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.
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?
Is that last step of transformation changing the name for DLAAUA airlines ?
Financially struggling and they choose to invest capital in this. Hilarious.
It was time to change operations/network strategy...about which I agree.
...but that should not be at the expense of its culture.. freaking heck, that's their inherent brand that people like. So I hate the generic uniform direction...
I'm really going to miss the days of Kam and Pat, our camp counselors, whisking us away to paradise in Harlingen in those khahki shorts that they somehow made work for plus size folks that needed to turn sideways in the aisle as they doled out honey roasted nuts to the proletariats! Long may they ply the skies until Uncle Elliott kicks them out of L1!
Only so much one can do with fifty shades of navy blue.
Hmmm, I think the neckwear particularly the female neckerchief looks entirely too much like the ones worn by AA FAs. Obviously there’s only so many combinations possible of those colors but it just seems like brand dilution to me.
I wholeheartedly agree that the most important aspects of a uniform *should* be wearability and comfort for the employee. Sadly I think most of the time corporations miss the mark entirely. I believe all of the...
Hmmm, I think the neckwear particularly the female neckerchief looks entirely too much like the ones worn by AA FAs. Obviously there’s only so many combinations possible of those colors but it just seems like brand dilution to me.
I wholeheartedly agree that the most important aspects of a uniform *should* be wearability and comfort for the employee. Sadly I think most of the time corporations miss the mark entirely. I believe all of the big 3, plus Alaska, had major fiascos with their last uniform rollouts. I believe the Delta Passport Plum fiasco and Alaska’s issues were both using Land’s End as a manufacturing partner. I wonder who Southwest will choose.
Personally happy to see them move away from being the Carnival Cruise lines of the sky…