Never Stansted

I don’t really care about tattoos, wouldn’t have one myself, but I find it hard to take delays and cancellations due to staff shortages seriously when you’ve got a recruitment policy that rules out a decent proportion of the population for aesthetic reasons.

Can I help you

There is no issue with crew having tattoos as long as they are covered, there are thousands of crew with tattoos. Personally I think it a cheap publicity stunt by the ever needy Virgin Atlantic PR department!

PAL62V

I don't have them, I don't want them but I don't care if the flight care have tattoos. As long as their job is done properly then what the diff.

To those also suggesting they couldn't care less what clothes FAs wear, I think there needs to be a strict code for one main reason -I need to be able to identify a FA in an emergency and the uniform lends authority to the role.

As far as offence caused, tattoos would have to be treated in the same way a t-shirt or badge would be - other than the "I need to be offended" brigade, does the tattoo meet accepted standards or is it a swastika or have swearing on it, or genitals? Or whatever.

m0hamed

My mistake. It was MF women that were banned from wearing trousers https://amp.theguardian.com/business...-wear-trousers


I agree. The irony is VS whose marketing was based on the objectification of women, specifically recruiting young Blonde women initially, is now promoting itself as a bastion of freedom of expression and choice.

PUCCI GALORE

Thank you for saying exactly what I, for one, was thinking. If they wish to disfigure themselves , that’s their business. I neither wish to see nor be aware of them.

I’d add that what Virgin do is, thank God, no concern of mine. I fly BA not Moshpit Airways.

Can I help you

Thought you would be onside Pucci, I’m the last person to ask about this as I also hate any form of facial hair. 😂

abraxias

Well, first of all thank you for calling me a trashy passenger. Of course you'd never confuse me with crew because there's zero change I'd ever fly in anything remotely smart.

Also, the attitudes towards tattoos on this thread are more 1922 than 2022, but hey *shrugs* I like mine, and if you don't, it's always going to be your problem not mine

mguinness

The times are a-changing, when I was growing up tattoos were the domain of ex-convicts and sailors. Still if someone want's to spend their well earned money on a tattoo that's their business. Even the USMC are updating their tattoo policy with the exception of the face, neck and hands.

CurbedEnthusiasm

Grooming standards change with changes in society. In the 60's, airlines forced stewardesses to wear girdles. In the 80s, it was generally considered inappropriate for women to wear trousers in the workplace. Both would not fly today because society's expectations have changed and companies have to keep up with the times.

Whether you like it or not, tattoos (of which I have none) have gone mainstream in modern culture and are no longer reserved for the lower classes. Tattoo bans made sense when customer expectations on professional image and attire dictated as such, but times have changed, and I'd venture to guess on any given day there are plenty of Upper Class pax with visible tattoos. With companies having to compete more than ever before for talent, relaxing this rule makes sense to me. I hardly think tattoos make or break one's ability to keep pax safe or to provide good service.

I think VS struck a fair middle ground with allowing some but not all tattoos. Who knows, though, maybe in 20 years neck tattoos will be the norm? I've seen stranger things happen in my lifetime.

AnaTravel

I loathe tattoos. Covering beautiful skin with clichéd images seems like mass conformation. Uniformity.

Ultimately, as a passenger, I'm interested in the person beneath the ink being professional when working. This is a dilemma as I have friends with tattoos. Don't we all know someone with at least one? Is it discrimination to enforce covering if all staff follow the same dress code? I think not. It's up to employers to make that decision. Uniforms convey something of what a company represents.

PS: 'ChooseTheDrew Airways' sounded promising - then I read this:

"Being naked in a public place is illegal last time I checked"

RichieMc

Well next time you are confused here's a handy little rule of thumb: people wearing the uniform of the carrier you're flying on and a name tag are cabin crew. Everyone else is not. It's not very well known, but this rule of thumb also works in economy and premium economy.

NickB

There are other useful hints too: the persons doing the safety demonstration can normally be reliably expected to be crew members, as can the persons pushing trolleys and serving drinks or food or taking meal orders from passengers. It can perhaps be a little overwhelming and discombobulating the very first time but one gets used to it very quickly. I am sure that, after Gertjaars will have flown a few flights, he will be able to distinguish crew members (whether sporting tatoos or not) from passengers like a pro.

bwiadca

No offense to these two folks on the picture, but if they served me in premium class it would have the same feeling as being in a dive bar.
As you know, dive bars are known from their Michelin star kitchens and 5 star service.
I would expect them to be on Ryanair flight but not on Virgin.

PUCCI GALORE

Well actually he didn’t, but if you think that this applies to you so be it, but why should you care?

My attitudes are my own and not for discussion here as they have nothing to do with British Airways. So far, Thank God, British Airways do not seem to be accepting such

From the most recent recruitment advice that I could find. “As a guide, areas shown in grey on this diagram will not be covered by our uniform (when wearing a short-sleeved shirt). No tattoos must be visible on the face, hands, neck or arms. Additionally, as all our uniform shirts are white, you will be required to wear an appropriate white undergarment if you have a tattoo on your upper body in the blue area, so that your tattoo is in no way visible through the uniform shirt. Any tattoos in the red area must be covered.

Please note that covering tattoos with plasters, jewellery or watches in the grey areas is not permitted »

choosethedrew

Oh you're right, it's awful down here in purgatory:

• Aisle access on every J seat
• REN amenity kits (you know, like they used to have in BA F)
• Starter, main, dessert and cheese all served separately
• Plated main courses
• LHR Clubhouse

Slumming it doesn't even begin to describe