Japan Airlines Introduces New Uniforms

Japan Airlines Introduces New Uniforms

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Japan Airlines has this week unveiled their new employee uniforms, which will debut as of April 2020, just in time for the Tokyo Olympics.

Japan Airlines said that in early 2019 they reached out to “customers and fans” requesting comments and opinions on new designs for their uniforms. The company then provided that information to the designer, and finally the uniforms were selected by a committee consisting of Japan Airlines employees.

The public’s feedback was for uniforms that were stylish and modern, while also offering female employees the option of wearing trousers.

Here’s how the airline describes the design concept:

Based on a refined and stylish design for professionals providing a safe flight experience and the highest levels of service. The key components of the current uniforms were utilized, which added to the improved functionality of the newly branded wear.

So, what do the new uniforms look like? Let’s look at the various designs, from cabin crew, to pilots, to ground staff.

Here’s how the new cabin crew uniforms are described:

Creative Director, Yasutoshi Ezumi, created the design based on two concepts called Refined Hybrid Beauty and Hybrid Modern Beauty.

By using a hybrid technique combining different materials, the uniform includes the corporate logo ”Tsurumaru” and corporate color ”red” to produce an originally designed and highly functional uniform.

The silhouette of the 3D shaped one piece uniform is representing the curve of a crane and also adopted a balloon shaped sleeve, which is rare in the airline industry. Based on the comments received from customers, the company designed a suitable style that does not affect the daily work involved for the crew.

Scarfs and aprons feature different styles between each JAL Group airline and an option to wear trousers will now be available.

Here how the new pilot uniforms are described:

The unisex design is similar to the current model, but a few changes were included to improve movement.

For the first time, a specially designed uniform for female pilots has been introduced. The jacket features a single-button type and a scarf can be used to replace the necktie. The scarf is a motif of an origami crane and was also designed by Yasutoshi Ezumi.

Here’s how the new ground staff uniforms are described:

The uniform expresses a sense of elegance, like a crane, and the patterns were designed with movement in mind. Similar to the cabin crew, the corporate logo and corporate color were used.

The scarf is a longer type featuring flowers drawn by the designer (Yasutoshi Ezumi) and more than 20 colors were used to produce the elegant scarf. And, the new one piece dress style is modern and functional.

For the lounge staff, a subtle pink-beige colored jacket represents the formalness of the lounge. And for the reception staff, a cream-beige colored jacket represents a high quality visual appeal.

Personally I’m not someone who cares all that much about uniforms. What I care about most is that they’re safe and comfortable to wear, and that they give employees a sense of pride. That’s much more important than how I feel about them.

That being said, I do find the new uniforms to largely be… kind of boring? That’s not surprising, really. While fashion is a big thing in Japan, that doesn’t really extend to the workplace for the most part, which remains pretty conservative.

Therefore the safe options they went with aren’t surprising at all.

Personally I couldn’t tell you off the top of my head what JAL’s current uniforms look like, in spite of having flown them many times, which I guess means that I view them as being pretty unmemorable. This update doesn’t really change that.

I do like the colorful jackets that the lounge staff wear, and I also like that female employees have the option of wearing trousers.

Other than that, I can’t say that I love them, and they certainly don’t match my definition of modern and stylish…

What do you make of JAL’s new employee uniforms?

Conversations (17)
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  1. Creditian Guest

    Lucky just doesn't get it!!!
    It's Japan, no female flight attendant would wear trouser until senior wears.
    It's an untold rule in Japan, foreigners just don't get it!!

  2. pixielott46 Guest

    nothing on vietjet uniforms

  3. SullyofDoha Gold

    No bandanas?
    Still, not outright horrible like the debut of Alaska Airlines uniforms the other year.

  4. Bim Guest

    Very similar to the current uniforms. Glad women have the choice to wear pants.

  5. Quinton Traveltino New Member

    If you're into airline uniforms, this site has a lot of pictures of them from various airlines: http://www.uniformfreak.com

  6. Ed Diamond

    I’m struggling to see the difference with the current uniforms except cabin crew have lost their coloured jackets.

  7. Super VC10 Gold

    Sadly, they're very bland. Except for that awful striped serving smock!

    Historically, JAL has had some very attractive and eye-catching flight attendant uniforms. Two of the best were designed by Hanae Mori and worn in the 1970's and 80's. (You can Google them )

  8. Justin Guest

    I prefer ANA's new uniforms they rolled out a few years back.

    Uniforms do matter and can be important components of an airline's brand identity. SQ's sarong kebaya's for female flight attendants are probably the most notable example of this, but other airlines place a lot of emphasis on uniforms too. Hainan Airlines new uniform roll out went viral and gave them a ton of great publicity. Korean airlines uniforms are quite chic too.

  9. derek Diamond

    Very nice but the ground staff men's suit is the worse of the uniforms but still ok.

    So far, no airline has had flight attendants go with the rugged military look, like jumpsuit and patches like New Zealand (not Air New Zealand) does for flights to Antarctica. Probably ok because 1% of people might get scared.

  10. Burg Guest

    I have never seen a male cabin attendant in JAL, and I flew them multiple times a year, both international and domestic. Similarly, never saw a female pilot or co-pilot either.

    Also find amusing that the model for male cabin attendant and ground staff is not Japanese, but western. Japan is an incredible country with incredible people, but not one that offers equal opportunities for women and men ...

  11. Shannon Guest

    They look understated low key and elegant in my eye

  12. Donna Diamond

    That multicolored smock is just pathetic, looking like a bad shower robe my grandmother would wear and wouldn’t be flattering on a supermodel (I feel sorry for the FAs that have to wear it). The rest are ok, I particularly like the ladies slacks options.

  13. LMcK Guest

    Thanks for the update re uniforms and credit cards.

    When can we expect the next airline review?

    Thanks

  14. Naoyuki Guest

    It's Japan Airlines...they are fairly conservative in terms of their appearance, and I'm not surprised that even the new uniforms are rather bland. It looks professional. It does not look too fashionable. And I'm assuming that what Japan Airlines wanted.

    My only criticism is that the men's ties are just too bland, generic, and indistinct. I think for men's uniforms, they should have incorporated a design similar to what they did to women's scarves.

  15. Marco TD Guest

    at first glance they seem boring... but if you look carefully, they are minimal but with some stylish details.

  16. AdamR Diamond

    They're not only boring and uninspired, but that..."smock" for cabin crew looks like a circus tent. These are really, really bad.

  17. Mike Guest

    Hi Ben,

    Thanks for sharing. For those interested in more detailed information, the press release information has more details - especially on the different scarfs for the different subsidiary of Japan Airlines and their ground crew including tarmac crew.

    https://press.jal.co.jp/ja/release/201907/005234.html

    Cheers!

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

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Creditian Guest

Lucky just doesn't get it!!! It's Japan, no female flight attendant would wear trouser until senior wears. It's an untold rule in Japan, foreigners just don't get it!!

0
pixielott46 Guest

nothing on vietjet uniforms

0
SullyofDoha Gold

No bandanas? Still, not outright horrible like the debut of Alaska Airlines uniforms the other year.

0
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