Being a widespread means of transport, Aviation has its beginnings closely linked to the military environment. From the second decade of the twentieth century, aircrafts began to be used as courier between armies to become, during the war, one of the deadliest weapons, aerial bombardments. With the end of World War I, in 1919, a purely civilian use for planes was proposed and as the first commercial pilots came from the army, this is the reason they used military uniforms.
There are many versions about the origin of the stripes in the uniforms of civilian pilots but the most popular is based on the book “Pan Am: An Aviation Legend”, by author Barnaby Conrad III.
According to this, it was not until the 1930s when the Pan Am, one of the first commercial airlines, decided that its pilots should wear uniforms to inspire confidence and professionalism and chose as a model the one navy officers wore.
Following Pan Am’s criteria, other companies introduced uniforms into their crews, becoming a very popular use in the 1950s that has stayed until nowadays.
These uniforms have evolved over time but retain essential elements such as the military cut jacket, the cap with visor and, of course, the stripes on their shoulders.
Although distinctions may vary depending on the airline, in general, the bars or stripes represent the rank of each cabin crew member. Placed on the shirt shoulders and jacket sleeves of their uniforms, the stripes mean:
Used by the aircraft’s captain, who is the highest authority on board. If the four bars are accompanied by a star, it means that he/she is the pilot in command in the event that two commanders are on board since, although one performs the functions of co-pilot, both keep their distinction as commander.
Is the first officer or “co-pilot” who wears them.
This badge is practically extinct in commercial aviation. Previously, some airlines assigned it to flight engineers and second officers.
Aviation students.
Many aviation schools grant their students, who have obtained their licenses or private pilot certificates and instrument Flight qualification, one or even two bars according to the internal criteria of each center.
Commercial aircraft pilots will wear in their uniforms the stripes that the company for which they operate establishes according to their rank.
Stripes are a symbol airlines use to distinguish the rank of their pilot crews. For a private pilot, since he/she is the only pilot responsible for the operation on board, this mark is optional.
Sometimes we can see plane pilots with silver stripes instead of gold ones. In fact, there is nothing legislated about aviation uniforms so it will depend on each company’s criteria. However, although gold is the most common colour some companies as, for example, Air Norwegian, use silver for their pilots’ uniform stripes.
In the past, some companies, in particular Iberia, placed bars on their male passenger cabin crews who would wear one or two silver bars on their jackets sleeves depending on whether they were steward or chief steward.
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