Unlike many airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle is fairly unique in that it has separate uniforms for its short-haul and long-haul cabin crew. Or more specifically, the low-cost Oslo-based carrier decided to introduce a separate designer uniform for its long-haul Boeing 787 Dreamliner operations while retaining the same short-haul uniform for all Boeing 737 cabin crew – including on longer range operations such as those to Dubai or between the East Coast of the United States and Europe.
The special Dreamliner uniform, which was designed by local fashion house Moods of Norway, was unveiled in 2013 to coincide with Norwegian’s very first long-haul 787 flight from Oslo to New York JFK and according to a company spokesperson the design was inspired by the interior of the plane.
Personally, I think the uniform is stylish, chic and even practical. The female uniform offers several different options including a dress, skirt, blouse or trousers and the jacket is very reminiscent of a classic Chanel design. When one of our team attended a Norwegian recruitment event, she even got to try on the uniform as part of a fitting (before even being offered the job) and was struck by the quirky details.
For example, the collar on the back of the jacket has the phrase “Come Fly With Me” embroidered into it, while the words “coffee” and “or tea?” are embroidered into each cuff on the cardigan. The neck scarf also features a colourful and fun design but sadly a cheeky design for uniform socks that reminded cabin crew to pack their toothbrushes and be on time was abandoned a long time ago.
Unfortunately, the uniform was let down by one key piece – the felt bucket hat which seemed almost like an afterthought. We’re told that the majority of female crew don’t enjoy wearing it and in my opinion, it ruins the whole look.
Thankfully, we’ve learned that Norwegian has taken the decision to abandon the hat altogether, and although we’re not sure why it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if it was part of the airline’s massive cost-cutting plans. After all, we would hate to see Norwegian go the same way as the designers of the uniform – Moods of Norway went bankrupt several years ago, although has since been resurrected.
Naturally, some people might actually miss the uniform hat – the accessory is often seen as synonymous with flight attendants and can really differentiate an airline from its competitors. On this occasion, though, we think Norwegian missed the mark and are better off retiring the felt bucket forever.
