Air Jamaica
Been discussing your little problem with a few of the guys out here, not too sure what to put really, its one of them interesting examples where stereotype, culture and practicality all clash mate! I can be fairly confident in saying that they do have a fairly strict appearance policy when turning up at the airport for a flight, this policy seems to revolve around a smart appearance theme, so much so that I got my but kicked for wearing a brown belt once!
The usual stuff applies, clean shaven or facial hair neatly trimmed, clean and ironed uniform, etc etc, everything to boost a professional appearance typical of not only a Pilot but someone who takes pride in their appearance.
However, this is where the interesting question kicks in, who decides whats smart and whats not?? I personally think Dreads are awesome, and as far as taking pride in your appearance goes, I know that they are not particularly easy to take care of or maintain, therefore, in my humble opinion, it displays positives about one's attitudes. However, different people have different opinions and generally speaking it seems unfortunate that dreads appear to take on a negative aura in society!
It puzzles me.
As far as practicalities go, I will say one thing, Katana's are small aircraft, you take off your headset quite alot in flight to put foggles on and spend alot of time (especially towards the end) flying along with foggles and a headset wrapped around your head, not sure if that would work!
Therefore, my personal opinion is as follows. I am very against people having to conform to one uniform image, it brings nothing but a very clinical, robotic atmosphere to any organisation. However, for practicality reasons, I would suggest a revised hairdoo. Sorry mate.
(ps. you sound like a good laugh, and for what its worth, dreads or no dreads, your personality is the thing that comes accross at the interview stage.)
