The Australian airline Qantas has released new guidelines concerning grooming and uniform styling. The changes embrace diversity and make wearing the airline’s uniform more comfortable for all employees, no matter their body type or cultural background.
Picture: Qantas/Instagram
Staff can have long hair (which they must wear in a low bun or ponytail), go makeup-free, wear glasses instead of contact lenses (provided they have clear lenses) and swop high heels for comfortable flats.
‘The update modernises the way employees wear their existing uniform in line with employee feedback and evolving customer expectations,’ a rep from Qantas said in a statement.
In the past, the airline banned handlebar moustaches and specified the length of sideburns and the ideal shades of eyeliner. There were also separate guidelines for male and female employees. But now there is one set of rules for everyone.
‘Our uniforms symbolise our iconic brand, and our people proudly wear them. Fashions change, and so have our style guidelines over the years,’ the company said in a statement. ‘We’re proud of our diversity, and bringing our guidelines up to date.’
Qantas is not the only airline to reconsider its employee dress codes. One example is Virgin Atlantic, who, in 2022, introduced gender-neutral uniforms designed by Vivienne Westwood, intended to let employees ‘embrace their individuality and be their true selves at work’, according to a statement from Virgin. Crew members were also permitted to include their pronouns on their name tags.
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