Why do people dress up nice to travel on planes?

rolo wrote:

Plus, light khakis are more comfortable than blue jeans anyway.

I know this answer is from 3 years ago, but every time my wife and I fly together somewhere, she asks me why I wear a pair of khaki pants. I tell her they are more comfortable to sit in for an extended period of time and they look more professional than jeans. You can make jeans look nice, as other posters have said, by pairing them with a nice shirt and blazer, but would I want to sit in jeans for a 10+ hour flight? No.

Charles Honorarium wrote:

I've been on chicken buses in Central America that had better dressed occupants than most domestic flights.

This is a great stand alone quote.

EZ10Miler wrote:

Actually people USED to dress up to get on a plane because it was exotic and reserved for the well to do. Now the airport is more like a bus station.

When I'm in an airport the only people I see "dressed nice" are people that are obviously traveling for business purposes.

Yep. Flying used to be a rare luxury. Now it's common place.

People of past generations used to dress up more for all kinds of things. Go find some pictures of football games in the 1950s...fans in coats and ties. Fashions change.

Doesn't it depend on why you are flying?

IF I'm traveling on company time or meeting someone right after I get off the plan, of course I'll dress nice.

On the other hand if I'm traveling to go to a race or out hiking or the beach why would I wear a blazer and button up shirt only to go to the hotel to change into slobby running outdoor clothes?

Yeah, the people who dress well are obviously headed straight to a business meeting. If they're going to visit relatives, it's unlikely they'd dress up.

My gf has a whooty! wrote:

I dress nice on planes for two reasons, work and to flirt with women.

The work one is obvious and many people have already stated that.

The second one hasn't been mentioned yet which surprises me. I've picked up many traveling women in airports and on planes. Most of these women are traveling for business, but some are simply flying solo to visit their parents or something like that. It's a pretty easy gig if you look nice. Women are just like men, they want to live the fanticy of meeting a stranger in some town and getting it on just for that night.

fanticy, really?

This thread was back before the moderators of this forum deleted every single thing before there could be a good discussion

On a related topic, wouldn't it be fun if you were very rich to just live in airports? Eat and drink in the sky lounges, sleep on the benches at night when nobody's there, next day jump on a plane somewhere else. Tour all the world's airports and see all the people first hand.

If you stayed in international airports, you would technically not be in any country, the whole time.

Disappointed 1 wrote:

Seems kind of silly because planes are often stinky and dusty

We are on our way to work and flying first class has its perks.

David Sedaris' take:

"I should be used to the way Americans dress when travelling, yet still it manages to amaze me. It’s as if the person next to you had been washing shoe polish off a pig, then suddenly threw down his sponge, saying, “F*** this. I’m going to Los Angeles!”"

www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/08/09/standing-by

Still being talked about in mainstream media I guess.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/cracking-the-airlines%E2%80%99-dress-code/ar-AAq5r7S?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp

just a reminder for you slobs to clean up your act

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/fashion/19-things-you-should-never-wear-while-traveling/ss-BBFvRPl?ocid=spartanntp

Old post, but I'd guess that the OP just thinks that people are "dressed up" on planes because he doesn't realize that a lot of people just try to look presentable regardless of where they are. I don't dress any nicer when I fly than I would for any random day at the office, but I would probably appear "dressed up" to someone who is used to t shirts and shorts being normal wear for all occasions.

not dressed up wrote:

Old post, but I'd guess that the OP just thinks that people are "dressed up" on planes because he doesn't realize that a lot of people just try to look presentable regardless of where they are. I don't dress any nicer when I fly than I would for any random day at the office, but I would probably appear "dressed up" to someone who is used to t shirts and shorts being normal wear for all occasions.

I travel often for business and usually wear my work clothes on the plane, which is a t-shirt and either jeans or shorts. I think the real question is why do people dress so fancy for work? (I work in big tech, btw...suits and ties just seem so pointless)

uhhhhh how about business trips and interviews?

much much easier to wear your suit on the plane than pack it in a garment bag and check it or another bag.

how old are you?

Broke down runner wrote:

People are a mess, I hate going to the airport. Everyone is wearing pajama pants and flip flops, looks like hell, probably hasn't bathed.

Add in that no one knows how to pack a small carryon, or how to use the overhead bins, or basically how to be a good traveler.

I think Bus stations might be a better option.

This.

I was thinking of this in terms of literally flying to races. Bekele will be going to India in a few weeks for the 25k world record and marathon world record's next year. He is in Ethiopia, and he has to fly to get to India, Dubai, London and them places. What is it like been an elite when you fly to races. I often imagine what Bekele wears when he is getting to races, and who sits beside him. Will he have his own plain, with just family, security and supporters going with him. I hope he dresses comfortably on them flights, so that he does well in races. He is the greatest runner ever, so probably a fabulous suit would be a good idea for after his flight home when he has finished races with new world record's. But flying over before races, he will were running gere, I imagine. If he was flying on a public flight, I would really want to meat him and be beside him.

KD has a funny story about meeting Kipchoge in the Portland airport before Pre a few years ago. I'll probably get some details wrong, but apparently Kipchoge had traveled straight from Kaptagat, (cars and multiple connections) without stopping to rest anywhere along the way, and his race was in one day. KD asked, "aren't you worried about jet lag?" Kipchoge said, "what is jet lag?"

Charles Honorarium wrote: In many countries, people still dress more formally in everyday wear.

No, in EVERY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD people dress more formally than Americans in everyday wear.