Air India Flight Attendants Can Now Wear Western-Style Clothes

Friday, 17th April 2015 at 02:10am

Times are certainly changing and India's largest airliner Air India is going with the flow it seems. After giving its mascot a complete makeover after 68 long years, turning him from a portly Maharaja with mustaches into a "relatively fit" guy in blue jeans and trainers, Air India has also allowed its cabin crew to wear Western-style formal clothing.

The airliner introduced its new uniforms for pilots and other cabin crew this Tuesday and has apparently done away with their well-known red and black saris the female flight attendants were wearing.

A spokesperson for Air India, Shobha Nimbalkar said the following about the new uniforms:

"Apart from the sari �" which is commonly used �" we have now decided to allow western formals for women and contemporary designs for men."

The uniforms were designed by the National Institute of Fashion Technology, which is one of the premier design colleges in India.

Male flight attendants will wear black trousers with a blue pinstripe shirt, a red tie and a black jacket over it. On the other hand, female attendants will have a choice between three different uniforms: a traditional yellow sari with a red border, a yellow kurta with black trousers, or more Western-styled black trousers with a long black jacket.

Regarding what specific uniform will be used when, Nimbalkar said:

"The use of a particular uniform will be based on destinations of travel."

Changing their uniforms is another indication of Air India revamping its image after they have changed the look of their mascot earlier this year. This was the request of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he came to the seat in 2014.

Redesigning their uniforms and giving its cabin crew a more modern look can be seen as the carrier's attempt to appeal to a wider audience and ward off counter both domestic and international competition for the Indian airspace.

By: Pete Lee.