In an effort to downplay concerns that American Airlines’ new flight attendant uniforms were not safe to wear, a number of executives at the company started wearing the new uniforms. Launched in September, the airlines has reportedly been slapped with over 2,000 complaints that the wool material has caused coughing and headaches, among other ailments.
Here are more details from Quartz:
“The issue has escalated since the new look hit runways a few months ago. The airline set up a hotline to field complaints, but said three rounds of tests—two conducted before the uniforms were distributed to employees—did not find anything harmful in them.
American Airlines has ordered some non-wool versions of the uniform, but it is taking another step to prove to its employees the uniforms are safe. About a half-dozen executive- and management-level employees are currently wearing the uniforms, a American Airlines spokeswoman told Quartz.”
In a letter by the flight attendant’s union, the American Association of Professional Flight Attendants, the union asks the airline to pay for health care costs that accumulated following the adverse health effects the uniforms reportedly caused.
The union even has a link on its website for flight attendants to file a complain and upload pictures:
The company that made the uniforms is Twin Hill, which reports suggest also made uniforms for Alaska Airlines employees, who also had concerns about the clothing.
About Points, Miles & Martinis
Here at Points, Miles and Martinis, we love all things travel. We focus on topics relating to travel including destinations, airline, hotel, car rental and credit card reward programs. Our goal is to help people travel better. - See more at our About Us page.
Sign up for Email || Twitter || Facebook |
Hotel Offers || Airline Offers || Bank Offers || Cash Back Offers
The airline uniform issue is very understandable. The uniforms fabric, if not the entire uniform were made in China.
The fabric supplier most likely did not make sure all of the fabric was made to specification.
Most likely the stain resistant treatment was over done, or a more toxic but cheaper stain resisting chemical was substituted
If only half the fabric was incorrectly treated: and that not until after the tests, it is easy for this to have happened
I would guess batches of the correct fabric are sitting in the factory anytime garments need to be made for testing: while the tests are supposed to be from garments pulled at random this is based on the paper trail:
It’s a safety issue just like allowing Norwegian to operate flights to the USA is a problem. Union red herring.
It’s sad that this is not even surprising.
Who thought putting wool in a modern piece of clothing that’s mandatory to wear by 80% of the employees of the world’s largest airline was a good idea in the first place?
AA would have to be the company I’d do my MBA masters thesis for organizational behavior entitled “how not to motivate employees.”