"Wearing an airline pilot style hat makes you look much taller and more imposing ( remeber those gestapo uniforms ?) which is really important when operating in most 3rd world countries."
Nevertheless, I try to avoid Jackson, Harlingen and Little Rock!
Smokie,
One of our guys had that exact headwear and put it on his head in line to depart Las Vegas enroute to Los Angeles. (Back in the early days of TCAS --when we found out how really busy LA airspace was. Kind of a "Kamakazi" mission to LA.)
Anyway, in the heat of battle enroute, he leaves the scarf on his head. As he pull into the gate for the return trip to Las Vegas, he looks up and in the windows are some 60 Japanese tourists about to board his plane. He can see their motions (raising of arms and smiling as the shout something). Figuring the cat's out of the bag, he walks into the jetway later as the passengers are boarding and the Japanese tour group is giving him hearty rounds of "BANZAI!!!" Had they ended up in a bar together that evening I trust he wouldn't have been able to buy himself a beer. This group would have taken him under their wing.
Just prior to departure I am told he greeted all the passengers from the front galley mike and (still with headdress on) then in his best Japanese ("Kanichiwa") he bowed to the Japanese passengers and the crowd went wild.
Try that at American or BA!!
PT