crew before a flight for an appearance check. I saw one poor malingerer get written up for wearing the long sleeve shirt without the blazer. Another troublemaker had the audacity to have a black lunch bag attatched to her luggage and was written up. It seemed silly, but you know what? We looked good. US Airways looked good. We carried ourselves with pride and professionalism.
Now we get to see our cheaper "replacements" from the "replacement jets." I swear these airlines must be hiring everyone who applies. I've seen, all Express:
* a pilot wearing a New Jersey Devils hat- in uniform, in the terminal, about to work a flight.
* a flight attendant wearing combat boots with rainbow laces, uniform pants tucked in to them, and a backpack with graffiti on it, plus buttons with sexually explicit jokes on them. In the terminal.
* a flight attendant with a massive light brown purse slung over her shoulder that was mesh with shells on it.
* numerous pilots and FAs in any old coat/jacket but the uniform ones.
* a F/A wearing blue (not navy) pants with an elastic waist (she was a bigger girl.)
* pilots wearing Old Navy Tech Vests over thier uniform shirt
* a F/A wearing sunglasses atop his head and no tie throughout the flight
* several F/As not in uniform at all. Just a white shirt and pants.
* a F/A wearing an America West (I think) tie on a US Express fight
* a pilot wearing wrap around, U2 style sunglasses, clearly to protect his eyes from the brightness of the PHL Jet Rock bar where he was smoking.
* a F/A sitting in a restarant/bar during a weather delay, laughing it up with passengers from her flight who are drinking beer at the same table.
* a hatless pilot rolling himself around on a wheelchair in customer view while he talks/laughs loudly into his cellphone
* a pilot greeting a peer with "Motherf#$%^! Where have you been hiding?" and a playful punch, in passenger view in one of the concourses of the E Terminal in PIT, which if you havent been there, makes Sadaams hiding place look spacious.
It would be really funny if it were another airline, but this is supposedly "US." Even as a former employee, I question what ELSE is being overlooked if you cant shave, dress yourself fully and in the right clothes, and pull your hair into an appropriare hairstyle. I question the managements of these outfits- clearly they dont enfornce simple appearance rules, what else dont they enforce?
Any yes, 2shirkdirk or whatever, we are asking you to look like us. If you are a US Airways Express employee part of your job is to mislead the public into thinking you're a US Airways employee. If you want to look hip go work at Tower Records. :angry:
At least with US Airways employees, you know its your company and your career and how you present tourself affects that. These employees dont care. Today they happen to be Airways, later today they might be Delta Connection, or America West Express, whatever. These flight attendants could care less how thier present US Airways, what on earth does it have to do with them?
