40 Airlines With Amazingly Stylish And Unique Cabin Crew Uniforms

In 2012 Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr became the face of Qantas, her home nation’s biggest airline. She told Vogue magazine, “I grew up with Qantas, which is such an iconic Australian brand.” This is why she was happy to model the airline’s new cabin crew uniforms in 2013; they included a stylish black dress with orange and pink flourishes, as well as Trilby hats and black Macintosh coats with red interior trim.

“Our world-famous red uniform is something all of us at Virgin Atlantic are incredibly proud of,” said the firm’s executive vice president Mark Anderson in 2019. He’s not wrong — employees have been wearing a Vivienne-Westwood-designed update of the classic uniform since 2014. And in 2019 the airline made the forward-thinking decision to allow its female employees to ditch make-up when working. 

The air stewardesses at Singapore Airlines wear a kebaya sarong whose stunning pattern looks incredible — especially when compared to more basic airline uniforms. There are four distinct colors of kebaya, and they all signify the employees’ different rankings. Red is the chief flight attendant; green is the lead flight attendant; purple is a regular flight attendant; and violet is the in-flight manager!

This classic, stylish pilot uniform is a real winner from Hong Kong Airlines, and… wait, is that Jackie Chan in the uniform? Why, yes, it is! You see, in 2017 he became a brand ambassador for the airline and appeared at Vancouver International Airport to celebrate the company’s first flight to North America. Why Chan? Your guess is as good as ours!

When Italian haute couture designer Ettore Bilotta was hired by Etihad Airways to redesign its cabin crew uniforms in 2015, his brief was timeless sophistication and elegance. Sounds simple, right? Well, it probably wasn’t simple at all, but he nailed it anyway. An Etihad spokesman asserted, “This is not just a uniform. This is pret-a-porter concept — a future lifestyle statement and homage to the golden age of glamorous flight.”

Emirates is one of the most luxurious airlines in the world, and its flight attendant uniforms play into that sense of luxury. It’s one of the most instantly recognizable uniforms in the industry because of the iconic red headpiece and draping white headscarf. With red lipstick and red heels, as well as the signature khaki colored blazer and skirt, this uniform is a total classic.

Garuda Indonesia introduced this beautiful flight-attendant uniform in 2019. The traditional Indonesian garment — known as a kebaya — was initially worn by the airline’s stewardesses until the ’80s, then was replaced by a more modern uniform. But in an effort to reconnect with its Indonesian cultural heritage, this baby-pink version was created. It was even inspired by Kartini, a pioneer of women’s rights in the country.

When designer Marina Hoermanseder was chosen to revamp the cabin-crew uniforms of Austrian Airlines, she jumped at the chance. She said, “I absolutely wanted to keep the strong red of Austrian Airlines, it gives the crew members a strong appearance.” She wasn’t kidding, either, as with the red suit, red stockings and red heels, the overall impression is certainly dominated by one color!

In 2012 designer Stan Herman told CNN, “The most important thing is likeability. If a corporation walks around in a uniform they don’t like, they become a grumpy corporation.” He definitely applied this philosophy to his design of JetBlue’s cabin crew uniforms, which look like they’d be hard for staff to dislike. That dark-navy suit, with the orange trim and tie — what’s not to like?

The website Confessions of a Trolley Dolly created a list of the ten best cabin-crew uniforms in 2015 — and Air Malta was one of them! In fact, the site even dubbed the classy uniforms some of the most glamorous to grace the skies. Add to this the fact that members of the public would even compliment the staff on their uniforms, and the staff themselves felt the new threads were stylish and practical.

The burgundy cabin-crew uniforms of Qatar Airways are among the most iconic in the world. Staff look classy and impeccably groomed at all times, and there’s actually a reason for that — the airline employs a grooming officer! Yes, that’s right, someone oversees the standards of grooming of every cabin crew member, ensuring no one’s visual presentation lets the company image down.

Japanese designer Keita Maruyama specializes in wedding dresses and costumes to be worn on stage — but he also dabbles in cabin-crew uniform design! He created this look for the staff of Japan Airlines in 2013 and it is pure in its simplicity. The flight attendants look professional and clean, but they have a choice of which scarf to wear, and this gives the uniform its one beautiful flourish. 

On March 5, 2021, the cabin crew of Virgin Australia’s Pride Flight added some rainbow flourishes to their usual red, black and white uniforms. The flight brought 120 excited revellers to Sydney for the Mardi Gras parade. Pride flights are now a yearly tradition with Virgin Australia, and a portion of proceeds from ticket sales are given to Minus 18, a charity which helps social inclusion for the LGBTQ community.

In 2015 ANA — All Nippon Airways — announced something out of this world: a collaboration with Disney and the world of Star Wars! Several of the airline’s planes were to be given makeovers — one of which saw a Boeing 777 decorated like the cute droid BB-8 from the new movies. We wonder what this flight attendant thought about posing with the droid while dressed in her stylish blue-and-gray uniform?

In 2018 the Indian airline Vistara celebrated JRD Tata, the man who created the first Indian airline. They gave one of their planes a retro makeover and this included the cabin-crew uniforms, as pictured here. We love the color scheme chosen, with the different shades of purple and pink truly complementing each other perfectly. A fitting tribute to a pioneer of Indian aviation.

These wonderful Fiji Airways uniforms are modeled after traditional Fijian masi patterns. There is the tama, which symbolizes service with a smile; the qalitoka, which points toward unity of people accomplishing something together; and droe, which is all about clear blue skies and a cool breeze on the beach. A spokesman for the airline said, “It was essential for our uniforms, just like our new aircraft livery, to stand out at the world’s busiest airports.” 

This eye-catchingly classic teal green uniform has been worn by Aer Lingus flight attendants for over two decades. Designed by Louise Kennedy, it was introduced in 1998 and was only changed in 2020 when Kennedy designed an updated look. To us, it’s one of the most recognizable airline uniforms in the biz, and we love how you immediately think of Ireland as soon as you look at it.

This snazzy set of uniforms was created by Hong Kong designer Eddie Lau and was said to offer greater practicality for staff, as the fabric used was extra stretchy. We think each variant looks smart and semi-futuristic, especially the way the collars are cut in an unusual way. Unfortunately for Cathay, though, this led some people to say the uniforms reminded them of Star Trek’s jumpsuits!

This stunning azure-colored uniform is meant to evoke the beautiful, crystalline color of Hawaii’s gorgeous ocean and sky. It was introduced in 2009 and designer Emma Howard took inspiration for the undershirt pattern by combining the two traditional Hawaiian words for “movement” and “flight.” This meant the unique pattern was dubbed makahiki and it perfectly appealed to Hawaiian tradition, while also looking distinctly modern.

The year 2020 was when Saudi Arabian Airlines debuted its current cabin-crew look, and we think it’s a truly brilliant one. The royal blue is striking, with the headpiece and draping headscarf being a head-turner as well. The uniform reportedly went through 18 months of development with different designers, and incorporated suggestions — regarding the kind of material used — from the staff itself.

When Air India redesigned its cabin crew uniforms in 2007, its statement read, “The endeavor is to combine our rich Indian colours and motifs from the Sun Temple with the powerful and more modern combination of black and white in the borders.” The Indian temple — in Konark — was built in 1250 to honor Surya, the Hindu Sun god. That’s quite an inspiration for a flight-attendant uniform, but we definitely respect the ambition!

In 2015 the Vietnam Airlines uniform was redesigned, and the new look was initially met with some scepticism. Stewardesses were still wearing a traditional Vietnamese dress known as an ao dai, but the color had been changed from a deep red to a blueish green. Miss Vietnam 2010 Ngoc Han liked the new design, though, saying, “I’ve traveled a lot and many airlines are changing uniform designs, going for a lighter, more colourful and elegant feel for the cabin space.”

Aurora is an airline which operates in Russia’s Far East, flying passengers to Siberia and Pacific Asian cities such as Beijing, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Seoul. It is owned by Aeroflot, but the flight-attendant uniforms are quite different, which helps distance the airline from its parent company. The orange scarves and trim on the blazer and hat are the only nods to Aeroflot’s uniform, which is a fuller orange/red hue.

Of this stylish uniform, designer Ettore Bilotta said, “I wanted to bring elements from traditional calligraphy and mosaics together with the new interpretations of Turkish motifs, which emphasize modern lines, into foulards and ties to reflect a contrast and duality.” The scarf and headpiece evoke the colors of the Turkish flag, of course. But the pattern on the dress symbolizes “the effortless and dynamic energy flowing through Turkey’s most dynamic city as an intersection between East and West.”

In 2005 designer Christian Lacroix was tasked with updating the cabin crew uniforms of Air France. Inspired by the airline’s past, which is full of flair and style, Lacroix said, “You could recognise an Air France crew in a crowd of a thousand people in any airport in the world.” With his redesign, he created an array of 100 items, all of which were combinable — that way staff could mix and match to their heart’s content.

This uniform was launched by Bahrain’s Gulf Air in 2006. It was designed by Creation & Image, a Parisian design house. Vice president of marketing and sales Lee Shave said, “Gulf Air’s inflight costume is a reflection of what Gulf Air is all about — the hallmark Arabian hospitality, warmth, presentation, progression, modernity and above all, our corporate statement.” 

Fashion guru Laura Strambi designed Air Dolomiti’s tasteful turquoise-and-gray uniforms. Female flight attendants have the choice of a skirt or pants, and everything is made from stretchy wool for extra comfort. With the tailored jacket and skirt, Strambi’s brief from the airline was to create a modern, sophisticated silhouette. We reckon she nailed that brief with flying colors!

The stewardesses of SriLankan Airlines are literally peacocking every time they go to work. After all, their uniform is modeled after the wonderful patterns and colors of a peacock! The garment is known as an osariya — the national sari of Sri Lanka — and it has ruffles at the waist and a gorgeous sash over the left shoulder. As far as uniforms go, it’s one of the most elaborate and beautiful in the industry.

This low-cost Ukrainian airline has one of the most distinctive uniforms in the biz. It unveiled this look in August 2021 and the change made it one of the only airlines to allow female flight attendants to wear pants and sneakers. Its head of marketing said, “Times have changed, women have changed, so in contrast to the conservative classics, heels, red lipstick and a bun, a new, more modern and comfortable image of a ‘champion’ has appeared.” 

Dragonair is the sister airline to Cathay Pacific Airways, and in 2013 its cabin-crew uniforms were also redesigned by Lau. The striking red-and-black combination is always a winner, and the designer really played that up in these outfits. In a way, the new designs looked reminiscent of Lau’s Cathay redesign, and we imagine that was purposeful. It’s corporate synergy, people!

Until 2017 Air Canada went with a traditional red-and-white color scheme for its cabin-crew uniforms. But when Christopher Bates was brought in to freshen things up, he changed the main color of the uniforms to black. He made sure to keep red, though, but now it would be the flourish on ties and scarves, and white would be the color of male employees’ shirts.

In 2013 Lacroix was once again hired by an airline to redesign their uniforms — in this case, the client was China Eastern Airlines. His vision was a simple navy blue with a pop of vibrant red on the sash, plus a stylish neck scarf and some Parisian influence in the pencil skirt with a slit above the knee. The airline had wanted, “simple, beautiful, and dignified,” and Lacroix certainly delivered that. 

This classy, back-to-basics uniform was created by fashion designer Alberta Ferretti and debuted in 2018. It was actually a response to Alitalia’s previous uniform, designed by Bilotta, which wound up unpopular with employees because it was uncomfortable to work in. Chief commercial officer Fabio Lazzerini said, “We deem it necessary to guarantee the utmost comfort and wellbeing during their daily activities.” 

South-Korean airline Aero K’s gender-neutral uniforms manage to be progressive, stylish, and casual all at the same time. Of these designs, the airline’s statement read, “The practical uniform of Aero K was created based on caring and respect to perform various jobs better than age and gender. In the end, all this concern is to perform the most important mission of passengers’ safety.”

Tigerair rebranded in 2015, and this included a complete overhaul of its cabin-crew uniforms, which were now quietly stylish. Still, given that the budget airline was voted Australia’s worst three times, some customers remained unconvinced. One took to Facebook and wrote, “Let me tell you, new uniforms won’t do it for me. Honestly Tigerair you are going to have to do a Hell of a lot better than that for me to fly with you again.”

As part of its 85th-anniversary celebrations in 2008 Finnair looked to the past for inspiration. The airline offered customers flights on a retro-designed plane known as Silver Bird. Inside the plane, all the flight attendants and pilots were wearing these uniforms, which harkened back to the way employees dressed in the ’50s. All in all, we’d say it’s a look that screams classic chic!

Thai Airways is a unique airline in one significant respect — its female flight attendants actually have two uniforms: one for outside the plane, and one for inside. They wear this striking purple corporate suit while in the airport, before changing into a traditional Thai dress to greet customers when they board the plane. It’s a great way of operating in the modern world, while also being careful to pay homage to Thai culture.

In terms of high fashion, there aren’t many cabin-crew uniforms that can rival China’s Hainan Airlines. This gorgeous uniform was launched in 2017 and was created by haute-couture designer Laurence Xu. The female uniform is modeled after the traditional Chinese dress cheongsam, and a Hainan spokesman said the idea was to marry “classical, time-honored Oriental aesthetics and the silhouette of a modern Western suit.” 

In 2015 website Yahoo Travel created a top-ten list of flight-attendant uniforms with lots of chic — and Russian airline Aeroflot’s uniform made the list. It’s easy to see why, because with its vibrant orange color, offset by bright white gloves, tipped hats and a jaunty necktie, the uniform certainly catches the eye. This particular uniform debuted in 2010 and was designed by Evgeny Khokhlov and Julia Bunakova. 

This gorgeous blue uniform debuted in 2010 and was created by Dutch designer Mart Visser. He said, “Regarding my creations, I always say — ’back to a new tradition.’ In addition to aspects like comfort and functionality, I’ve added my signature as a designer to other good traditions such as the KLM blue — a feminine form with an open, fresh, and powerful look and feel.” We agree wholeheartedly!