Over the last few years, we’ve seen an increasing number of airlines around the world ditch old-fashioned stereotypes surrounding what flight attendants should look like and what they should wear.
Strict rules around makeup, hair, and hosiery have been rewritten as airlines slowly, and sometimes uncomfortably, adapt to a rapidly changing world – partly in response to passenger perceptions, but often to attract employees who are simply rejecting outdated fashion codes.
And whether you like them or loathe them in the workplace, changing uniform and appearance standards also means that sneakers are finding their way into flight attendant wardrobes.
Going back just six or seven years ago, you’d struggle to find any airlines that permitted their flight attendants to wear sneakers on the job, but some low-cost airlines started to adopt the footwear as a way to position themselves as more down-to-earth and approachable.
It didn’t take long for flight attendants at larger, traditionally full-service airlines to start asking: “What about us? Why can’t we also wear comfortable shoes?”
A relatively early adopter of this trend was Spanish flag carrier Iberia, which started to issue its own branded sneakers to flight attendants several years ago. Since then, the airline has been joined by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Finnair, and SAS Scandinavian Airlines.
It was, perhaps, only a matter of time before the trend started to catch on elsewhere, although it’s perhaps surprising that the relaxed sneaker look would be adopted by one prestigious Five Star airline quite so early on.
That’s, however, exactly what has happened in Japan, where Japan Airlines has just announced that it will roll out a sneaker option for flight attendants across all of its group airlines, along with around 14,000 airport staff.
Until now, Japan Airlines had reserved the sneaker lifestyle for cabin crew at its low-cost long-haul brand Zipair, but as of November 13, the relaxed uniform look has also been extended to flight attendants at its mainline Japan Airlines brand.
Until this month, flight attendants had been made to wear black leather shoes, and while that will still remain an option, crew members can also now wear a pair of plain black sneakers.
The carrier’s decision to relax its uniform standards is built on pragmatism: They know that staffers spend hours on their feet every day, which can take a physical and mental toll.
Making employees more comfortable should encourage them to provide even better service.
Japan Airlines last updated its flight attendant uniform in 2019 in the run-up to the Tokyo Olympic Games, with the carrier opting to introduce a traditional corporate look designed by Japanese designer Yasutoshi Ezumi, who graduated from Central Saint Martins fashion school in London.
