No bald heads, frizzy hair, bangs, or crewcuts.
Posted on 11/26/2022 9:34:23 AM PST by libh8er
Air India is facing criticism over new grooming guidelines for its cabin crew that were published in the Indian media.
The strict rules include five pages dedicated to hairstyles alone, while other sections dictate strict guidelines for what staff are allowed to wear in hotels.
What are the new rules?
All cabin crew have been told to regularly dye gray hair, according to a document published by Indian broadcaster NDTV.
It is mandatory for crew with "frizzy hair" to undergo hair smoothing or relaxing treatments.
"Wavy, curly and frizzy hair cannot be left open," the guidelines state, adding: "Bushy, unruly and unbecoming hairstyles are not permitted."
Bangs on the forehead and side bangs are also banned. Hair pieces and wigs can only be worn if there is a "medical reason" and if they receive written permission from the airline.
"Crew with a very big forehead or scanty hairline should style the front hair with a side sweep and must cover the receding hairline," the guidelines instruct.
Men with bald spots or receding hairlines are also instructed to "keep a full bald look."
"Head must be shaved daily for a clean look. Crew cut is not permitted," the handbook reads, according to NDTV. Beards are also banned except for Sikh cabin crew.
Nose piercings are not permitted. Certain types of religious jewelry are also not allowed.
"Wedding choora, religious threads, black threads, beads on wrist, ankles and forearms are not permitted," the guidebook reads.
Cabin crew who are on leave, but traveling with Air India are also barred from wearing short skirts, "hot pants" and torn jeans.
Controversy online
The new guidelines sparked debates online, with some users criticizing the rules as sexist and ageist. Others objected to the curbs on religious jewelry.
News agency ANI, citing unnamed Air India sources, defended the new rules as necessary to compete on the international stage.
"Air India is the only airline in the country which has been serving the world for many decades. Representations and images of the crew are not as per international standards. The new management wants to change the perception of flyers," one of the airline sources was quoted as saying by ANI.
I like some gray on my pilot’s head
Airline pilots are starting to look really young to me.
As a general rule, I do not like it when other people feel they “own” me and can make my personal decisions for me. I’ll groom myself, thank you very much — and if it’s a big deal, I guess I’ll go look for a different job.
But, having said that, my bigger concern is that the world today seems to have no standards, no manners, no etiquette, and no respect for oneself or for others. There is no humility. No sense that “others exist, and perhaps I ought to put them ahead of myself”. Instead, so many people seem to think that they are the star of a Broadway show and the spotlight needs to be on them all the time, because they are perfect.
So, in that light, I think that grooming standards are actually good. I think we need a sweeping movement to get people to turn the clock back to something like the 1940s. Be a grown man. Be a grown woman. Look good. Behave yourself. Have some respect.
Small steps make the world better. It’s so much bigger than grooming, but you have to start somewhere.
What about the segment of the population that’s allergic to hair dye?
When my dad retired from the Navy after 28 years, he taught at a flight school in Leesburg, VA. He did both ground and in-air instruction.
A lot of students gravitated to him because of the gray temples and lack of visible scars. LOL
Like, pull it out? Gonna need an air marshal for all that...
And my brother got bladder cancer from the old formulation of facial hair dye. Since reformulated.
their company, their standards. It is acceptable to me. I wish it happened all over with other standards! Except the Gray hair part!! Being I was fully gray @ 35 years old!!
I totally agree with you re: nurses scrubs. Those look like pajamas and are unbecoming. I want nurses to dress like Nurse Ratched in OFOTCN.
United will take the blue hair 250 pounders in a heartbeat
Look at it from their point of view: You look like someone who is intelligent and pleasant enough to assist them, not neccesarily the hired staff.
On Chinese, Singapore and UAE airlines, they just fire the stewardesses when they turn 30.
No bald heads, frizzy hair, bangs, or crewcuts.
Used to be schoolteachers would lose their jobs when they married. Now, they fire no one.
Before Air India starts in on how old their air crews look, they need to do something about how old the cabins of their aircraft are. We recently flew on AI, and the cabin looked every day of the 13 years old the aircraft was. Trim broken, pieces of the seat falling off, entertainment system nonfunctional, carpets and cushions stained and grimy. Very disappointing.
Air India for most of its existence was a state run enterprise with quality of service as you would expect (think DMV running an airline). From what I read it was privatized recently amid a lot of protests and new management is trying to remake the airline.
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