Its to get you in the airline mood.
And thus commences the tunnel vision to "I shall be adorning the right hand seat of an airbus with my 250hrs" (or whatever it is nowadays)
As already stated, airlines insist upon a uniform for valid reasons - company culture (identity), chain of command (seniority) etc etc. I know some FTO's ask for a plain crew shirt and tie...hmm...a little over the top perhaps...but epaulettes? COME ON! You're students for god's sake, not 737 crews! Apart from instilling an air of elitism which will serve little purpose in todays industry where CRM is key, its marketing pure and simple. Look great in the uniform, but if your flying skills suck, they will still suck!
I think the modular students only have one gold bar.
Disgraceful discrimination. So £££ = bars? Oh dear.
