The Avianca flight attendant uniform: Winner of the LatinFlyer.com best uniform award. |
BY MARK CHESNUT
It’s been a long time since walking into an airline terminal meant entering a world of jet-set glamour. But one airline in Latin America has kept a bit of the stylish side of flight: Avianca. And whether you’re in the midst of a Colombia travel experience or en route somewhere else, it’s hard to deny that it’s an attention-getting look.
Rather than taking the usual route of styling flight attendant uniforms after rather boring business suits, Avianca has brilliantly maintained some of its own individual style, with aeromozas gliding through airport terminals resplendent in red capes and modified bowler-style hats. The capes and hats come off once on board the plane, but still create an unforgettable image when you see the flight attendants in the airport (I have to admit that my first sight of the flight crew before my last trip to Bogotá and Cartagena was as impressive as the last time I saw an American Airlines flight attendant wearing a hat, which I think was when I was about 13 years old at Chicaco O’Hare).
Created by Colombian designer Alonso Uribe, a specialist in women’s formal wear and corporate garb, the uniforms were chosen for their modernity and elegance, as well as their Colombian touch, according to Avianca spokespeople.
Avianca, by some measures the oldest airline in the hemisphere, is now extending its reach through the merger with TACA. I can only hope that the uniforms won’t change on Avianca flights. We could all use a bit of glamour every now and then. (Click here to check out my flight review of business class service on Avianca’s Airbus A330.)
LatinFlyer.com recognizes the Avianca flight attendant uniform for its unique style. |
It’s not quite 1969 again, but Avianca’s 21st-century uniforms are certainly reminiscent of earlier days of air travel.
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