You sir are correct. The other night we had a Saturday night event at church. I wore a shirt and tie. After church we went to a mall to get dinner and the mall cops came up to me and asked if everything was going ok.
I always wear a shirt and tie during the week and I get great service.
Just look around the mall on a Saturday night and it looks like a freak show.
The real reason is that dressing well usually equates to getting better service. This is equally applicable everywhere, but getting better service in an airport has a much bigger impact on your life than getting good service in a 7-11. Therefore when flying it makes sense to dress well.
Think about it. You've all complained about the slobby people populating airports. Imagine being a customer service rep for an airline, dealing with these people all day long. Then suddenly a man comes up to you wearing a nice pair of jeans and a well-tailored blazer with a button down shirt - nothing crazy, but he looks well put together. He's polite when he makes his request and asks for your help. You as a rep are about 1,000x more likely to go the extra mile for this guy who acts and looks classy than you are for the 10,000 slobs acting like jerks that surround him.[/quote]