I have not been around long enough to comment on the trend of professionalism in this industry,
Perhaps I have.
however I am inclined to believe that you are right--in that it has taken a dive. My guess is it has something to do with hiring 19 year olds into the cockpit and paying them $17,000. I dont know what this has to do with Hats, as per the topic, except that some people dont dress professionally, hats or not.
So how do you get that $17,000 figure up?
The thought posed by Rez wasn't whether or not people are showing up to work looking sloppy and thus unprofessional. It was that the diminishing presence of hats is somehow an insult to our profession, and thats really just, for lack of a better word, dumb.
No not really, read on.....
I understand his sentiment, but my opinion, and apparently that of most participants in this thread, is that he needs to find something more significant to worry about.
Such as? Can you quantify that?
Maybe next, Rez will suggest we wear white leather gloves in the cockpit and we can all show up to work looking like dandies.
Funny, you pay a pilot $350,000/year and he'll wear pink leather gloves and ball gag.
Since the profession has taken a nose dive, why not shuck the hat? What have you got to lose, except perhaps our image.
Actually, it is all about pilots being reactive.
Not proactive. Pay them big bucks and they will wear a Capt. Jack Sparrow hat with eyeliner and a braided goatee... pay them crap wages and they will degenerate into the current form arguing about personal comfort.
Why is it when pilots want more money and picket they all bring their hats? Why is picket day special? As professionals do we fly the jet special one day and not so special the next?
The hat has nothing to do with actually flying the jet professionally. It has never been about that......
It has everything to do with image.
That image is part of our identity. As management treats us like airport workers and not professionals, more and more, we will start to believe it. Why should we be paid more if we are just like everyone else working at the airport. Why should we be paid more if mgmnt and ourselves don't believe it. If the public thinks we look professional and we act and look professional we'll start to believe.... and be it.
Passengers/public still call FAs stewardess. They still ask, what "route" you fly. While the old stereotypes of the profession still exist, they are being eroded to the point where Colgan BUF and MSP Flyover are redefining the profession negatively. Thankfully Sully/Skiles' event......
and the image they projected about the profession has breathed new life into our plight.
Any relationship, including one between the profession and the public is about trust and respect. It doesn't happen over night. If we look like common airport workers and we suffer a couple more Colgan BUFs, we are screwed.
So, it really comes down to .....it not being about how silly you feel....
It comes down to the hat being....
A unique identifier of profession and rank. Call it a brand logo. I don't care for it that much but I know its value and place. It is a tool to use to better our image.
Take that image and mystic away and we are nothing but common airport workers. No one else cares about the Profession. If we don't claim ownership, someone else will and I guarantee you they won't give a damn.
If we really believe that management thinks we are any different than aircraft cleaners, then we need to wake up. We are labor cost to be controlled. The reason why they like baggage carts better is because a baggage cart isn't in a union and doesn't require benefits.