With everything that’s happening in the aviation industry at the moment, this news is probably not only to be expected but highly unlikely to be a top priority for many airline workers. However, because of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, British Airways has decided to push back the rollout of its new designer uniform until 2022 – three years later than planned.
The airline announced its partnership with contemporary Saville Row menswear designer Ozwald Boateng in September 2018 and originally planned to unveil the designs in 2019. Owing to a lengthy industrial dispute and the first pilots strike in over 40-years that plan, however, was scrapped.
In an internal memo, the airline today told its employees that the design of the uniform was almost complete and that feedback so far given on the new look has so far been “incredibly positive”.
Sadly, it will be a little longer before all of the 32,000 frontline staff who will wear the uniform actually get to see it.
“Given the circumstances, the entire new uniform project is on temporary hold, not only because manufacturing in some locations has been affected by Covid-19, but also because it helps us to control non-essential costs,” the memo notified staffers.
The big reveal now won’t happen until next year and that will then be followed by “extensive wearer trials”. “This revised timing means that we don’t expect colleagues to be wearing their new Ozwald Boateng uniforms until 2022,” the memo continues.
In the last week, British Airways has told staff to expect redundancies because of the COVID-19 crisis. The union that represents pilots has already said that some of its members have been put on notice of potential redundancies.
Connected with the Coronavirus outbreak, the airline has also allegedly closed down an internal social media site because of airline bosses were apparently concerned about fake news about the COVID-19 being spread on the service.
