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Welcome to the new episode of Keeping Up With the Delta Air Lines Uniforms. The airline has already dealt with uniforms filled with sickening chemicals, lawsuits, temporary uniforms, and a lot of complaints. Now, they’re making another attempt to launch a proper clothing package…
Old uniform
Before we dive into the uniforms, it’s time to discuss what exactly has happened over the past few years. Because Delta Air Lines has had quite a bit to deal with when it comes to their uniforms.
In 2018, the airline launched a new uniform in collaboration with fashion designer Zac Posen. This was a project three years in the making. Not just the flying staff, but all 60,000 employees were given new clothing. The goal was to wear this for at least ten years. But that proved to be a bit too ambitious.
A year later, in April 2019, The Guardian published an article about the health complaints that the flight attendants had received from wearing the fabric. The uniforms were allegedly filled with sickening chemicals, causing employees to suffer from migraines, nosebleeds, and hair loss among other things. The newspaper spoke to several dozen flight attendants, but it turned out the group was much larger. It was about 525 employees, 90% of whom were flying personnel.
New uniform
In early 2020, some employees announced they wanted to sue their employer. The employees had a study carried out, which indeed showed that the fabrics were treated with sickening chemicals. Delta Air Lines did the same, but their research proved this was not the case. Not wanting to fight with their staff, it was announced that employees could temporarily wear their own clothing. A new package was to be launched in 2021, which would again cost the company a few million dollars.
After some delay, a new uniform was finally launched in 2022. The design from Posen remained, only a different material was chosen. Delta was somewhat done with all the complaints by then. The staff were told that if they didn’t want to wear the clothing, they should take unpaid leave. Again, there was criticism. The flying personnel said the new uniforms probably wouldn’t eliminate the complaints.
Delta Air Lines announces another new uniform
Even though they had mandated the staff to wear the uniform, Delta has now had another new package made. And the photos of the new clothing have just been released.
In the press release, it states that they asked for input from 70,000(!) employees. So not just the flying staff, but everyone gets new clothing and has had their say. Manufacturer Land’s End has been swapped for GPS Apparel by Gap Inc. this time. They too have spent quite a bit of time gathering feedback. There have been focus groups, surveys, and interviews to hear the views of another 20,000 employees.
The collection consists of navy blue and burgundy garments, combined with gold-colored details. I don’t find it particularly special, but it is elegant and representative.
Delta Air Lines does not want another new uniform
We’ll have to wait a bit longer before we can admire the clothing in real life. The uniforms will soon undergo extensive testing. Only after full approval will the package be rolled out. It is still unknown when that will be.
Delta emphasizes that they do not plan to design new clothing in the coming years. But well, they’ve previously said that everyone must wear a certain uniform or otherwise take unpaid leave. Following criticism, they developed new clothing as a result.
Let’s hope that the new clothing package will finally satisfy the employees. Then we can also close this series of episodes…
Greetings,