I fly in a tshirt, jeans and sandals, all the time, every time. I'm 31, but look early 20's especially if I'm wearing a baseball hat that hides my not-quite-early-20's hairline.

I do occasionally get a little extra scrutiny when entering the First check-in line if there is someone monitoring it, which is always alleviated when I just say 'Yes' to the 'Are you flying F today?' question and do also very occasionally get a look from other F passengers, but that's pretty rare.

I also tend to fly off-peak times, so usually not flying the same time as those running to or coming from business meetings (late-night flights to anywhere, mid-day flights out of the east coast, and red-eyes back from the west coast), so that helps a bit.


That said, I have generally found that the level of service you get from TA's/FA's is inversely proportional to the cost of living in the area of the airport. Small stations? Great service. MSP/DTW? Great service. LAX and JFK? Good luck! I figure that in high-cost-of-living areas, people who are capable of good customer service are in jobs that pay better than the GA/TA gig does, while in lower cost of living areas the GA/TA gig is a pretty good gig that does attract quality employees.

What, you don’t think the FA would hang up your WWE hoodie if you asked them to? :p

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...73hf83kgp5.jpg

The first time I used the elite/fc line at SLC, there was an agent yelling "First class on the left, International on the right (that's when the International check in was where the elite line is now). I still didn't have my medallion card so I didn't have any way to prove that I was a silver.
"Sir, where are you heading?"
"Seoul"
"I was very clear stating that International Passengers need to go to the right line"
"Thanks for your suggestion" Kept walking towards the FC line and completely ignored her.
5 minutes later, right when I was the next one to check in, and with a bunch of people behind me and looking at the scene, she came with a supervisor. The supervisor stated "Sir, I'm afraid you have to go to the other line, this line is reserved to our frequent flyers, like the agent mentioned to you before".
I responded "Thanks for your continuous support, I'm glad as a silver medallion flying first class today I have a reserved line".
After that, every time I see the agent she nicely ask me where I'm going to and wishes me a good trip.

You left one out, male. LOL

I get asked all the time if I'm flying F when I'm in the F/Medallion line and my guess is because I am a woman, not a businessman.

Online check-in and the kiosk are far more gender, age, and colorblind, thank goodness.

Longtime FlyerTalk lurker, first time poster....

I'm 27 years old (and look younger, I'm told) and have been GM or PM for the past three years....my employer won't pay for upgrades, but due to my Medallion status I get upgraded frequently on domestic flights. I have on several occasions had disgruntled fellow travelers actually SAY SOMETHING to me when head for the gate after Zone 1 is called....usually it's a harmless "Oh, you know that's only for First, right?", but occasionally it's a more sarcastic "Wow, have fun up front." I usually wear jeans and a graphic tee onboard, but I top it off with a suit jacket so I don't come off as overly sloppy.

I don't remember ever being "profiled" by DL employees, but other flyers are another matter....I've had people glare at me in the security lines at LAX and ATL, and of course the requisite "How did YOU get up here?" looks from Coach passengers filing past the F cabin while boarding....

People still seem to think that everyone flying in F is either a celebrity or a relative of Mr. Burns. Maybe if I had a monocle....

Even the SM folks are copping some 'tude. :D

I dont care how someone dresses or looks in the F cabin, as long as they are clean and dont stink. Which reminds me, do your fellow passengers a favor and have the courtesy of wearing clean socks if you want to take your shoes off.

For all you barefooters and sandal people, your dogs arent as fresh as you think they are.

So now that I have been sitting on this flight 1961 for the past hour or so, I decided I'll send Delta a note but not sure how to word it.

Any suggestions?

Flying Casual in First
 

I started a thread like this one about a week or two ago, and it was moved...so, I'm glad this one was started in the DL thread.

I'm a younger guy who works in the snowboard industry and travels a decent amount, especially through the winter months. I'm currently Gold and will hit Plat after my November travels to Europe.

I recently finished an SLC-JFK-LAX-SLC trip and was upgraded on each segment, which was great. But, flying JFK-LAX in casual attire (t-shirt and jeans) with the new Biz Elite service on this route, I felt like I was a second thought in the BE cabin. I was asked last for drinks, didn't get the BE linen like everyone else during meal service and just felt like since I'm a younger passenger that I was not getting equal service.

I don't really care all that much about special linen, but I do feel like service should be the same across the board for all passengers.

Just some thoughts from my end of the spectrum.

Not only that, but if you have need of chemical warfare, for crying out loud, get up and go to the john! Flying DCA to MEM a couple weeks back and was standing in the back to stretch out when lead FA came rushing back and digging around for a coffee pack, which she immediately opened and pressed against her nose. After chatting, found out someone had "dropped a bomb". I stayed back there for a good 20 minutes before heading back to my seat, but even that much longer when I got close to my row (was in exit) it was like walking into a wall.

I'd say pretty much exactly like your OP. Just the location, situation (including your attire), and the comments made by employee.

@ridepow I know how you feel. I am 28 but I look young cops where I live in NYC stop me all the time and ask me why am I not in school, I get carded everywhere too.

I have gone to a best buy or a car dealership ready to drop big money so to speak and I'm ignored because they think I am a kid.

That's why I have taught myself to treat everyone young or youngness deprived ( don't wnat to offend old folk) equally.

I'm a email delta now and I'll let you all know what they reply.

I always wear jeans and tshirt when flying (and I look really young for my age). I was never bothered by GA.

Just shot delta an email, said what my op said plus I asked them. What does a first class and medallion member look like?

I totally know where you're coming from. I'm 26 and consider myself very lucky to be doing what I do for a living. I travel a bunch and I consider myself to be very loyal to Delta. I'll spend a little more on a Delta ticket due to the perks like comp upgrades. I just feel like it's super lame for an FA to jump to conclusions just because I don't look like a "seasoned" businessman.

Another one of these threads, exciting. I'm under 30 and very frequently get discriminated for looking young and dressing comfortable (sorry I don't want my suit absorbing all of the crap and smells on airplanes).

1. Security line - "this is for first class only"
2. Boarding - people give me the look when I try to pass them while they hoard the gate waiting for the elite call. I've even had the dirty look with the "sit down, it's not your turn yet".
3. GA's - before the monitors I used to ask about the UG list, they would say to me, "sorry, we don't give UG's for free"
4. When Y pax board - I get the dirty look number two from pax who think I'm too young as I sit in F
5. GE's are IMHO the worst. They are no longer SE's, but not quite PE's (PE wannabees), and feel like they are finally someone. I've had 3 GE's in the past year talk me down (I saw their bag tags) and tell me that they are a "gold elite" so I should sit down and wait my turn. One even said, "only first class is boarding and since I'm not in first you certainly are NOT." I didn't have the heart to tell him I was a PE as I quietly boarded for my F seat.

#2 by far is the worst, especially the biz gate lice in suits working their crackberries and bluetooths blocking access to the boarding lane. They are already mad that they didn't get an F seat, then give me another dirty look (see #4 above) when they see me in F.

See young and elite threads from NWA, or gate lice threads:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/north...ung-elite.html

Hey don't bash Gold Medallions! I am one and I don't have that kind of attitude.

It's this sort of attitude that creates a positive feedback loop further degenerating all aspects of civil society. Think of it as a "tragedy of the anticommons." The golden olden days may be long gone, when F pax were in suits and dresses and the FAs were Audrey Hepburn look-alikes, but we still have the ability to "class up the joint" a bit by looking and behaving civilized.

I make it a point to wear a sportcoat and look smart when flying. I fly 100% for pleasure, never business, so I do this out of respect for myself and those around me.

I also believe it gives you a definite advantage when op-ups are a possibility, so I'm not totally altruistic!

I am always in jeans and a long sleeved shirt. While there are times I've got my suit on still, its rare since I started going to SkyClubs.

I don't really care what the GA thinks to be honest. I go in and if they give me a hard time, so what? I'm almost always the youngest person in F by far (unless infants are in F), but i often fly the same route for 6-9 months at a time and end up seeing the same GA's after a while. They are usually nicer the third or fourth time around, but still... it does happen. But I just shrug my shoulders and move on.

If it ever gets bad, I guess I can move on elsewhere, but to date, its never bothered me too much. More often than not, the GA's are friendly enough and don't give me a hard time.

Sorry. I blame the TSA.

im of the opinion that you should look presentable regardless of where you are, so i generally wear at least nice jeans and a polo when i fly. im generally appalled at how people dress in public anywhere (see peopleofwalmart.com), but especially when you are going to be crammed together in a metal tube.

im not saying it's right to assume someone is or is not in F because of appearance, but im not surprised that it's a question. we have all seen people with zone 5 try to board with zone 1, so why wouldnt these same people try to check in at the shorter line (for F)?

sorry if you felt singled out, that's not cool... but my hunch is that some of the people who have posted here would be .....ing if a "slovelnly" passenger wasn't booted from the F line if s/he didnt belong there

This is the most ridiculous thing I have heard in a while. Part of the priv of F is looking any way you want. Nobody's business but yours.

Do you guys who have issues look like you know what you're doing?

I'm not sure that's the best explanation, but I really don't have the problems you guys have and I'm sure I look at least as not-F-material as anyone else. Some suggestions:

1) Act with confidence. I pretty much NEVER get anything less than good service from NW/DL employees, but I think part of that may be my take-no-prisoners attitude, i.e., I just walk up the breezeway and hand the boarding pass to the GA like I EXPECT them to scan it. (Not in any way an aggressive manner, but definitely with some level of confidence that I know exactly what I'm doing.)

2) Note how others are treated. I do get asked "Are you flying F?" in various circumstances, but 99% of the time, the guy in front of or behind me in the business suit gets asked the same question. For example, flying out of SAN this past weekend, the TA was on the ball and made a point of telling me to use the First/Elite line to get through security faster (I probably would not have noticed it without the suggestion), but when I went to get into the line the line dragon made rather rudely asked me if I was flying F. But he then proceeded to rather rudely ask the next 10 people who got in the line the same question, so it wasn't an issue of a judgment of me personally, just that this particular minimum-wage security guy wasn't particularly pleasant. So be aware of how others are treated - being questioned is not, in and of itself, an issue, if all others are receiving the same treatment.


As for odd looks from random PAX, I think anyone who flies F with some frequency understands that F has all sorts of PAX. I get my odd looks from folks who seem to have paid for F and may not understand that us frequent travelers get upgrades, and from random coach PAX who I'm sure have no idea a frequent traveler upgrade program even exists and assume (because all information they have access to, like TV sitcoms) F is the domain of the rich and famous. So I'm fine with the odd looks there - they just don't know any better.

well, that's called ignorance
 

I have Ph.D and MBA degrees and I always am well dressed. I am an Asian American who have lived in the US for over 30 years. You wouldn't believe how many times I have been asked by flight attendants whether I speak english, how many times I have been seated with "my own kinde of people" etc. Just a couple of months back, a gate agent who couldn't pronounce my name and gave my seat away to another person...
I could go on and on...In the beginning I used to get angry and upset, but these are ignorant employees who are in control of that moment.
You know well that there is no dress code for first class, but there is a conduct code for airline employees.

if you frequently pass through DTW or MSP, i wouldnt be surprised about someone asking an asian passenger if he or she speaks english. those are gateways for the pacific destinations. it's probably a little presumptuous, but it's a fair question in those locales

Variable Experience
 

In my experience being 35 yo white male, when i in shorts/nice t-shirt/sneakers (summer), jeans/polo (winter) on sundays when heading to a client that about 10% of the time i get a funny look/questioned about my elite (plat) status/first class seat etc. but when i go home on thursdays dressing business casual, i almost never have an issue. When I have an issue, it disapears once i show my boarding card.

With that being said i find delta FA/GA/Sky Club attendants are great in general, but whenever dealing with people in large numbers, there will always be that one person that's an ... or just having a bad day.

Agreed.

When I pay, I dress as I want. When someone pays me, then dress code can be negotiated along with my fee.

Don't body stank me, don't spillover into my seat, and don't snip toenail clippings into my wine...which apply anywhere, not just in FC on an aircraft.

FC is now equivalent to back of the bus treatment in the early 80s. Nothing glamorous about riding Greyhound.

Folks needing their glamor fix (delusional or non) might get more of what they need with fractional ownership. You gotta pay to play.

If there is a dress code and I ain't getting paid, then I ain't attending the function.

Fellow passengers could be jerks too!
 

Fellow elite passengers are definitely rude and pathetic.....especially the "biz gate lice" according to MnRedFox ^


Experience - I walked up to the counter to ask if First was checked in full and the gate agent was a little loud with the response, "YES!!! First Class is checked in full, no more UPGRADES!!!!" Am like, okay! I only asked if First was checked-in full, so I could change my seat to a window.
I walked away after everyone was staring at me thinking i was hustling for an upgrade...I was actually booked in First(may I add, paid out of pocket):D

When GA announced Elite/First boarding, Passenger dressed in a suit with crackberry in hand, looked over and said "only first class passengers are boarding now, the gate agent has not called regular boarding".....I was like, oh no he didnt! :rolleyes: The busy body passenger(PM) was in an upgraded seat and not paid F....hiss

I believe i look better than the stereotypical first class passenger (I always give the FA's a tingle) :D.....aoow!!! my only pet peeves are passengers dressed up in sleeveless clothes(tank tops,wife beaters, ladies in tube tops,etc).....eewww, dont spill all ur under arm grossness on the seats.....lol!!!! I hate flying in and out of florida.....

...if u did not pay for your First class seat, then dont complain how fellow first class passengers look! If you want to complain then your pocket better be fatter than theirs!!! lol!!!

wearing your best outfit to seat in a wretched Delta First class cabin is sooooo 2000 & Late :D

Upgrades based on Sex
 

LoL!!! Thank God, online check-in cant judge based on any of the above.....if not, I will be sent to the back of the plane based on age....lmao

I will like to suggest that Delta upgrade female passengers before male passengers...hehehehehehehhe.....women are more deserving.....:D

Where are those angry male passengers that dont agree with my proposal???? :D

Considering that there are 15 million people who identify as Asian American in the US, I think it more than a bit presumptious to ask if they speak English. I would strongly suspect that both MSP (esp MSP) and DTW see far more Asian Americans than they do foreign-born Asians, despite being gateways. Would we all be okay with folks in ATL asking random African Americans if they speak English, just because they have a few flights to Africa?

It might be a fair question if you are working a flight to a foreign locale, but at security at the airport, for instance, it does strike me as pretty ridiculous and more than a little presumptuous.

I am just elated that you did not show up wearing your pajamas and had taken a shower in the past 18-24 hrs.

from the caveman...
 

I for one, lament the days where folks dressed a little better in general, in general on flights, and particularly in first class. I still do this (not necessarily a coat and tie, but business casual), including international travel, and think I get treated better when I "look like I belong there." I also do not like it when people put their feet up on the bulkhead, but that's another story. I am realistic enough not to argue the point these days, but thought I would weigh in.

Agree with you. Americans have become slobs and my wife and I are not interested in teaching our daughters to be cute and sexy at age 12. I was elated with the recent Morehouse College decision to institute a dress code. As their president stated on CNN, "the personal has become public" -I am not that interested in most peoples "personal" when I am in public.

At the same time, the longer the flight the less likely I am going to dresss for first impressions :).

Like several folks in this thread, my dress is often based on the trip/situation. In the past at least, if I was headed to a client site the day before meetings, I'd be in nice shorts and a polo style shirt. Obviously if I had to hit the ground headed to a meeting, then I'd be wearing whatever the client site's dress code required.

Personally, I've only been questioned once (the 6'7" part might have something to do with that :D ) which was by a passenger, and I happened to be on a paid F ticket that time to boot. Guy in line behind me muttered something about only first class boarding and hating people who try to board when it's not their time. I ignored him the first two times, then as I got to the GA he asked the GA "Didn't you say ONLY first class was boarding?". The GA already had my boarding pass in hand and politely told him that I was traveling in first. I turned around and told him he might want to allow his brain to work a bit before opening the lips, smiled and boarded.

Interesting—I look like I might have just hopped off a coach class from AMS, FRA, CDG, or FCO. Despite the fact that DTW has more flights to those destinations than they do to asia, I've never been asked if I speak English there.

I wonder why that would be? ;)

I wore a sock RHCP style last week. It sure made the TSA process easier. :)

+1,000,000
 

Oh yes, and one more to add to this. The bulkhead is NOT your personal footrest. This past Sunday while sitting back in the exit row, I look up to see the passenger in 1D with his sock feet propped up against the bulkhead at about seatback height (high enough that I could see them from that far back). I mean seriously? People, have a little since of common courtesy to your neighbors.

It goes the same for bare feet on the bulk head wall. I don't want to look at your nasty bare feet. As an old x-ray tech who has x-rayed thosands of feet, those are the one area of the body I detest the most. UGLY UGLY UGLY.

A few times when I've walked passed people with their feet on the bulkhead wall I've asked them if they walk on their walls at home. Usually that gets them to put their feet down.

Was the person you refer to an older or mid-aged? I have heard stories about an older person, the one in the example was mid-aged.
-H

It wasn't a comment to all GE/GM's, I was one for several years. I was just pointing out that my experience is that GE/GM's have been the nastiest to me, likely because they didn't get their F seat and felt like they should have. Don't worry, PM's can be absolute snobs too. I once say a woman push her way to the front of the security line (the FC, PE/GE line that is), and when the security person told her to get back in line, she protested saying, "well I'm a platinum and platinum's should get to the front." The guy next to me replied with a great response, "lady, we're all platinum now get in the back and wait your turn."

I agree with the barefeet, but don't think socks is that bad. I've done it before, and don't mind others doing it with socks or shoes. Afterall, you're sitting bulkhead.