Customers traveling with British Airways will now see their customer service colleagues, including cabin crew, pilots and airport crews, wearing the airline’s iconic new uniform collection around the world.
The airline gave a first look at its new uniform in January, and its ground operational colleagues began wearing their new uniforms in May. The collection has been designed by British-Ghanaian fashion designer and master tailor Ozwald Boateng OBE, with the help of over 1,500 colleagues across the company who were involved in the process from start to finish, including design workshops, feedback on prototypes and user testing.
Combining style with functionality, Boateng’s collection includes 96 individual pieces; the largest variety of clothing the airline has ever offered to its people. The female wardrobe for cabin crew and airport colleagues offers the option of a dress, skirt, pantsuit or, as a plane first, an elegant jumpsuit. An elegant three-piece tailored suit with the option of slim or regular fit trousers is available as part of the men’s wardrobe.
A staggering 850,000 items of uniform have been made for the airline’s more than 30,000 colleagues, with British Airways revealing that the most popular items ordered are the dress and trench coat. When it comes to blouses and shirts, the short sleeve option has proven to be more popular than long sleeve shirts.
Calum Laming, British Airways Chief Customer Officer, said: “We are very excited to begin the final phase of rolling out our new uniform to over 30,000 colleagues. The sleek and modern collection offers our colleagues more options than ever to help them show more of their original personalities at work. “Our people have always been at the forefront of our brand, so this launch celebrates them and the work they do to care for our customers.”
The airline uniform features custom-made fabrics and patterns that are woven throughout the collection. The suits, a key element of the customer-facing uniform, are made from a jacquard fabric that features a subtle nod to the airline’s heritage with a pattern indicative of the airline’s iconic speed brand. Elsewhere, scarves and ties feature a wave design inspired by the air moving over the wing of an aircraft, creating a distinctive feature of the uniform.
Sustainability has played an important role in the development of British Airways’ new uniform, as well as plans to reuse its current uniform as part of its BA Better World commitments. More than 90 per cent of the garments are produced using sustainable fabrics from recycled polyester blends, and the cotton in the new uniform was sourced through the ‘Better Cotton Initiative’. This is the world’s leading cotton sustainability initiative, with a mission to help cotton-growing communities survive and thrive, while helping to protect and restore the environment.
britishairways.com
