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-   -   Beard Protest (https://www.pprune.org/australia-new-zealand-pacific/667220-beard-protest.html)

Global Aviator 20th July 2025 02:20

Question for QF peeps, I know I mentioned it in my original
post (and used it as a point when I had my beard fun), I’ve also seen it mentioned again in this thread.

Are there any Sikh pilots in QF mainline? If so are they permitted to keep their beard (as per religious requirements). I know there are other religions that suggest keeping a beard but the Sikh seems the most relevant here.

It is actually a genuine question.

ScepticalOptomist 20th July 2025 03:10


Originally Posted by Global Aviator (Post 11925679)
Question for QF peeps, I know I mentioned it in my original
post (and used it as a point when I had my beard fun), I’ve also seen it mentioned again in this thread.

Are there any Sikh pilots in QF mainline? If so are they permitted to keep their beard (as per religious requirements). I know there are other religions that suggest keeping a beard but the Sikh seems the most relevant here.

It is actually a genuine question.

Not that I’m aware of.

Lapon 20th July 2025 04:54


Originally Posted by ScepticalOptomist (Post 11925644)
Whether you like the decision or not, this is the way........

At the end of the day, we all have a choice.

Except its not really a case of only having a choice betweed blind acceptance or quitting. There is a choice to critique, rebut, argue, or attempt to influence the change.

To imply the only choices are acceptance or to quit suggests an unhealthy level of subservience.

gordonfvckingramsay 20th July 2025 05:35

Other airlines, such as Emirates allow beards, the same Emirates that Qantas allows its passengers to fly with under its code share agreement. So if Qantas says this is a safety related issue, but feeds its passengers into a beard clad Emirates under a code share, it would then follow that safety of Qantas passengers isn’t really that important, and that it’s just an attempt at control.

Or perhaps Qantas need to tell Emirates pilots to shave too?

JPJP 20th July 2025 06:04


Originally Posted by Eaglerocker (Post 11925255)
Yes shave everyday.I don’t agree with the policy, but shaving every day or 2 is hardly alien. Mainline, JQ and EFA pilots have been doing this for ages

We also scurried around eating shrubbery and being chased by wild animals. Now we have grocery stores, zoos and male airline CEO’s with husbands. Admittedly not all of these things are progress. I mean the zoos of course. We’re living in the future. It’s time for the platted beard in Qantas cockpits !

Lookleft 20th July 2025 06:20

If the history of beards and the RAAF is uncovered then the history of Qantas and beards would follow. It has nothing at all to do with safety and oxy masks and everything to do with historical precedent. The Navy has bearded pilots and that is also because of a historical precedent.

ScepticalOptomist 20th July 2025 07:35


Originally Posted by Lapon (Post 11925694)
To imply the only choices are acceptance or to quit suggests an unhealthy level of subservience.

Look, good on you for feeling strongly about facial hair, I guess someone has to!
What about the rest of the uniform? I hate the hat, and don’t like wearing ties. Should we challenge that as well? What about long hair for the blokes as well?

At some point it’s just a grooming guideline.. out of all the things we should be getting upset at - this ain’t one of them! (For me - you do you!)

A320 Flyer 20th July 2025 08:16

Just shave and get over it

clear to land 20th July 2025 10:46

Zero safety issue-call for them to provide the safety case against it. Given far larger carriers as well as military aviators (some of whom wear Oxy masks for their entire flights) have no issues its time for the Pilot groups to push back.

BinChook 20th July 2025 11:03


Originally Posted by A320 Flyer (Post 11925745)
Just shave and get over it

Happy to when I’m shown clear evidence that having facial hair has both a real risk and a probable risk to flight safety of an airliner in Australia. I’m yet to see that evidence.

Realistically no-one in the business unit that I work for wants or cares about this. This request has come from someone above who is not man enough to announce who they are.

Take1 20th July 2025 22:53

Out of interest are they also asking female pilots to remove their makeup prior to fitting the quick don? Pretty sure some makeup is flamable, hence the reason they remove it in the cabin when administering O2 to sick pax.

Autobrakes4 20th July 2025 23:07


Originally Posted by BinChook (Post 11925811)
Happy to when I’m shown clear evidence that having facial hair has both a real risk and a probable risk to flight safety of an airliner in Australia. I’m yet to see that evidence.

Realistically no-one in the business unit that I work for wants or cares about this. This request has come from someone above who is not man enough to announce who they are.

No mate. You’ll do what you’re told and obey the company’s rules. Who do you think you are. They make the rules. If you don’t like it go somewhere else.

twentyelevens 20th July 2025 23:38


Originally Posted by JamieMaree (Post 11925409)
Do you want the job or not?
If you really want a beard join the Navy or the Lakemba community.
What other company rules do you want to debate?
Drinking within hours?
Not wearing the uniform in toto?
Wearing facial tattoos?
Not working on Saturdays because of your religion?

There is always a group of people in any society who do what they’re told, regardless of the stupidity or arbitrariness of the directive. The same people are always the first useful idiots to go in and bat for the authority, at no cost to the authority, demanding others comply with whatever the directive. They use every trick in the book to force compliance - like the false equivalences seen above. These are the people who are ideally suited to airline middle management.

Bad rules and directives made by bad people should never be followed blindly, nor enforced for free by drones with their false equivalences, shaming and gaslighting tactics. For pity sake, the COVID lockdowns were only a couple of years ago.

This is a bad rule, it’s not for safety, it’s to exert control and probably has some dips*#ts KPI bonus all over it. If mainline want subsidiaries to comply with mainline directives - mainline can comply with paying subsidiaries mainline pay for the same job.

Everythingisawful 20th July 2025 23:38


Originally Posted by Autobrakes4 (Post 11926015)
No mate. You’ll do what you’re told and obey the company’s rules. Who do you think you are. They make the rules. If you don’t like it go somewhere else.

Mate, if you think blindly following rules without question is something to be proud of, that’s on you. We’re asking a simple question. Where’s the actual evidence this is a real and probable safety risk? The QinetiQ report doesn’t recommend a blanket ban, and more importantly, it doesn’t cite a single real-world incident involving a bearded pilot and a failed oxygen mask. If the risk is real, show it and I’ll follow the rule. But telling people to shut up or leave for asking fair questions isn’t leadership. It’s just noise. And since this is being driven by Qantas management, let’s not pretend it’s coming from some sudden care for our safety,

Autobrakes4 21st July 2025 00:14


Originally Posted by Everythingisawful (Post 11926025)
Mate, if you think blindly following rules without question is something to be proud of, that’s on you. We’re asking a simple question. Where’s the actual evidence this is a real and probable safety risk? The QinetiQ report doesn’t recommend a blanket ban, and more importantly, it doesn’t cite a single real-world incident involving a bearded pilot and a failed oxygen mask. If the risk is real, show it and I’ll follow the rule. But telling people to shut up or leave for asking fair questions isn’t leadership. It’s just noise. And since this is being driven by Qantas management, let’s not pretend it’s coming from some sudden care for our safety,

It’s a beard mate. If they want you to wear a red shirt you wear a red shirt, if they want you to wear green pants you wear green pants. If they don’t want beards well it’s their trainset. You can question all you want but it’s their policy not yours. Binchook basically implied he would only shave if he was shown evidence that facial hair was a risk. Well if he turned up on my flight deck with a beard he’d be going home to shave it off and the standby called out. Once again if you don’t like the rules move to the desert and fly for Emirates where you can wear a beard. In a world where we have EBA’s up in the air this issue rates a zero out of 10.

twentyelevens 21st July 2025 00:23


Originally Posted by Autobrakes4 (Post 11926031)
. In a world where we have EBA’s up in the air this issue rates a zero out of 10.

If you can’t see how this petty coercion, bullying, control and submission, around arbitrary rules (which you’re enforcing for free to the company) directly relates to Q Group EBA negotiations - then you remove the useful out of useful idiot.

BinChook 21st July 2025 00:35


Originally Posted by Autobrakes4 (Post 11926031)
It’s a beard mate. If they want you to wear a red shirt you wear a red shirt, if they want you to wear green pants you wear green pants. If they don’t want beards well it’s their trainset. You can question all you want but it’s their policy not yours. Binchook basically implied he would only shave if he was shown evidence that facial hair was a risk. Well if he turned up on my flight deck with a beard he’d be going home to shave it off and the standby called out. Once again if you don’t like the rules move to the desert and fly for Emirates where you can wear a beard. In a world where we have EBA’s up in the air this issue rates a zero out of 10.

Vote YES to a 2% payrise too champ?

MikeHatter732 21st July 2025 00:53


Originally Posted by Autobrakes4 (Post 11926031)
It’s a beard mate. If they want you to wear a red shirt you wear a red shirt, if they want you to wear green pants you wear green pants. If they don’t want beards well it’s their trainset. You can question all you want but it’s their policy not yours. Binchook basically implied he would only shave if he was shown evidence that facial hair was a risk. Well if he turned up on my flight deck with a beard he’d be going home to shave it off and the standby called out. Once again if you don’t like the rules move to the desert and fly for Emirates where you can wear a beard. In a world where we have EBA’s up in the air this issue rates a zero out of 10.

mate I don’t think there’d be any standbys left. They’d be on their last one after everyone had gone sick to not fly with someone like you.

Zeta_Reticuli 21st July 2025 02:08


Originally Posted by Autobrakes4 (Post 11926051)
6 million? I don’t live in Fairfield mate!

It’s so funny watching the younger generations get their panties all soiled because they can’t get their own way with a non issue like a beard. Yet they’re the first ones to roll over when the second time EBA is up for a vote and then tell everyone they voted no, but they didn’t. It’s amazing how people always poke fingers at the older folk for destroying things for the new generation. There were a hellava lot of junior first officers and second officers that voted for the b scale in the last long haul EBA, not just Capt’s. Easier to blame the Capt’s though rather than your own generation for screwing you over. Anyway back onto beards, so much more important than pay, conditions and the like. What’s next? Striking because the company want to ban man buns and nipple rings? Go your hardest I wont be replying to this bollocks non issue and maybe take a look at yourselves in the mirror and see what’s actually worth fighting for. Beards ain’t one of them.

I could not care for beards and personally think piercings and manbuns are pathetic. My entire point is that Qlink pilots should not be dictated to on their facial hair when Qantas can't even pay a living wage. Atleast mainline pay a proper salary, so yes mainline pilots should atleast try to represent the company in a neat and professional manner. Meanwhile Qlink subs pay Hobo salaries so let the pilots look like Hobos ffs. You want to start dictating appearence well payup then...
And yes many young ones of my generation are sellouts and so are alot of the older guys. But many have joined with no other option as they need hours, most at Network are just hour building to go overseas, they know they will never get a position at mainline. So what do they do? Sit at home or work at bunnings for peanuts or build airbus time for peanuts and then pissoff. I know what option I would be choosing. NJS and Network are Jet hour building academies.

Gnadenburg 21st July 2025 05:00

Multi-millionaire Gen X here ( thanks to aviation ). Perplexingly, I suppose I should be sorry about pulling up the ladder?

If you’re in a job flying jets to build experience to go to an airline, my generation would call that GA with Jets. What a wonderful way to build hours! Enjoy your beard. You must look like a Territory pilot of the 80’s?


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