JAL introduces new uniforms, offers pants option for female cabin crew

TOKYO -- Japan Airlines Co. (JAL) has unveiled newly designed uniforms to be worn by its workers including cabin crew, pilots and mechanics from April 2020, ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, as the number of foreign tourists to the country is expected to increase.

It is the first time for JAL, which employs about 6,000 cabin crew members, to redesign its uniforms since 2013. The new designs also mark the first time that female flight attendants are being given the option to wear pants.

The company aimed to produce a uniform allowing easy movement when the workers provide onboard services. A dress-style uniform will be another option for female cabin crew members. A new uniform for female pilots features a scarf, which the wearer will be able to use in place of a necktie.

During an unveiling event for the uniforms at JAL's maintenance center at Haneda Airport in the capital's Ota Ward, 37-year-old Yasutoshi Ezumi, who created the design, stated, "I combined traditional elegance with materials placing emphasis on durability and functionality."

JAL President Yuji Akasaka said he "placed importance on functionality suitable for professionals."

(Japanese original by Masamitsu Kurokawa, Tama General Bureau)