The Airline Pilot Hat: What will become of it?

[PBRstreetgang]

The hat is past its prime, it was a holdover from the military days of yore, when pilots still had some vestige of manhood, and at contract time grabbed the goose by the neck and choked the last possible golden egg out. Today's pilot thinks that the hat will buy them some prestige and therefore respect and ultimately increased pay. Face the fact, Form Follows Function. You want more money? Go to negotiations and tell them your demands, and when they say, NO, you tell them, you all will quit tomorrow and kill the airline. They played hardcore with us and you all, just stuck your taters up in the air for penetration.
You guys just don't get it, they(management) have way more to lose than we(pilots) do. The average airline management puke is only just smarter than your average retard and twice as greedy! So if airline pilots get once(twice) baked by them , what does that say for the average pilot?
PBR

 

[PBRstreetgang]

Rez, you're such a hack. The problem with you damned prima donnas is that you're too concerned with all the crap that doesn't mean a thing while losing sight of the real problems in this industry. Our profession isnt going down the tube because I dont wear the same headpiece a tip-collecting skycap wears. Its going down the drain beacuse we have morons like you who believe that not wearing a hat is ruining our profession.

I wanna integrate a codpiece into my uniform, that will impress the flight attendants!
PBR

 

[Whine Lover]

" You guys just don't get it, they(management) have way more to lose than we(pilots) do. "

PBR,

I will buy you one if ever our paths shall cross ( "What'll Ya' Have?... Pabst Blue Ribbon! ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI_mZrLRl0I

You can't believe how many times I tried to get the above simple point across to some of the slack-jawed mouthbreathers that I inhabited crashpads and cockpits with.

They will NEVER learn.

Maybe it's the hats that decrease oxygen flow to the brain?

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL....As the Kids say.

YKMKR

 

[rajflyboy]

Hats help keep our profession looking respectable...along with suit jackets. Kids like to wear them while getting their picture taken in the cockpit. Now if we can only get pilots to spend more than ten bucks on a pair of dress shoes instead of waffle-soled Rockports with extra thick shoe laces!

Hats don't even look good anymore. They serve no actual useful reason to wear.

This is the year 2010. The days of wearing suits all the time and having spit shined shoes are in the past now.

Start paying the big bucks again and make this career respectable again!

 

[UALRATT]

In reality, the "uniform" that they once wore has evolved into a set of scrubs and some comfortable shoes ( sneakers ). Much like the evolving uniform of pilots....leather jackets and no hats.

Almighty, the leather jacket has passed it prime, died with the goggles, leather skull caps and scarves; all relics from the era of open cockpit biplane flying.

Now how about a white shirt with them little teddy bears all over it... Much appreciation though for wearing the cap on such occasions as a cold and rainy prefilght.

 

[Penguin46]

This is the reason

This is obviously true. One can be just as professional with or without tha hat. Unfortunatley we are not flying around, for the most part, other pilots. we are flying the general public around and I believe their view is they want to see the most professional LOOKING crew they can get. These folks don't get a chance to interview you before they place their lives in your hands, their comfort level with you as a crewmamber is by first impressions, usually a quick look when you walk through the gate area to the jetway. So in my opinion we should look the part for a general public that is not familiar with all of the politics going on in our respective airlines/unions.

Good summation "plane" and simple - my hats off to you.

 

[eaglesview]

Hats don't even look good anymore. They serve no actual useful reason to wear.

This is the year 2010. The days of wearing suits all the time and having spit shined shoes are in the past now.

Start paying the big bucks again and make this career respectable again!

Do I read this as, in your opinion we don't even need polished shoes anymore? Maybe I am reading it wrong, I hope so. Yes, our pay for the most part is severely substandard, I am not sure how degrading our look is going to help that. If you have a plan share it, we'd all love to know.

All of us realize we can act professional in a pair of gym shorts and a T shirt. If you walk into the heart surgeon and he looked like that would you be comfortable, I would not. And do not tell me about researching said doctor, the public that we fly around does not have that luxury.

So in the mean time we can all do ourselves a favor by having some pride in the way we look. Shine your stinking shoes, leave the backpack at home for when you are on your kids cub scout trip and iron your shirt. When you are in public where the entire uniform, that may be with or without the hat pending on where you work.

 

[Skank]

The airline hat and uniform are the only dignity an airline pilot has left. Pay,retirement and benefits have been all taken away. Maybe eventually we will all be wearing t-shirts with the airline epaulets and tie painted on them along with flip flops.

Oh, I don't know. When I see a sloppy dude walking through the terminal with a yellowed, rumpled shirt, f'ed-up shoes and hair like prince charming, I don't think the hat and uniform impart any dignity whatsoever.

If you take a little pride in whatever uniform you have, and in whatever you do, it will show. We've all seen people in uniforms from every airline that make the uniform look like a joke. Some of those foreign carrier uniform hats look a lot like U-boat captains hats. You can have 'em.

 

[Green Banana]

It was actually kind of sad to see the cover of AIR LINE PILOT this month. Half the guys in the suit and hat, the other half bald head and faded, streached leather jacket. It makes a difference.

 

[AlbieF15]

It was actually kind of sad to see the cover of AIR LINE PILOT this month. Half the guys in the suit and hat, the other half bald head and faded, streached leather jacket. It makes a difference.

True. But the same magazine said Tim Martins was a firefighter, an F-16 pilot, and an all-round great guy.

You wanna hat? You wear it. I just want pilots who have their $hit together...professionally, personally, and are ready to come to work and do their jobs. If you'd have to live on the road for a week out of single suitcase, you can appreciate having to pack only ONE jacket (ala FedEx, SWA, or Alaska) that you can still wear out to dinner. I wore mine today sightseeing in Paris. Its clean, and when I take it off my shirt underneath is clean and pressed, my tie is straight, and I don't have a t-shirt showing. I've seen plenty of "slobs with hats" in my time going through the terminals, and I don't think the hat added any credibility. Instead, it was just trying to polish a turd. For the sake of those even fatter than me I'll lay off the whole "belly over the belt" thing...but a hat on that doesn't make it look any better either.

Back in 2001 I used to brag I had been hired by three great organizations...FedEx, JetBlue, and the Air National Guard. What was the common thread? Hats were optional at all of them.... (okay...not really--but a joke for my ANG brethren)