SkyUp Airways Swap Heels For Trainers.
Image source – SkyUp press release
SkyUp Airlines, one of the youngest low-cost airlines in Europe, but one of the largest in Ukraine, has now decided to replace the old uniform with a much more comfortable alternative from next month. It’s not the first in Europe, but for Ukrainians it is a sign that some of the old traditions are being swept away.
Switch from heels, pencil skirts and tight blouses to baggy jackets and pants and … you guessed it, sneakers!
“Twelve hours on my feet, flying from Kiev to Zanzibar and back. If you wear high heels, you can hardly walk afterwards, ”says flight attendant Daria Solomennaya, 27. “That includes four hours of security checks and cleaning.”
When SkyUp questioned its crews, it turned out that the female employees had had enough of the company uniform. So out with high heels, skirts and tight blouses, in with sneakers, loose orange jackets and pants.
“The work of a flight attendant is not that romantic. It’s hard, ”explains SkyUp Marketing Director Marianna Grigorash. “It was clear to us that our flight attendants did not want to be seen as ‘sexualized and playful’.”
For decades, airlines have used the looks of women to support their business, often at the expense of the comfort and health of their employees.
“The typical image of a stewardess is probably more sexual and associated with femininity like no other,” says gender expert Olena Strelnyk.
Ukraine has changed dramatically in the past few years and Olena Strelnyk believes she has started shedding many of her sexist traditions. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that SkyUp’s Ukrainian competitors are necessarily following suit by changing their uniform policies and putting comfort over style.
Daria Solomennaya points out an interesting and decisive aspect of the aversion to uniforms, for her the problems with heels and pencil skirts are obvious – what if an airplane crashed on the water and a colleague had to hurry to get an exit door above the wing, she points out. She had to climb over seats while the passengers lined up in the aisle. “Imagine how I could do that in a pencil skirt,” she exclaimed.
We think this is a fantastic step in the right direction, not only for the company but also for the brand. SkyUp Airlines has definitely made the right game, maybe one day all airlines will think that way, there are already many. However, there are also many who disagree with the change.
