Starting with the first of the year, Czech Airlines‘ (ČSA) staff will be greeting its customers in their new uniforms.
After more than 9 years, the national carrier had decided to change the design of its uniforms and its two-and-a-half-thousand employees are about to get a new elegant look. The new uniforms and their accessories are in the airline’s colours – blue, red and white – and it is hoped that their bold designs will make it easier for passengers to identify the staff that is taking care of them during their air travels. The domestic apparel manufacturer OP Prostějov was the winning bidder in the spring 2005 tender for the supply of these new uniforms.
After more than 9 years using the existing uniforms, ČSA decided to give its staff a new appearance and announced a tender for a new supplier in the spring of 2005. Of the four participating bidders, the review committee determined that OP Prostějov, a Czech manufacturer of women’s and men’s apparel with a long tradition, had come up with the most favourable bid. The winning bidder proposed a new uniform collection that would not only be elegant and stylish but also one in which special attention would be paid to the materials used to make the uniforms. „When creating this new collection, we used the latest European knowledge and expertise in the area of production technologies. Because of the strict demands for the durability and ease of maintenance of the materials to be used, we finally opted for nanotechnology based fabrics. Similar fabrics were also used by the famous French designer Christian Lacroix in his collection of uniforms designed for Air France,“ said Bořivoj Klug, head of design and sales for corporate identity projects at OP Prostějov.
Besides choosing a new elegant design, the selection of the new uniforms also involved considerations such as the comfort and any health impact on the wearer, water resistance, durability, a wrinkle-free appearance, colour fastness and tear resistance. The initial designs for the uniforms underwent several months of testing in all primary operating areas of the company’s operations.
[GADS_NEWS]Description of the New Uniforms
The main element of the uniform is a dark blue suit evoking a natural air of authority and professionalism. The rudimentary appearance of the blue colour is softened with red accents, which give the uniform a dynamic look and make it visible in crowded airport environments. A variety of accessories are also used to differentiate between the different staff positions. Pilots wear a gold-coloured necktie and the staff of VIP services wears uniforms with silver-coloured accessories.
The designers paid a great deal of attention to even the smallest details and the decorative aspects of the new designs. An important decorative element is the diamond shaped symbol, the primary graphic identity logo for Czech Airlines. Its shape can be seen in the lines of the uniforms‘ cut, on the printed design on the scarves, shirts and on the buttons for the jackets. The sparkling Swarovski stones that decorate the women’s jacket pockets have also been a successful part of the new designs.
Czech Airlines introduced its first uniforms back in the 1920’s, shortly after the start-up of the airline. The use of uniforms slowly spread from pilots to stewards and, by today, the use of uniforms includes check-in staff, ticket agents, security officers, technicians and other ground service workers.
The new collection from the workshop of OP Prostějov features not just a modern design and cut for both men and women and people of different ages but most importantly, a standardized type of uniform for all airline staff that are in regular contact with our customers.
