i dress as i would any other day; jeans and a t-shirt, sometimes with a sweater, just cause its cold up there. i wear what i find comfortable, not necessarily to impress others. we all spend a lot of time on these planes and have earned status with these airlines. therefore, i don't think we need to impress them even more. aren't our expenditures and loyalty impressive enough?

and as for the suggestions of lost upgrades, it sure didn't hurt getting into biz over and 1st back to and from ams from jfk last weekend. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif



[This message has been edited by lonman (edited 06-01-2000).]

For those who wear shorts and sit in the 1st class leather seats(coach is always cloth), think of this...

Your skin sticks to the leather and you sweat. Your sweat forms a sticky mess in the seat. The person before you might have left a sticky mess of sweat too. Each person has a whole mess of microscopic crawly things that just love to swim in hot, sticky sweat. After a very short time all of the left over microscopic crawly things mix with your microscopic crawly things. All of those mixing microscopic crawly things cause your sweat to become a bio hazard of disgusting filth. All that filth is now coating your legs! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

FlyAAway
I'm sharing this soapboax with you . It pains me to fly Southwest Hairlines. (oh yeah and thank you for that free ticket, I am dying to go visit Odessa, TX) . I fly them because they are the only ones conveniently serving Hell Paso, where unfortunately i have to go quite often. I have asked UA to fly down there but they don't care about my problems.

I do disagree w/u about WN's impact on aviation in this country. Love it or hate it, their model was trend-setting. We have them to thank (or despise, rather ) for the lovely and ever classy United Sh*ttle.

Southwest does not care about style or class. It's a typical model of efficiency and total lack of class and refinement. Perhaps someone should realize that both concepts are not necessarily mutually exclusive. There is a market for that.

Coming back to the subject, WN's passengers are the WORST dressed passengers in the history of civil aviation, and I hereby volunteer to submit a $300,000 proposal to the FAA for a study to prove it, and suggest remedies to this awful situation.

I dress for comfort. I have some terrific zippered turtleneck shirts that are microfiber synthetic which are wonderful b/c they both breathe and are easily adjustable for temperature. Trousers are elastic waist (but relatively tailored) North Face climbing pants.

I used to dress for safety (cotton/wool), but found I was perpetually too hot (when living in Tampa).

Back in my "chicken days" I wore my work clothes which were...whatever helped me fit in mystery shopping at KFC. I sometimes was pretty ripe with spills/dribbles. At that time, I was traveling 100% of the time and I decided that since it was inadvisable to dress up (when going to a KFC you want to fit in), I'd invest in good luggage--so I bought a Delsey attache case (containing all my tools and equipment) and Hartmann luggage (which lasted beautifully and I still use).

jl

When I broke into the airline business, the good old days when CO was flying the leftover EA jets configured 22 F/C and 75 Y/C seats, and the flight was fairly full, the supervisor would tell all of the front line agents that all "good looking customers" should be upgraded. Thus, look smart and fly first.
I have talked with FA's and heard the stories of comfortable F/C passenger, dressed in t-shirts and jogging shorts. Yes, you can afford it or have the elite status to warrant an upgrade, but the FA's found it to be turn-off whent he jewels were hanging out. Ouch!
I am out of the business now - so I purchase my tickets now.
I will always dress smart and wear a tie (except on WN), at least until I am seated onboard, and ALWAYS get superior service. Most times I could be mistaken for a non-rev. Most airline employees don't care for the flip-flop crowd - too much like Greyhound.

If I'm not going straight to a meeting or business engagement, it's tasteful slacks and either a button-down or a polo-type shirt. If there's a chance I'm going to be stuck in an airport, I at least want to be comfortable while doing it. (I am brave enough to admit that I have, when flying during off times, worn very casual jeans or shorts and sandles. Unfortunately, the light reflecting off my pasty legs wasn't pretty.)
Re: the passengers on Southwest. . . geez, I'm just happy if the one next to me isn't carrying live poultry! There is definitely an interesting mix of folks on any given flight!

Over the years I have bought wrinkle-resitant clothing specifically for travelling. I don't dress to the nines, but dress in a "smart casual" way. Neat but not gaudy.
If I worked in the travel industry, I think I would give preference to well-dressed people, too.

[This message has been edited by Nanook (edited 06-02-2000).]

Before I reached Platinum & 1K status I tended to dress up a bit more for check-in - this was when I needed to rely on friends to sort an operational upgrade for my international flights and needed to look the part (this is the UK you understand and BA was notorious for this!).

Now I dress for comfort - I dont wear dirty or scruffy clothes, usually just casual. I find it really amuses me when I get into First or Business class for an 8 hour flight (especially an overnight one) and people are dressed to the nines! I suppose in some way I do it for a reaction but usually there is none. The American airlines seem not to have this clothing status that the European ones have.

On board I dont think I have ever experienced differences in service because of what I am wearing and in January I flew back from Oz in shorts in First...it was just far more comfortable...unfortunately the delay arriving at LAX meant that I still wore shorts in First on my flight to Washington and then onto Philadelphia and it was snowing outside!

I still get a bottle of wine or the box of Godiva chocolates from a kind FA or one flight in First to Melbourne a continuous supply of M&Ms!

I did once checkin for Austrian Airlines in Business from London to Moscow via Vienna at 5.30am for a 6.30am departure - I was first in the Business class line and the agent looked at me and said "This Sir is BUSINESS CLASS but I will check you in as you have been waiting"....When she looked at the ticket it was worth the look on her face and the apology went on for a bit.

As they say you can't judge a book by its cover.

My partner though hates flying with me - employed by a small airline - dressing up for long-haul travel esp in Business or First is all part of the adventure and I am just the rebel letting the romance out of the whole experience.

OK, I'll admit to wearing jeans onboard (I'm not sure if I own any other kind of pants http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif), but never shorts. And a sport shirt (perhaps over a t-shirt) - most airplanes are too cold for me, so I want my arms covered. (And I wonder how the shorts-and-t-shirt crowd can stand it).

Years ago I had to fly to Hawaii for a business meeting, and was flying back on that night's red-eye. I was probably the only person on the flight in a suit and tie, with a briefcase but withoutany luggage, checked or not!

Interesting topic everyone.
I just got a Travelsmith catalog in the mail and they had these fabulous travel clothes like blouses that have collars that button off and on and sleeves that button off & on a(but not in an obvious way) so you can have 4 different shirts in one. Also a lot of crinkle proof women's & men's clothing.

8 years ago I took my first trip to Europe. I read about 10 travel books before I went, and many said that Europeans don't appreciate what Americans wear to travel, with the typical tourist look of tennis shoes and tee shirts with pictures/slogans on them. My sister met me in France (she was living in Spain at the time). I had packed pants, longer skirts (those great crinkle "broomstick" kind that are supposed to be wrinkly) and dresses. One or 2 pairs of long shorts.
Well...a funny thing happened. Americans stopped us repeatedly on the street asking in halting French if we could give them directions! We would say, "Yeah, where did you want to go?" They were surprised that we were from the US. (and Californian no less..we spoke American English with a Valley Girl twist)
When we went to the sights & monuments, they offer you a pamphlet in a large number of languages. We did a little test to see where the employees of each tourist attraction thought we were from.
Not once were we given the English pamphlet. We were offered Spanish, German, Italian and French brochures. And we do not look ethnic in any way, our ancestors on both sides are English & Scottish.
My only guess is that it was because we didn't dress like American tourists, and because a lot of the clothes my sister was wearing were purchased in Spain.
It was really funny because I was often clutching Let's Go Europe or some other travel book obviously written in English.

Interesting memory though.

DroneKlax...nice fantasy world you live in where women everywhere wear Gaultier. Even if I could afford haute couture, I think it would be something a little more.... traditional? Luc Besson's costumers were engaging in a classic male fantasy in that movie http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif
But Zoot Alors! your postings always make me smile....

At this time, I usually wear jeans, a T-shirt, and a pair of worn-out sneakers when I travel - mostly because I can't afford anything better. Also, being a student, I often carry my backpack with me. Dressing this way sometimes leads to being hassled by airline personnel, such as in this recent episode:

I was checking at for an AA flight at SFO. I used the first-class check-in since I'm Platinum with AA. The agent at the check-in counter eyed me suspiciosly, squinted his eyes at me, and we had the following conversiation -

Me: Good morning!
AA agent: Are you travelling first class?
Me: No ( I was in fact travelling on the cheapest available fare purchased with a bumping voucher http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif )
AA agent: Sir, I'm afraid you have to be in that line. (Pointing to the coach line)
Me: I don't have to.

At that point, the agent picked up the phone to call his supervisor or airport security. I quickly whipped out my platinum card - and the look on the agent's face was priceless! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Dont'cha just love it when that happens... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Here's a question for you all:

On a long flight (transcon or longer), is it permissible to take off one's shoes in F? <assume no odor>

-d-

Besides the way you dress, there's also your luggage.

Until about a year ago, I always carried my good 'ol backpack when I travel. Not one of those huge nature-hike backpacks, but just one you'd expect a high school student to carry, with little pockets, zippers, etc... Enormousely useful, and easy on my back.

Then I swapped my trusty backpack for a black leather carry-on piece and a leather laptop bag. The effect was intersting. I don't get questioned as often when I stand in the FC line to check in. The FAs actually greet me when I board, etc.. Keep in mind I dressed the same [khaki/non-dress shirt] and look approximately the same.

I guess that means appearances really does matter.

I am also curious what people think of taking off shoes. I always thought shoeless was okay, but taking off the socks is not. After all, they wouldn't provide slippers if they didn't expect you to take off those uncomfortable shoes.

When I travel, I don't dress up, nor do I dress down. I NEVER, EVER wear straglly and crappy clothes whether I am in first or coach. Shorts always during the summer, no matter what (except a cold-spell). When going somewhere hot during the winter, I wear Addidas tear away pants and shorts under them so changing into shorts take about 5 seconds.

My thinking is that most likely no one knows me, so why should I care what they think of me?? I am only known as 2A or something like that.