British Airways and cabin crew may clash over who wears the trousers

Union asked to fight for right of all cabin crew to wear regulation trousers, if they want, not skirts

Gwyn Topham, transport correspondent
The Guardian, Thursday 30 January 2014 19.31 GMT
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British Airways' 2004-era uniforms, which were designed by Julien McDonald and included a trouser option for women. Photograph: PA

In a footnote to the bitter industrial disputes of recent years at British Airways, cabin crew unions are considering a further skirmish over who wears the trousers.

Redesigned BA uniforms in recent decades had extended the right to wear trousers to cabin crew of both sexes, but new female recruits are forced to wear skirts.

All new employees join the airline's mixed fleet – a category of crew established in 2010 on inferior salaries, terms and conditions to existing staff and which now numbers around 2,000 of the airline's 17,000 cabin crew. The mixed fleet won union recognition at the airline last year and now some crew members have asked it to raise the dress code.

The branch is conducting an online survey of its female members in the mixed fleet to see whether they wish to press for further action.

Reps said the issue of trousers had been "tentatively raised" with the airline's higher management and were told that it was "not within the mixed fleet vision for female crew to wear trousers".

The 80% wool, 20% polyester trousers are believed to be a more practical option than the skirt for crew performing manoeuvres in the colder months – particularly as thick, opaque tights are also off-limits at BA's mixed fleet.

Women who work as cabin attendants in the worldwide (long-haul) and Euro fleets at British Airways have had the option to wear trousers since 2001, when uniforms were revamped by designer Julien McDonald. The airline at the time reportedly found 70% of female crew wished to have the choice.

A BA spokesman said the airline was not aware of any requests from its cabin crew to wear trousers. He said: "We believe our crew look professional and smart and we receive positive customer feedback on a regular basis.

"Our newest cabin crew fleet has always had its own uniform since its creation in 2010, with a number of unique aspects, such as female crew wearing a hat and skirt. This is the uniform offered to new members of cabin crew who are fully aware of this when they join the fleet."

Strict rules on presentation remain in place across most airlines, although trousers are not universally regarded as an issue. Crew working at easyJet have a choice of skirts, trousers and dress – albeit all orange-tinged – from the uniform range. At Virgin Atlantic, trousers on women are rarely seen, although a spokeswoman said they could be provided for medical or religious requirements, with requests reviewed on a case by case basis.

BA pilot charged with sex assaults on boy: Long-haul captain accused of almost 20 offences is sacked from £160,000-a-year job

Captain Bartle Frere, 50, is accused of indecent assault, gross indecency, a serious sexual assault and child porn offences
He's the second BA pilot to be charged with child sex offences in 6 months
First Officer Simon Wood, 54, killed himself days after he was charged with indecently assaulting an eight-year-old girl
But there's no suggestion the pilots knew each other
Frere has been remanded in custody and will appear in court again in May

By STEPHEN WRIGHT

PUBLISHED: 22:31, 10 February 2014 | UPDATED: 22:42, 10 February 2014

Sacked: Captain Bartle Frere, who was fired from his job as a BA pilot, has appeared in court charged with child sex offences

British Airways has sacked a long-haul pilot after he was arrested over a string of child sex offences.

Captain Bartle Frere, 50, lost his £160,000 a year job after he was questioned about allegations dating back to 2001.

He appeared in court last week accused of indecent assault, gross indecency and another serious sexual assault - on a boy under 16 - and child porn offences.

Frere, a bachelor, is the second senior BA pilot to be charged with child sex offences in the last six months.

First Officer Simon Wood, 54, killed himself last August days after he was charged with indecently assaulting an eight-year-old girl in the UK and a series of child porn offences.

Police believe Wood used his position to abuse hundreds of vulnerable children in African schools and orphanages, during stopovers overseas for BA.

There is no suggestion that Frere, a keen amateur photographer and ‘movie maker’ - who is also skilled at aerobatics - knew Wood or committed any offences with him.

But news of his prosecution will be a major embarrassment to BA, coming so soon after the controversy involving Wood.

An official video made by Frere for a leading prep school in the South-East is accompanied by the BA theme tune - Sous le Dome Epais (Flower Duet).

Frere, who was educated at £10,830 a term Westminster School, whose alumni include Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, was arrested at his modern but traditionally built stone three bedroom home in the sleepy Dorset village of Shipton Gorge, near Bridport, in November last year.

A neighbour said: ‘I had been out for the day and when I returned there were a number of police vehicles here. They took away some equipment from the house and Mr Frere.

‘He cuts quite a solitary figure. I see him now and again to nod to and say hello just to be polite but I don’t think anyone in the village knows him particularly well.

Frere was remanded in custody at Bournemouth Crown Court, pictured, yesterday and will appear back in court in May

‘He will sometimes pop up the pub if there is anything like a quiz on and he comes to the village fete things like that but he is away for weeks on end with his job as a long haul BA pilot.’

Yesterday, there was no answer when a reporter knocked at the door of Frere’s home, where a metal model of a Spitfire has pride of place in the window of the downstairs sitting room.

It is understood that following his arrest, a file was sent to the Crown Prosecution, which authorised criminal charges late last month.

Dorset Police said Surrey-born Frere appeared at Bournemouth Magistrates Court on February 1, and at the local crown court on Friday.

It said: ‘50-year-old Bartle Frere from Bridport has been charged with child sex offences... safeguarding measures have been put in place to protect victims.’

He was remanded in custody during his most recent court appearance and is due in court again on May 2.

Frere - described by one acquaintance as ‘a perfectly mannered country gentleman’ - is charged with four indecent assaults, one attempted indecent assault, one offence of gross indecency, three offences of buggery - all on a boy under 16 between 2001 and 2003.

He is further accused of possession of six indecent images of children and making four indecent images of children.

British Airways pilot Simon Wood, pictured, killed himself last year after he was charged with child sex offences but there is no suggestion Wood and Frere knew each other

The Mail has learned that Frere was sacked by BA following his arrest late last year. But the airline refuses to say when he was dismissed - or why.

A spokesman said: ‘He is no longer an employee of the company.’ He added: ‘We do not discuss confidential matters between the company and employees or ex-employees.’

Frere, whose unusual Christian name is a diminutive of Bartholomew, is from a family with an impressive pedigree and history which saw noticeable service in the empire in war and peace.

He is directly related to Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere (1815 - 1884) who was created a Baronet in 1876 after a long and distinguished career in the Indian Civil Service.

In 1872 he had negotiated the abolition of the slave trade with the Sultan of Zanzibar. In 1877 he was appointed to be the Governor of the Cape Province, South Africa to implement the policy of confederation.

However, his approach in refusing to speak to the native chiefs provoked a war with the Zulu tribes, the first battle of which in 1879 ended in a disastrous defeat for the British army.

Despite eventually winning the trust of the Boer element of the proposed confederation he was recalled to London in 1880 and censured for reckless conduct.

Another wealthy ancestor, George Frere (1774-1854), inherited Twyford House, a Queen Anne mansion in Thorley, near Bishop’s Stortford, in Herts, and was founder and president of the Law Society.

Frere’s sister Sarah Frere, 51, refused to comment at her home in Sheringham, Norfolk.

She said: ‘I am not saying anything. If anything has happened, it will cause immense distress and I am not saying any more.’

Last September the Mail revealed how during BA stopovers in Africa, paedophile pilot Simon Wood dressed in a bogus captain’s uniform and offered BA branded toys and colouring books to lure children out on day trips and to five-star hotels used by the airline, where he would abuse them.

Days after appearing in a court in London last August, charged with child sex and porn offences, he threw himself under a train.

Officials in Kenya have identified at least 15 children, all believed to be girls aged five to 11, that Wood abused - and say they fear there are hundreds more.

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