Bowler hat on the Air NZ redundancy list

By CLAIRE TREVETT

The reign of the Air New Zealand bowler hat has come to an end.

The airline announced yesterday that the bowler hats worn by flight attendants to greet and farewell passengers over the past decade would make their final appearance on flights on October 29.

The rest of the current uniform would join it in the surplus-to-requirements bin by the end of next year.

The hat was introduced as part of a new uniform created by Christchurch-based designer Barbara Lee in 1992. It survived a 1996 "refreshing" of the uniform.

Made of New Zealand-made wool felt, each hat cost $75.

News of the bowler's demise was greeted with glee in some quarters.

Flight attendant and inflight service co-ordinator Megan Paddy said it could be impractical.

It was cumbersome to carry around and was hot when flight attendants were in tropical places. And it could be a nightmare for hair.

"It ruins your hair-do. If you've got short hair and put a hat on, you get hat hair, so you've got to work on the plane with hat hair."

However, she said many passengers had stopped to comment on it.

"I love it. I think it looks fantastic and it's part of the total package. I'll miss it but it's not an easy part of the uniform to wear."

Fashion designers were split in their opinion.

World fashion designer Francis Hooper was appalled at the news the hat would go.

"The hat is fabulous. It's a style icon and embodies the times of jet-set, hedonistic fast travel.

"The hat embodies a certain style and romance that is Air New Zealand. It has a certain formality that is lost and will never come back. What are we going to have now? Bomber jackets and sneakers? Casual Fridays forever?"

But Trelise Cooper said the hat was well past its use-by date.

"I always remember my mum having one when I was growing up. They should have got rid of it a long time ago."

She said the hats were too "English".



A new uniform was expected to be announced by the end of 2004.

Air New Zealand spokesman Rob Fyfe said the airline had begun looking for a designer and would consult staff before it was finalised, "because they have to be proud of working in the new uniform".

Chief executive Ralph Norris said it would have a more "contemporary stylish look, and [be] reflective of our Kiwi culture".