Southwest Airlines Teases New Employee Uniforms

It’s a big day at Southwest Airlines, as the company has provided more details about its future, from adding premium and assigned seating, to introducing airline partnerships, to maintaining its policy on free checked bags. While details remain limited as of now, Southwest has provided an early look at refreshed employee uniforms, which I wanted to cover in this post.

Southwest plans employee uniform refresh

Southwest Airlines has shared a few pictures of what it describes as its refreshed employee uniform program, including sharing samples of what we can expect. We don’t have any more details as of now, though you can find the pictures shared by the Dallas-based airline below.

As a point of comparison, below are what some of Southwest’s current employee uniforms look like.

Southwest last refreshed its uniforms in 2017, and at the time, we saw uniforms get new splashes of color, including blue and red, which are two of the colors the carrier most frequently uses in its branding.

My take on Southwest’s new employee uniforms

As I often say, I think the most important thing about uniforms is that they make the people wearing them feel good, in terms of comfort and pride in appearance. So as as a non-employee who has never worn one of these uniforms, I can’t speak as to how Southwest employees feel about the current ones, or what the feedback has been on the new ones.

That being said, from an outsider’s perspective, I think the new uniforms look pretty professional. They look a bit more cohesive than the current uniforms, where it almost feels like different pieces belong to different airlines.

I will say, the new uniforms do look a bit more corporate, and like what we see at other airlines. That’s not necessarily bad, but Southwest has historically had a unique corporate culture, and that has also largely been reflected in employee uniforms, which have been pretty informal. For example, the current uniforms allow flight attendants to wear shorts, which you won’t find at many airlines.

Now, I think Southwest’s corporate culture isn’t nearly as differentiated as it was back in the Herb Kelleher days, so perhaps that’s just holding onto something that’s no longer there. I feel like the days of the “Southwest Shuffle” are behind us.

Bottom line

Southwest plans to refresh its employee uniforms. While exactly details aren’t being provided yet, the company has provided samples of what the new uniforms could look like. I quite like them, and I think they look more professional than the current ones. But like I said, what I care most about is how employees feel while wearing them.

What do you make of Southwest’s new proposed uniforms?