Why do airline passengers always look so scruffy nowadays ?

[anonymous-user]

Shakermaker said:

hammo19 said:

I laugh at the football shirt, shorts and flip flop brigade getting off the flight from Florida at 07:00 at Gatwick shivering but trying to play it cool look at my tan and gold necklace.....

Agreed. Mid-winter, on a night shift when I'm wearing multiple layers of clothes to fight off the wind, rain, snow, and you meet the flight from somewhere like Las Palmas or Sharm El Sheikh and they always, always, remark at how surprised they are it is cold at 1am in the UK in January...

Those flights from the states in winter are usually going into somewhere like goose bay or gander in frozen Canada if something goes wrong. Same with flights to the east going over Russia or Kazakhstan in winter.

It’s possible with a diversion than you might not have access to your suitcase in the hold due to handling facilities etc.

I don’t travel with winter survival gear in my handluggage but I certainly wouldn’t travel in shorts and flip flops.

[Jaguar steve]

Dog Star said:

djc206 said:

I don’t own jogging bottoms because I neither jog nor burgle peoples homes

There is someone on PH who on a thread a couple of years ago was saying that when they went on holiday on a plane back in the 70s his mum and dad made him wear a full on suit, shirt and tie etc. Brilliant!

My dad would always wear his RAF Wings tie whenever we flew in the 1960s and 70s and even though we were going on bloody holiday I was always made to wear my posh brat school one.

In those days the pilot stood by the aircraft door to welcome passengers on board and dads tie would usually get him and me invited to spend some of the flight on the flight deck which was a lot more interesting than watching my sister barfing her guts up for two hours.

Jeans, T shirt and trainers now though...

[captain_cynic]

Regiment said:

I don’t fly that often but I’ve always tried to dress as smartly as possible, hoping for a potential free upgrade...never happened. But it’s odd turning up in a shirt and tie at Checkin to a flight to Bangkok.

This... but I don't bother with the tie.

Have had a free upgrade, but you've got a better chance of that as a single traveller. I think you do get treated better by dressing nicely (even if it's just jeans and a nice shirt) compared to the football shirt brigade regardless though.

I can remember a time when flying was a luxury.

[SVX]

It all went to pot when they banned me from carrying my sword stick and hat box on as hand luggage

I used to fly 2-3 times a week, now, 2-3 times a month.

This sums it up nicely:

https://youtu.be/Gj_5Pgy-eVQ

I always wear a jacket and shirt, either with chinos or smart dark jeans, and have been upgraded from business to first a few times. EK used to be pretty generous with complementary lounge access but no so much now. However, BA crew appear to have been developed in some sort of secret robotics lab with an emphasis on suffering.

The 04:00 - drinking LGW dry in the 'Spoons crowd baffles me every time.

[Bradgate]

We couldn't care less what the punters wear, as long as they are 'decent' and their attire isn't offending anyone.

We just want their money.

[hantsxlg]

I personally generally travel in chinos, shirt and 'sports' jacket as comfortable, flexible to warm and coldish climates and gives you decent jacket pockets for passport, pen (for forms) and boarding pass).

[Condi]

Jogging bottom, hoody wearing, super casual flyer here. Its a bus in the sky, and nothing more, and I want to be as comfortable as possible for the next 10 hours. Maybe if you're towards the front then its different, but generally Im on the cheapest flight possible, and have suitably low expectations of the ICE and service. As long as I arrive safely and on time thats pretty much all that matters.

Only downside with jogging bottoms is that cards have a tendency to fall out of pockets. My credit cards are probably still circulating the sky on one of EasyJets A320's.

[BJG1]

why wouldn't you dress as comfortably as possible?


Flying business class to Canada in a few weeks, will be in trackies and a hoodie.

[fatboy b]

Flying BA first to Vancouver in May, so I expect shorts / teashirt / sandals will be the attire

[David A]

Sat in the admirals first lounge at T3 waiting for my lobster mac n cheese. It’s a 50:50 split of very casually dressed and smartly dressed. The casually dressed look like they’ve done this many times before. The smarter dressed look like their on hols.

[IforB]

If you are in the vain hope of getting a free upgrade, then dressing smartly won't hurt. If you don't care about that, then just wear whatever you want!

You can normally spot the staff or upgraded people in First compared to those who actually bought their own tickets!

[Puggit]

schmalex said:

In general, I’ve noticed that people in long haul BA Biz tend to dress much more smartly (ie suits with ties still on) than those travelling in Biz / Fist on EK / QR etc. On the BA flights, one can almost feel them looking at you in your jeans and silently tutting!

These are the idiots who still insist on paying through the nose because it's BA.

They don't realise there's a world outside where BA is now at the bottom of the pile. These are the idiots who are allowing BA to get away with dumbing down the service with frequent 'enhancements'.

[redddraggon]

I wear and carry in my hand luggage the stuff I can get by on if my checked stuff doesn't get to the end destination.

I went to the Oil fields of Alberta in December, I wasn't wasting space for useless smart stuff (but I was the customer, rather than me visiting a client).

[fatboy b]

Puggit said:

These are the idiots who still insist on paying through the nose because it's BA.

They don't realise there's a world outside where BA is now at the bottom of the pile. These are the idiots who are allowing BA to get away with dumbing down the service with frequent 'enhancements'.

I got an 80% discount of our first fares. Buggered if I’d pay full fare, but the sales bring the price down to a more realistic level.

[NorthDave]

If you travel out of Liverpool airport the blokes are all dressed in head to foot sports wear and the women are dressed like a day out at the races. Its bizarre.

Personally it will be a sad day when I'm seen out of the house in tracksuit bottoms. I have too much self respect (and I'm a snob).

[anonymous-user]

NorthDave said:

Personally it will be a sad day when I'm seen out of the house in tracksuit bottoms. I have too much self respect (and I'm a snob).

Glad someone else thought this. It’s about respect for others also. The world would be pretty grim if nobody made the effort anymore.

Obviously it depends on a variety of factors, do these people actually look great in some kind of new fashionable tracksuit trousers? Perhaps they get changed on the flight or they’re those hot actiwear instagram models?

[IanUAE]

If I am going straight to a meeting / office, then I travel in work attire. If I am going to the hotel then jeans, polo shirt and trainers.

[schmalex]

I have to fly to Dubai on Monday and will be travelling on Emirates. As the flight out is 6h 50, I’ll be flying economy, but as the trip back is 8h, I will be flying first as there were no business class seats left. In both cases, I’ll wear jeans, polo shirt and trainers.

It doesn’t matter at all what you are dressed like. Upgrades are governed by fare bucket, operational need and airline status.

As has been said, though, I wouldn’t wear tracksuit trousers - that’s just wrong in any situation!

Apparently, pyjamas are the new battle in premium classes. I’ve got a few pairs from Etihad, Emirates and Qatar. The Emirates ones even infuse sea kelp (or something) into your skin while you move to keep you from dehydrating. Regardless of how comfortable they are when you are sleeping, they make you look like a right plonker of you go for a wander round the plane and they are so badly cut they just hang

[anonymous-user]

Usually jeans and polo shirt, if long haul. I do find it a little amusing though as I see not a lot of difference between a fat middle aged man in a football top behaving like a berk and a the same 'unit' dressed in fancy shirt? Upgrades have little to do with attire and more to do with; a. being in the right place and b. having a some basic social skills. If you grunt at the check in desk you are unlikely to win many prizes.

Checking in this last weekend was enlightening. The business check in at T5 was a little bit busy, st happens, but the amount of self entitled stuck up whingers in that queue was staggering. It seems business class travellers in their own minds are quite important, It's all just such a first world problem this travelling lark.

[anonymous-user]

schmalex said:

It doesn’t matter at all what you are dressed like. Upgrades are governed by fare bucket, operational need and airline

Depending on airline, you can get an upgrade easiest by working for an airline/handling agent or knowing people who work for the airline/handling agent or even blagging it at the check in, certainly in the last case, what you wear matters to a certain extent.