Air India pilots get a dressing down for not dressing up

A senior Air India (AI) commander has written to airline pilots to 'dress smartly' while expressing his displeasure with the shabby dressing of pilots, which he says has left a poor impression of the airline. Tushar Srivastava reports.

A senior Air India (AI) commander has written to airline pilots to “dress smartly” while expressing his displeasure with the shabby dressing of pilots, which he says has left a poor impression of the airline.

“The respect our colleagues will command depends on the impression which each one of us creates where ever we go. In the better airlines such as Singapore and Emirates, there is a strict code of behaviour and dress. So please dress smartly,” wrote Captain V Kulkarni, chief of flight safety, AI Express in a letter to senior commanders.

On April 19, HT had eported that many AI pilots had been brazenly flouting the operational manual and dress code keeping long hair, ponytails and beards.

“Please remember that we are the face of the airline and our behaviour and appearance is a reflection of the airline,” he said.

“Remember, when outstation on layover, we are there on duty and not on a vacation,” the senior pilot wrote. Kulkarni pointed out that at out stations during layover, pilots would visit hotel restaurants in “inappropriate dress such as rubber slippers, track pants, shabby soiled T-shirts, etc.”

“Also, when there is no flight for a couple of days, they are seen in a disheveled, unshaven state. The respect we get depends on how we behave, our manners and general bearing and appearance.”

“Dress should be appropriate to the occasion i.e. where formals are required formals should be worn, otherwise smart casuals such as jeans or Khakis (not the torn, ripped and extremely discoloured variety), smart T-shirt or half sleeved shirt with shoes are better suited to public places in a hotel such as lounges, bars or restaurants,” he wrote.