Most people are aware that the color of the belt a person learning/practicing martial arts represents how far along they’ve gone with their training and mastery. The same goes for uniform stripes. Whether someone is in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, or law enforcement, the number (and sometimes color) of stripes (a.k.a. bars) a person wears on the shoulder and/or sleeves of their uniform usually means the person has achieved something significant; either a certain title, or years of longevity.
Airline pilots also earn stripes. Similar to the armed services, their stripes represent the rank they’ve earned and the experience they’ve gained. The more stripes they have, the higher their authority and experience.
But what do a pilot’s stripes mean?
Even after 100+ years of aviation history, there’s still no worldwide standard of stripes across airlines. Different airlines can and do issue a different number of stripes to their pilots depending on their rank (which can also vary, depending on the airline and country). The following is a broad generalization, which may differ from airline to airline and country to country:
1 Stripe
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1 stripe can means that person is a pilot in training (see paragraph 2 of “2 stripes”). However, depending on the airline, 1 stripe can also signify someone who is operational staff or head purser.
2 Stripes
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If someone has 2 stripes in their uniform, it often means they’re a Second Officer or Flight Engineer. They’re responsible for monitoring the aircraft systems, as well as assisting the captain and first officer with navigation. They’re generally considered to be third in command of the aircraft. You usually won’t see Flight Engineers on domestic flights as much as you will on long haul flights.
Wearing 2 stripes can also represent someone who is training to be a pilot (again, it differs from airline to airline).
3 Stripes
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3 stripes indicates the person is a First Officer (a.k.a. the plane’s co-pilot). This person is typically second in command of the aircraft and they will sit to the right of the captain. Their duties involve assisting the captain with the operation of the plane.
4 Stripes
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The Captain (read: the person in charge) will have 4 stripes on their uniform. This distinction is pretty standardized across airlines.
Again, this delineation isn’t the same for every airline. If you know of an airline that has a different system for stripes/bars, please reply and let us know.
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