Air New Zealand is standing by its policy of not allowing visible tattoos on customer service staff after an internal review.
The airline's policy came under scrutiny when Claire Nathan was dismissed from an interview for a hostess position in January because she had a Maori motif on her forearm.
Air New Zealand was criticised as hypocritical for the move because it carries a koru in its logo and has used heavily tattooed celebrities, such as pop singer Gin Wigmore and the All Blacks, in advertising campaigns.
But cultural development manager Andrew Baker said today the airline carried more than five million customers internationally each year and it was important they felt as comfortable as possible when flying with the national carrier.
"The reality is that many of our international customers, particularly on Asian services, would not feel comfortable interacting with staff with visible tattoos in the close confines of the aircraft cabin environment - regardless of whether the tattoos are considered to be cultural or otherwise.