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Air Steward Claims Cabin Crew Are Reduced To Selling Used And Unwashed Uniforms On eBay

Air Steward Claims Cabin Crew Are Reduced To Selling Used And Unwashed Uniforms On eBay

Members of cabin crew have listed their items with one stating them as 'very worn and fragrant of my natural perfumes'

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

An air steward has claimed they are so poorly paid they are being forced to sell unwashed uniforms online - to fetishists.

Cabin crew from top airlines including easyJet, Jet2, Virgin Atlantic and Emirates have been flogging used uniform, tights and shoes on eBay.

One of the listings was for worn cabin crew shoes.
eBay

The 'worn' and often unwashed uniform items are sometimes listed as 'very worn and fragrant of my natural perfumes', and appear to be listed for fetishists.

But a Norwegian Airlines cabin crew member has now come forward to reveal that it is the 'appallingly low' salaries that have led to staff on 'every flight' selling their clothes to people with 'perverse interests'.

The crew member, who wished to remain anonymous, claims that some of his colleagues have been offered up to £500 ($650) for a pair of worn tights - and have contemplated accepting.

Another one of the posts on eBay.
SWNS

The man, who has been working for Norwegian Airlines since 2015, said: "You do think, 'oh goodness £500, it's a lot'. People think we have a glamorous life going around the world. I don't think people realise we are reduced to selling our used crew shoes to make ends meet."

Often advertised as 'well-worn', the items being offered include shoes, tights and even name-badges with the branding of various airlines.

One listing for a pair of used flight attendant tights says: "Worn on many long distance journeys on very long hot shifts. Very worn worn and fragrant of my natural perfume as often worn minus underwear".

Another of the listings.
SWNS

The cabin crew member said that he is now earning less than half the salary, as a senior crew member, that he did as a junior crew member ten years ago at a different airline.

He said: "I started on £2,200 a month at my old airline, which eventually rose to £3,000."

After being made redundant in 2015, he joined Norwegian Airlines and now earns £1,200 ($1,500) a month.

He added: "An awful lot of crew I am flying with have been reduced to selling uniform. On every flight, at least one or two are doing it."

This is a screengrab of an eBay user trying to flog tights.
SWNS

The man said that he himself has been a collector of airline uniforms for many years, as it was always his dream to fly.

After racking up hundreds of outfits, the air steward decided to start selling them on eBay - and discovered a market of people with 'strange interests'.

He said: "There are people who collect from a fashion perspective, but you get some quite bizarre people who are doing it for I dread to think what reason. I would say they make up about 45 per cent of the buyers."

He continued: "I have just flown from Buenos Aires with a girl who had an email from a guy who offered £500 for her tights if she wore them non-stop for a week. She said it was bizarre but she was contemplating whether to accept.

"Some of my colleagues have regular customers. One has been offered £300 for a photo of her wearing the outfit being sold."

A Norwegian Airlines spokesperson said: "Norwegian cabin crew renumeration is in line with the market rate and in many instances above that of our competitors. We never comment on the personal situation of our colleagues."

LADbible have approached easyJet, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Jet2, Emirates for comment.

A spokesperson from Virgin said: "We take allegations of individuals selling or passing on their uniforms very seriously and we will always investigate as a matter of security. The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our top priority."

Featured Image Credit: SWNS

Topics: News, Weird, airline