India : IA Ropes In FTV To Design Staff Uniforms

Indian Airlines looking to improve the appearance of ground handling staff, Indian Airlines (IA) along with FTV, is taking this route to select new outfits for its ground crew. FTV has selected designs by Anshu Arora Sen, Pria Kataria Puri and Deepika Govind for this.

Brochures on the designs will be handed out to passengers flying IA between May 10 and 30, from or to Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

At the end of the 20-day sampling period, the design that gets the maximum number of votes will be chosen for ground staff across the country.

The idea, according to IA officials, is to change the perceived image of the carrier and its ground staff, apart from creating awareness that the airline is currently under going a major change.

"This is not a sales driven contest for IA but is aimed at getting a feedback from the passengers flying IA," they said.

And what does FTV gain out of this?

Anita Horem, FTV head of programming & creative services, says, "The idea is to make the channel's presence felt in India. The exercise, however, does not have any connection with sales for FTV. It is primarily FTV's initiative to show that it not only understands the business of fashion but also that it understands Indian fashion. Hence we decided to go ahead with an Indian company like IA where the basic uniform is sari and choli," Horem added.

Also, there is something in store for the passengers who have voted for the winning design.

These passengers will qualify for a lucky draw where the prizes include tickets for 12 couples to an international destination (Singapore, Bangkok, Middle East).

According to the channel, the panel of designers chosen to give a new look to the domestic carrier was chosen keeping in mind talent, individuality and a sensibility for Indian couture.

Fashion TV will air the unveiling of the new design on the channel in a special on-air capsule.