When we consider the high-flying world of aviation management, we know that air-hostess training and air-hostess dressing etiquette are paramount when we have to assess grooming and presentation for such personnel. How to maintain a polished appearance for air hostesses? Whole careers do depend on it!
Grooming and presentation in the context of air-hostess training and air-hostess dressing etiquette are parts that make the most vital impact. Flight attendants or air hostesses are not merely looking for your comfort. They are the living image of the airline you are flying with. The industry understands this, and so there’s this stress on personal presentation.
The air hostess would be between 163 and 183 cm in height. We can picture her, not too much over 18, quite able to lug a 28 kg emergency exit door from its moorings and throw it out a fuselage, exiting through an emergency slide then swimming 50m in a wet uniform. Also, this same sporty person is a warm and friendly people’s person.
If we were to take the example of Qantas, hair for female crew has to be either tied back in a ponytail or a bun. Loose and low buns are the airline’s preference. Above shoulders, a bob for shorter hair is okay.
Hydration is a problem, given that you have cabin humidity in single digits. This could damage the air hostess’s hair and skin. The airline recommends a facial hydrating mask. The crew is to drink plenty of water. Qantas cannot have tattoos visible anywhere when in uniform. Lipstick and lipgloss are discretionary.
Air hostess dressing etiquette, as well as grooming, presentation requirements, and the need to have a polished appearance, impact uniform guidelines. There are some pretty unusual requirements. Besides the crisp, tailored fit that permits the crew to move without hindrance in the cabin, serve meals and drinks, and keep multi-tasking, the uniform has to be made from fire retardant fabric. Do you know, that your polished air hostess, all groomed and presentable and possessing the perfect etiquette, has to undergo fire-fighting training with her attire plus a full face mask?
And as if all this were not botheration enough, the uniform has to be non-absorbent, too. Coffee spills and seawater. Any decent airline’s training program has a section devoted to emergency procedures. There’s a wet drill – a simulated evacuation in life jackets through an escape slide and into a pool, then swimming to an inflated raft climbing up with your arms and legs, and deploying a waterproof canopy, conditions applicable in a water landing emergency.
All this drama in that glorified uniform!
Same as Qantas’ mermaids, Virgin Australia air hostesses must be capable of swimming 50 meters, treading water for 3 minutes, in uniform and without help, and all the while loyal to grooming stipulations.
Middle Eastern and Asian airlines are a lot fussier about hairstyles, color, and makeup. Nail colors are recommended. Jewelry is kept to a minimum.
Emirates stipulates zero artificial hair coloring. Also, air hostesses have to wear nail polish that is clear or the same shade as their hat and lipstick. Emirates sets guidelines for correct skin care products. Flight attendants have to apply a vitamin C mask during bunk rest periods.
Also Read:- The Key to Air Hostess Responsibilities and Professional Excellence
Imagine how much harder it is for the air hostesses with Singapore Airlines. They may neither eat nor drink in uniform! SA’s grooming, presentation, and air hostess etiquette guidelines lay down that flight attendants have to look as good walking through the terminal at the flight’s end as they did on departure many hours before.
Grooming and presentation do hold a salience for air hostesses. An air hostess is the virtual ambassador of her airline. She must be graceful yet disciplined, and ready for all eventualities. No matter what takes place up in the clouds, the air hostess stays unfazed and calm. So calm that she will be in uniform even as she is saving lives on the unforgiving oceans underneath. Air hostess etiquette is a reflection of the goals of the airline – combining the essential with the wished-for. Air hostess training and aviation management do consider these factors. You pass through the interview only if you have a fist of iron in a velvet glove. Determination tempered with finesse – and the air hostess position is yours!