Jetstar heralds ‘new era’ with radical change in uniforms
Thursday, 29 February 2024
Jetstar is making the biggest change to its uniforms in its 20-year history.
The outfits from Australian designer Genevieve Smart will be worn by the airline’s 5000 frontline staff including those working on NZ routes.
The current uniform will be sustainably recycled.
When airlines decide to change up their uniforms, they tend to make a song and dance about it.
They breathlessly talk about ‘silhouettes’, ‘aesthetics’, and ‘colour palettes’, which may go over some people’s heads. It’s just a simple dress and a blazer, so what’s all the bloody fuss about. Right? Wrong.
There are few industries where a uniform means so much to a company than in aviation. That simple dress and blazer showcase that airline to the world. You should know instantly its values, its story. Is it modern upstart or a legacy carrier? Does it reflect its national identity? And a lot of people do care, you just have to the think of the national conversation anytime Air New Zealand tinkers with theirs.
So when an airline starts dropping big claims that its fresh threads are the “beginning of a new era” and signal a shift in thinking, then maybe people should sit up and take notice.
Step forward, Jetstar.
The budget airline has gone all out on updating its uniform look-and-feel thanks to Australian designer Genevieve Smart. The signature orange remains but is toned down a notch, joined now by a burst of blue which is a colour combination ‘inspired by the sunset as seen through an aircraft window’. It has also been a collaborative effort with 40 staff working alongside Smart to craft the final designs.
The looks are less formal, more smart casual, and the greater range to choose from allows more individual personality to shine through. They intend to give off a more relaxed holiday vibe.
The pilots are getting a glow-up too with a switch from the traditional black suit to navy, and an overhaul of the epaulettes, braids and wings badges.
The new threads will be worn by the airline’s 5000 frontline staff, with the current uniform being sustainably recycled.
CEO Stephanie Tully says it was time for a change.
“Blue has always been part of Jetstar’s colour palette, you see it a lot a lot in our advertising. Blue is the perfect colour for holidays. Blue is the sea, blue is the sky, blue and orange, which is our brand colour looked amazing together, so it was an easy choice to be honest.”
The new uniform comes as Jetstar approaches its 20th birthday in May with a bit of a swagger. There’s a modern fleet of A321XLR aircraft, an upgrade to its Dreamliners, new international routes, and a ramping up of services in the New Zealand domestic network back to 100% of pre-Covid levels.
The performances are improving too. In January in the NZ domestic market, it was on-time 81.5% of the time, that’s up from 68.4% in July last year. Domestic cancellation rates were also below 1% - the lowest it's been since pre-Covid.
Nicholas Tajudin, Senior Manager Jetstar Operations Control Centre, told Stuff Travel the improvements come from a combination of staff hired after the depths of the pandemic bedding in, as well as new efficient aircraft.
“The staff have been in the system now for 18 months. Everyone knows what they are doing and are setting operations up to succeed,” said Tajudin.
“We’ve got new aircraft … the Neo. That’s really helped operationally. They fly further, are more fuel efficient and we don’t see as many defects on that aircraft as there are on some others.”
Tajudin added that with a full roster of staff onboard now too that “the mindset of the total operation has changed”.
“We’re delivering what we did pre-Covid and still improving our performances.”
The author was hosted by Jetstar.
What do you think of the new Jetstar uniform? Let us know in the comments.