Yesterday European low cost carrier Easyjet celebrated their 20 year anniversary. That’s 20 years of industry leading fee innovation. As part of that, they introduced a special livery to commemorate the milestone.
But far more interesting are the new employee uniforms they introduced, which feature wearable technology. Here’s a picture of them:
When I first heard about this I checked the calendar to make sure it wasn’t April 1. After realizing it’s not, I checked to make sure I wasn’t on The Onion’s website. I wasn’t.
So, what’s the “inspiration” between the new cabin crew uniforms? Via cnet.com:
The cabin crew uniforms are dotted with LEDs on the shoulders that show your flight number and destination, in case you forget where you’re going. The LEDs and illuminated hems also provide extra lighting in case of an emergency.
Ah, yes! Nothing quite like being a human flashlight, or having LEDs on your person showing the flight number and destination, just in case passengers forget.
The engineer uniforms are equally “special,” and have the following features:
The engineer’s uniform bristles with reflective panels and LEDs in the hood, intended to light up work areas so workers don’t have to juggle a torch and have both hands free to stick panels back on, tighten propellers or whatever they have to do to keep your plane in the sky. Built-in video cameras allow them to beam pictures to other engineers to help diagnose problems.
Meanwhile air quality sensors and a barometer help engineers monitor their work environment and create a map of air quality in different cities.
I mean, I suppose at least the engineers’ uniforms have some potentially useful features.
Bottom line
Usually I’m not one to care about airline uniforms, though these are just epic. Nothing quite says “hey, thanks for 20 great years, employees” like turning them into human billboards and flashlights.
Since it’s Easyjet I’m sort of surprised they weren’t able to turn the uniforms into advertisements… or maybe that’s still coming?
Holy crap, I need one of those engineer uniforms and whatever software you use to program them.
Imagine how cool that would be...
EasyJet could probably make a profit selling those.
Star Trek or Star Wars anyone?
..too easy to write something online without doing the proper researches.
It was indeed a funny and not real surprise for the medias.. Just to show how flight n ground crew could look like in 20 years from now....
If you had a better look on other websites, you would now the the actual new cabin crew uniform has been launched later that evening.
you can say whatever you want about easyJet,...
..too easy to write something online without doing the proper researches.
It was indeed a funny and not real surprise for the medias.. Just to show how flight n ground crew could look like in 20 years from now....
If you had a better look on other websites, you would now the the actual new cabin crew uniform has been launched later that evening.
you can say whatever you want about easyJet, but not that they are very good with advertising and they are indeed professional. As much as the people who work for.
Judging by the state of most the passengers who fly from the UK to places like Ibiza, this will fit in quite well. Especially the bit about reminding the passengers where they are going!
Santisco is correct and, not only that, but Anonymous wins my Best Post of the Day prize. The polyester comment is priceless.
Nice article Ben.
Only feedback is that the "e" in easyJet is lowercase.
Regards,
As usual, you've not bothered to give all of the facts.
'Whether they're adopted across the fleet remains to be seen.'
And don't knock easyJet. They're very good at what they do, and there is little difference between them and any European or US legacy carrier in Y.
@Anonymous: Your post was perfect!!! Even more the comment about US airlines. For them, the cheaper the better. It is amazing how they have zero sophistication. Too bad!!!!
@lucky, when will you fly easy jet and do a trip report for us?
"Delta, United and American’s amorphous low-grade polyester shapeless messes communicate that the airline simply doesn’t care about service." Stop criticizing these airlines - you are going to miss them one day after AirBerlin, Norwegian, Asian and MidEastern carriers come in and shred them to pieces.
Uniforms are a huge contributor to the brand.
* Southwest's in the early day communicated fun, fun, fun.
* Emirates's are a brand icon, and communicate professionalism and sophistication
* Alitalia's perfect tailoring communicates the sophistication that carries on through the Poltrona Frau interior and amazing food.
* Singapore and Cathay communicate Asian hospitality and impeccable professionalism.
* Delta, United and American's amorphous low-grade polyester shapeless messes communicate that the...
Uniforms are a huge contributor to the brand.
* Southwest's in the early day communicated fun, fun, fun.
* Emirates's are a brand icon, and communicate professionalism and sophistication
* Alitalia's perfect tailoring communicates the sophistication that carries on through the Poltrona Frau interior and amazing food.
* Singapore and Cathay communicate Asian hospitality and impeccable professionalism.
* Delta, United and American's amorphous low-grade polyester shapeless messes communicate that the airline simply doesn't care about service.
And so on.
EasyJet's new ones ... well, they do communicate that they're different.
I read in a French article this morning, that this was just a "test" and for fun... I also find it funny. Like I find funny some cheap 80s video clips.