By Margaryta Chornokondratenko and Sergiy Karazy

KYIV (Reuters) – Alexandrina Denysenko, a senior flight attendant with seven years of experience, says she sometimes does not get a spare minute to sit down during a flight and dreams of resting her swollen legs after spending hours wearing heels.

SkyUp Airlines in Ukraine, a private company that employs Denysenko after receiving feedback about its uniforms from attendants.

    The new SkyUp uniform for women now includes white Nike Ukrainian brand brands offer sneakers as well as a suit in loose orange with trousers and a scarf. Blunts will soon be replaced with white T-shirts.

    “Shoes on heels look beautiful, I do not argue with that, but feet suffer and swell by the end of the flight. “Sneakers are cool,” Denysenko said to Reuters.

    “God forbid, but if a crew has to do a landing in water and an evacuation, heels can damage the ladder and it won’t be very comfortable to swim in a skirt,” she said.

    The company said they researched the history of cabin crew uniforms and decided to ditch what they called “conservative” elements of a flight attendant’s look. Braids are now the new style to replace tight buns or ponytails.

    “We found out that despite the fact that the image of a female flight attendant is very romanticized, their job demands a lot of physical training,” the head of the SkyUp Airlines marketing department, Marianna Grygorash, said.

    The new uniform will be officially launched on Oct. 22.

    Grygorash said the company also plans to launch a new uniform for male crew. Grygorash said that a lighter suit will replace a vest and that a T-shirt in place of a shirt would be paired with black Nike sneakers.

    “If the whole world and all fashionistas wear sneakers, why not to bring it to aviation?” flight attendant Zoryana said.