For the first time in nearly 20 years, British Airways is rolling out new uniforms for its employees. While these began to be introduced for some work groups in the spring, it’s a big day, as the remaining British Airways work groups (including flight attendants) should be consistently wearing the new uniforms as of this week.
In this post:
British Airways partners with Ozwald Boateng on uniforms
This year British Airways has unveiled new uniforms, created by British fashion designer and tailor Ozwald Boateng. New uniforms have now been rolled out to 30,000+ employees — ground operations agents and engineers were the first to wear these new uniforms as of several months ago, while flight attendants, pilots, and check-in agents, have now started wearing these new uniforms.
The collection has been under development since 2018, so this has been around five years in the making. According to British Airways, Boateng shadowed a number of airport roles to understand how the uniform needed to perform for each job, and to ensure a modern British, stylish look, with high quality, resilient fabrics that are easy to care for.
The uniforms take inspiration from the airline, its people, and the art of flying. There’s an airwave pattern featured across the entire collection, including with jackets, t-shirts, buttons, and ties. The jacquard fabric across all of the tailored garments features a variation of the airline’s speedmarque.
More than 1,500 employees across the airline took part in 50 workshops to help ensure the practicality of the new uniforms, from design workshops, to prototype feedback, to garment trials. The airline had already started secretly testing the new uniforms back in 2022. For example, flight attendants and pilots had been wearing these uniforms on cargo flights across Europe, while engineers had been secretly wearing the new uniforms while maintaining aircraft out of sight of the public.
Here’s how British Airways CEO Sean Doyle describes these new uniforms:
“Our uniform is an iconic representation of our brand, something that will carry us into our future, representing the very best of modern Britain and helping us deliver a great British original service for our customers. From the very start this has been about our people. We wanted to create a uniform collection that our people are proud to wear and with the help of over 1,500 colleagues, we are confident that we have delivered this.”
Below are some pictures of the new uniforms.
Below you can also see a video about the new uniforms, where Ozwald Boateng also explains his inspiration for the new look.
My take on British Airways’ new uniforms
What do I think of the new British Airways uniforms? Well, what I care most about is what British Airways employees think:
- The single greatest thing that can come from new uniforms is that employees feel a sense of pride wearing them, feel good in them, and are comfortable
- It’s not just about how the uniforms look, but also about how they feel — are they comfortable, are employees having skin or other reactions to them (as we’ve seen at some other airlines), etc.?
I’m happy to see that British Airways has put considerable thought into comfort, durability, and testing. We’ve seen some disastrous new uniform rollouts in the past, so hopefully that can be avoided here. Then again, I’m pretty sure those airlines also claimed to have done extensive testing, so who knows.
As far as my take on the new uniforms goes, I think they look reasonably stylish and modern, and at the same time won’t rock the boat too much. It sure seems to me like the male flight attendant uniform at least borrows some inspiration from Virgin Atlantic’s uniforms. Personally I think the uniform for men is a bit more interesting than the one for women, which just seems a bit bland.
While I do like these uniforms, I’m oddly not sure that I prefer them to the old ones. I always think of British Airways as being such a traditional company, and while the old uniforms had been around for roughly 20 years, I also consider them to be pretty timeless. Is it just me?
Bottom line
British Airways has now completed the process of rolling out new uniforms to most major work groups, so you should notice these if you’re flying with the airline.
The new uniforms are designed in partnership with Ozwald Boateng, and are mostly much more modern than the old ones, which had been around for nearly 20 years. However, I’m not sure which I prefer. Here’s to hoping that British Airways employees like the way these uniforms look and feel.
What do you make of British Airways’ new uniforms?
The new uniform is awful. Generic, looks cheap and nasty and none of the uniforms look like they’re tailored to the ladies properly. I still have no idea why BA decided to switch from an incredibly elegant and classy uniform to this woke garbage.
Here, here! If I'd have been a female BA crew member and had been told that I had to scrap my beautiful Julien MacDonald uniform for this drab relacement, I would have handed in my notice.
I CANNOT understand how ANYBODY can like these HORRID, DRAB new uniforms! Bring back the Julien MacDonald uniform.
Christmas photos everywhere posted by the female cabin crew sporting their new Boateng uniforms. Unfortunately, I have to say that I STILL prefer the Julien MacDonald uniform, which should NEVER have been scrapped. How COULD BA get rid of such a beautiful, classy uniform? And yes, I agree with you that the JM uniform was timeless, and to hell with this small minority who deemed it "outdated". I hope that the New Year sees BA...
Christmas photos everywhere posted by the female cabin crew sporting their new Boateng uniforms. Unfortunately, I have to say that I STILL prefer the Julien MacDonald uniform, which should NEVER have been scrapped. How COULD BA get rid of such a beautiful, classy uniform? And yes, I agree with you that the JM uniform was timeless, and to hell with this small minority who deemed it "outdated". I hope that the New Year sees BA finally taking note of all the dislike of this horrible new uniform, scrap it, and bring back the Julien Mac.
The more new photos I see of this new female crew uniforrm - in particular, that awful "Dinner Lady Dress", as it has now been labelled - the more I hate it. And I hate the fact BA scrapped the much more stylish, more classy Julien MacDonald muniform for this awful, drab, dull mess. And most people who have aired their views on this new uniform agree with me.
A real downgrade, and one that BA need to address. Bring back the former uniform!
Who thinks the new BA female crew uniform is too drab and dull, and would like to see it scrapped and the Julien MacDonald uniform restored? Leave your thoughts here.
Are BA female cabin crew starting to actually LIKE this awful new uniform? Because I noticed online that some of them seem to be warming to it. Thought most of the crew hated it.
Having seen yet more images of female crew wearing this new, extremely bland and dull uniform, I STILL think that BA made a very bad mistake here changing their Julien Macdonald uniform, which was much nicer and more stylish. They should bring it back and bin this terrible new uniform. I mean, it is just AWFUL.
I have seen more new images of the new BA uniform, and as a lover of the traditional skirt suit look for female crew, I have to say that unfortunately most of the women seem to have chosen the worst item, that being the drab, dull dress. I was wondering whether it was because the red arrow on the front of the skirt suit has dissuaded them from wearing it. If so, then BA need to get of that UGLY tomatolike stain, as it detracts from the look of the suit.
With not seeing many photos of female BA cabin crew being posted on social media, showing themselves in their new uniform, would I be right in assuming that this could be a stark reflection of just how much this uniform is generally HATED by the crew? I would have thought that if you really did like your new uniform, you would be all too keen to show yourself dressed in it. Just a thought, that's...
With not seeing many photos of female BA cabin crew being posted on social media, showing themselves in their new uniform, would I be right in assuming that this could be a stark reflection of just how much this uniform is generally HATED by the crew? I would have thought that if you really did like your new uniform, you would be all too keen to show yourself dressed in it. Just a thought, that's all. Again, very sad that they ditched the lovely, smart, stylish Julien MacDonald uniform for this dreadful, drab new look.
Horrible female cabin crew uniforms! Nowhere NEAR as nice and smart and stylish as the former uniforms. The women no longer stand out as they did in the Julien MacDonald uniforms, which were just stunning and very professional. If I were a BA female crew member, I would REFUSE to wear these drab dresses and jumpsuits. The Julien Mac skirt suits ALWAYS look the best on the female crew, so they should have been kept....
Horrible female cabin crew uniforms! Nowhere NEAR as nice and smart and stylish as the former uniforms. The women no longer stand out as they did in the Julien MacDonald uniforms, which were just stunning and very professional. If I were a BA female crew member, I would REFUSE to wear these drab dresses and jumpsuits. The Julien Mac skirt suits ALWAYS look the best on the female crew, so they should have been kept. These new uniforms should be scrapped NOW, and the Julien Mac uniform should be brought back. I really don't like them at all.
I would be more convinced it was right if it said it was the new McDonald’s uniform the cabin crew ladies one that is. I’m not a fan and prefer the previous one.
People in the comments here have no taste. The new uniform is so smart, sleek and tidy. A tailor is exactly who you want to design a uniform like this - and Oswald Boeteng as the first black tailor on Saville Row was a fantastic choice to deliver this. I loathed the previous Julien Mcdonald uniforms, they looked cheap, were ill-fitting and cabin crew frequently looked sloppy in them - he was the zeitgeisty designer...
People in the comments here have no taste. The new uniform is so smart, sleek and tidy. A tailor is exactly who you want to design a uniform like this - and Oswald Boeteng as the first black tailor on Saville Row was a fantastic choice to deliver this. I loathed the previous Julien Mcdonald uniforms, they looked cheap, were ill-fitting and cabin crew frequently looked sloppy in them - he was the zeitgeisty designer at the time he did them but completely ill-suited to delivering a uniform like this and it is frankly appalling that it was kept for 20yrs.
Also just to add given apparently there are done cabin crew commenting here. These uniforms took 6yrs to deliver and my understanding is Boateng spent a lot of that consulting with employees in various roles to ensure they worked practically. They were also tested as well before being rolled out. In such a large company there will always be people unhappy with change but overall this is a good change and one that was done...
Also just to add given apparently there are done cabin crew commenting here. These uniforms took 6yrs to deliver and my understanding is Boateng spent a lot of that consulting with employees in various roles to ensure they worked practically. They were also tested as well before being rolled out. In such a large company there will always be people unhappy with change but overall this is a good change and one that was done in consultation with those people that would have to wear them day to day. Crew even have the option for fittings to ensure they look amazing which the previous option did not have.
It is NOT a good change. It is a BAD one. That new uniform is a disgrace, making the female crew look like damn dinner ladies. The other uniform was much smarter.
Oh dear, I despair. So Americanised has BA become that cabin crew are now “attendants” and ground staff “agents”, and their uniforms are completely uninspiring. The previous uniforms were smart, sharp and distinctive. They reflected British style and - yes - a certain formality, but if we are to believe that flying is an “art” then I for one (as a former long service employee of BA) get off here ……..
(A bit off-topic......Perhaps a future topic for Ben?) But why don't the airlines re-instate the times when FAs would change their attire in-flight.... and dress in their national costumes. JAL had FAs in Kimonos. AirIndia, Saris...etc..?
Just to chime in, Thai Airways still does this on its long haul flight. Female cabin crew will greet the passenger on board in the Thai silk dress and "Sbai" (traditional shoulder wrapper) then changes to their standard uniform for services, and then change again to Thai silk dress before landing. Pre-covid, this applies to long haul flight on all cabins but post-covid, it seemed to be limited to Business and First cabins. Another note...
Just to chime in, Thai Airways still does this on its long haul flight. Female cabin crew will greet the passenger on board in the Thai silk dress and "Sbai" (traditional shoulder wrapper) then changes to their standard uniform for services, and then change again to Thai silk dress before landing. Pre-covid, this applies to long haul flight on all cabins but post-covid, it seemed to be limited to Business and First cabins. Another note is that only Thai female cabin crew is permitted to wear this dress, other nationalities female cabin crew still wear the standard uniform throughout the flight.
Awful uniforms. Impractical, especially for the female FAs. (Also gone is the 'British formality' that was part of BAs brand.) What would you expect, when you commission a men's tailor, to design 'uniforms'!!!
Totally agree. These female crew uniforms are rubbish. Bring back the Julien MacDonald skirt suits.
The new uniform is certainly comfortable (or at least the male one is) - lighter fabric with some stretch in it. However female cabin crew who opted for the dress are experiencing rashes on their neck and have been told by management that they should have washed the dress before wearing it.
BA management should listen to their staff's grievances and get rid of this awful, drab new style. It really is HORRIBLE. Nowhere near as nice as the Julien Mac uniform, which should never have been ditched. Total waste of money.
The uniforms are forgettable just like any experience (hopefully) on British Airways.
They're Cabin Crew not Flight Attendants. It's a British company, not an American one.
The most recent uniform, corporate though it may be, is stunning, professional, and polished. Just my opinion.
I don't understand the hate for the new uniform. The design is purposely inoffensive. It's a slightly more modern look than the very corporate, very forgettable current uniform. The men's cabin crew uniform is barely changed - what the tie is a slightly different design?
I have many friends flying out of LHR and on the ground, and very few prefer this new uniform to the old JM. Many openly despise the new uniform for its blandness and unusual cut. There’s definitely more favor among the ground staff than FAs for a broader range of garments in the new set that are culturally attuned - tunics and integrated headscarfs. Among FAs, the men are generally fine with the new suits,...
I have many friends flying out of LHR and on the ground, and very few prefer this new uniform to the old JM. Many openly despise the new uniform for its blandness and unusual cut. There’s definitely more favor among the ground staff than FAs for a broader range of garments in the new set that are culturally attuned - tunics and integrated headscarfs. Among FAs, the men are generally fine with the new suits, though they feel it’s too close to Virgin. Female FAs have complained not just about the garment range (jumpsuit was always a non-starter on a plane), but basic features such as appropriate pockets for their mandatory company iPhones, pens, and service items. Definitely a missed opportunity.
Terrible decision the airline made to scrap the much nicer, much smarter JM uniform. I couldn't believe it when I first heard they were changing the uniform. They have completely ruined the look of their female cabin crew by replacing the nicest uniform ever with this hideous, drab, dull range. Like most people, I would love to see it scrapped and the JM uniform brought back.
Hi Sacha. Hope you are well. I HATE the new Boateng uniform too, and wish they would scrap it. However, I was just wondering if some of the female crew are starting to like the new uniform now, because I have seen a few of them posting pics of themselves in the new dress. I hope not, but I was just wondering if you have anything more on this. Thanks.
Wish BA would scrap this awful new uniform and bring back the JM. Every time I see more new photos of the Boateng uniform, I cringe with annoyance and disgust that BA ditched the JM for THIS fashion disaster. The female crew look more like dinner ladies or factory workers than airline crew.
As a passenger I find it hard to care about the uniforms ... as long as folks feel good in them and they're easy to maintain then I'd be fine.
We were on a flight on Thursday and the crew announced to all that they were wearing the new outfit. I think it is rather boring but all the crew were pleased with it.
They look better than the photo shoot of the Alaska Airways uniform launch from a few years ago!
As a BA employee, the uniform has been such a disappointment. Consistent feedback, such as “we need a pocket for pens” was not listened to. Now I have nowhere to shove a pen.
Also, since we launched the uniform, I’ve seen countless colleagues with rashes on their necks from the uniform. Shirts are melting from the hotel irons (which makes me worry about if we had a fire onboard).
It’s just been a...
As a BA employee, the uniform has been such a disappointment. Consistent feedback, such as “we need a pocket for pens” was not listened to. Now I have nowhere to shove a pen.
Also, since we launched the uniform, I’ve seen countless colleagues with rashes on their necks from the uniform. Shirts are melting from the hotel irons (which makes me worry about if we had a fire onboard).
It’s just been a total disaster, and I don’t think anyone prefers this uniform to the old iconic JM.
Though, I do not think the amount of hate that Oswald is getting is acceptable whatsoever, at the end of the day, it is just a uniform. He should not be getting death threats, and sexist comments.
I, like most people, much prefer the Julien Mac uniform. It was so much nicer and smarter and professional. Why the HELL BA saw fit to change it, I do not know. It's a great pity some sort of collective pressure by the female crew couldn't be applied to send a BIG message to BA management that this uniform is NOT liked, and that a return to the Julien Mac uniform could be implemented.
More and more people every day are expressing their utter hatred of this new uniform, equating it to a "dinner lady" type of dress and a "tyre factory worker". They also want it scrapped and the JM uniform restored. I totally agree. I think this Boateng design should NEVER have been allowed to see the light of day.
Is there ever a time when F/As love the uniform better than the one it replaces? Um no.
I'm a male, so maybe my comment doesn't matter...but the female uniforms with those collars and ties (?) looks too masculine.
Overall, pretty boring. Of the Western oriented airlines, I think Qantas nailed it, but no other stands out...Asian airlines are generally in a different (and better) league.
TBH, it seems like you're looking for something more than a professional appearance here.
I’m gay, if you’re trying to imply I prefer ladies looking like ladies.
I just prefer a good design, and this isn’t a good design.
I understand the want for a new uniform but I don't think it was necessary for BA. That being said I just hope the new uniform is comfy and well suited to BA staff and I'm sure it'll look great the more we get used to it
If you try put lipstick on a pig, it is still a pig. Worst airline in the developed world.
I’m sorry, worse than LH who has zero direct aisle access J seats (except for those second hand Chinese planes), or worse than AF which until last year didn’t have lie-flat across their fleet even. Or Alitalia, which doesn’t exist?
It’s sad how angry people get about BA, when objectively they provide a safe and solid product that leads most European airlines. No one seems to have evidence beyond silly vitriol like this.
While agree that LH J product is subpar, has something changed? I thought there are 4 seats in every row that have aisle access? You know, the aisle seats! Those directly on the aisle.
You know, Kerry, you sound bitter and angry. Your senseless statement, invalidates everything else you’ve said. Don’t go away mad, just go away.
Am sure they will miss you
I think QF might give BA a run for their money
One of my patients , who is suffers from menopause is a BA staff is finding the new uniform unacceptable. They have complained the uniform not suitable for menopause ladies, and senior management have ignored her. So I have spoken to lawyers , who have advised us this indirect discrimination.
That's nice. It's not clear how a uniform would be not suitable for ladies *in menopause* ... it's not like they grow horns or anything.
What a load of BS.
The more images I see of this dreadully dull new cabin crew uniform, the more I hate it. They should never have changed the former uniform, as there was nothing wrong with it. What a BAD decision.
From a branding point of view they don't stand out and they don't connect to other design elements of BA. The common design element seems to be button closed collars and single tone suit jackets. Bit of a throwback.
I wonder if a bigger brand resign (livery etc.) is coming too.
At least they dress better than some US senators.
If only new uniforms could create an actual, real service culture amongst the BA employees.
It won't, so in the meantime I'll thank goodness for AF, SQ, LH, LX, etc. Sure, they may be more expensive, but at least they're good in their FC cabins.
My girlfriend is a British Airways flight attendant and the backlash within the company against these new uniforms is HUGE. Almost universally condemned and hated so much, British Airways disabled the comments section on an internal chat post. Check out the British Airways Instagram page and see posts with the new uniform and see what people say. One of the highlights of the hatred is the colour - gone from red, white, and blue to...
My girlfriend is a British Airways flight attendant and the backlash within the company against these new uniforms is HUGE. Almost universally condemned and hated so much, British Airways disabled the comments section on an internal chat post. Check out the British Airways Instagram page and see posts with the new uniform and see what people say. One of the highlights of the hatred is the colour - gone from red, white, and blue to a navy, white, and off-red / orange colour. I wonder how long they will last.
@Adam Bond - I agree with your girlfriend, these female uniforms are boring and the colors are strange.
So do I, Donna. These new uniforms are too drab, dull and plain. Bring back the Julien Mac uniforms.
@Adam ... One of the new uniforms is a female jump suit . Most impractical .
She HATES it. Speaking of impracticality, she said, “How the **** am I supposed to go to the toilet on a plane wearing THAT?! It’s not like we have large Emirates or Qatar Airways first class toilets on BA aircraft.”
Adam, tell your girlfriend that I really feel for her, having to wear that hideous new uniform. Many other people who love the JM uniform will, I am sure, also empathise with her too. I just hope that BA management finally see just how unpopular this horrid new uniform - if you can call it that - is, and will scrap it and bring back the Julien MacDonald skirt suit. That uniform was so iconic, and all the female cabin crew looked really stunning and smart in it.
Hi Adam. I am not surprised there is such a huge backlash against these uniforms. They are just HORRIBLE! The men's suits are smart enough, but the women's are just AWFUL. Like most people who love the Julien MacDonald uniform, I was very annoyed and disappointed when I heard that BA were scrapping the iconic JM uniform for THIS piece of garbage. To add my own disgust and protest to BA, I started a poll...
Hi Adam. I am not surprised there is such a huge backlash against these uniforms. They are just HORRIBLE! The men's suits are smart enough, but the women's are just AWFUL. Like most people who love the Julien MacDonald uniform, I was very annoyed and disappointed when I heard that BA were scrapping the iconic JM uniform for THIS piece of garbage. To add my own disgust and protest to BA, I started a poll on LinkedIn, and was pleased to see that most of the voters want the Julien MacDonald uniform brought back. It is a real shame the way BA have ruined the once smart and stunning look of their cabin crew by introducing this drab design. It's a pity all the female cabin crew who want the former uniform back couldn't go to their union to do something legally about this unpopular union. It would be great to see the Julien Mac uniform back.
These new uniforms should be scrapped - NOW.
As a BIG advocate for the return of the iconic Julien Mac uniform, I was interested to read today that all the online opinion polls on this disastrous uniform change are showing that most people HATE this new, drab uniform, and want BA to scrap it and reinstate the former uniform. It just shows you, doesn't it, just how much hatred this new uniform has generated! It's about time BA Management saw sense and heeded people's opinion's and scrapped the horrid thing.