An air steward has claimed they are so poorly paid they are being forced to sell unwashed uniforms online – to people with ‘perverse interests’.
Cabin crew claiming to be from top airlines including easyJet, British Airways, Jet2, Virgin Atlantic and Emirates have been flogging used uniform, tights and shoes on eBay.
The ‘worn’ and often unwashed uniform items are sometimes listed as ‘very worn and fragrant of my natural perfumes’, and appear to be listed for fetishists.
But a Norwegian Airlines cabin crew member has now come forward to reveal that it is the ‘appallingly low’ salaries that have led to staff on ‘every flight’ selling their clothes to people with ‘perverse interests’.
Screengrab from ebay showing used cabin crew tights and stockings that are up for grabs
The crew member, who wished to remain anonymous, claims that some of his colleagues have been offered up to £500 for a pair of worn tights – and have contemplated accepting.
The man, who has been working for Norwegian Airlines since 2015, said: ‘You do think, ‘oh goodness £500, it’s a lot.’
‘People think we have a glamorous life going around the world. I don’t think people realise we are reduced to selling our used crew shoes to make ends meet.’
One of dozens of listings, this one selling a ‘huge bundle’ of used cabin crew tights
Often advertised as ‘well-worn’, the items being offered include shoes, tights and even name-badges with the branding of various airlines.
One listing for a pair of used flight attendant tights says: ‘worn on many long distance journeys on very long hot shifts.
‘Very worn and fragrant of my natural perfume as often worn minus underwear’.
A stewardess stretches her legs across the cabin of a plane as she attempts to sell her tights
The cabin crew member said that he is now earning less than half the salary, as a senior crew member, that he did as a junior crew member ten years ago at a different airline.
He said: ‘I started on £2,200 a month at my old airline, which eventually rose to £3,000.’
After being made redundant in 2015, he joined Norwegian Airlines and now earns just £1,200 a month.
He added: ‘An awful lot of crew I am flying with have been reduced to selling uniform. On every flight, at least one or two are doing it.’
The man said that he himself has been a collector of airline uniforms for many years, as it was always his dream to fly.
A list of stockings for sale. Shoes and belts were also up for grabs. Some women say they are cabin crew
As well as stockings and several pairs of ‘well worn’ shoes, this Emirates belt was also available
After racking up hundreds of outfits, the air steward decided to start selling them on eBay – and discovered a market of people with ‘strange interests’.
And although he says he has never wanted to sell to ‘role play evening people’, he is now considering doing so because he is struggling to live on his wage.
He said: ‘There are people who collect from a fashion perspective, but you get some quite bizarre people who are doing it for I dread to think what reason.
Some ‘preloved’ cabin crew tights. Some of the items appeared to be listed for fetishists
‘I would say they make up about 45 per cent of the buyers.’
He continued: ‘I have just flown from Buenos Aires with a girl who had an email from a guy who offered £500 for her tights if she wore them non-stop for a week.
‘She said it was bizarre but she was contemplating whether to accept.
‘Some of my colleagues have regular customers. One has been offered £300 for a photo of her wearing the outfit being sold.’
A Norwegian Airlines cabin crew member has now come forward to reveal that it is the ‘appallingly low’ salaries that have led to staff on ‘every flight’ selling their clothes
The air steward revealed the most he has ever sold an outfit for was £1,600. The full Virgin Atlantic women’s uniform was bought by a man.
Though the air steward we interviewed is employed by Norwegian Airlines, the eBay market is filled with uniforms from most major airlines.
A Norwegian Airlines spokesperson said: ‘Norwegian cabin crew renumeration is in line with the market rate and in many instances above that of our competitors.
‘We never comment on the personal situation of our colleagues.’
EasyJet, British Airways, Jet2, Virgin Atlantic and Emirates have all been contacted for comment.