Flying Barefoot
 

I'm one of those "morons" who like going barefoot. I'm flying to Maui later this month and was dreading the long flights as well as an eight hour layover in DFW. Then I remembered past times when I've flown barefoot (to/from Aruba and Hawaii) and how much better it made the travel time go. So I fully plan to do so this time as well. I was only really hasseled about it once by an AA gate guy. And he was quite rude about it, so as soon as I was at my seat off came my sandals for the rest of the long trip and stopovers.

I realize there are a lot of up tight bare foot phobics out there but they don't bother me. I keep my feet to myself and unless you looked down you wouldn't even notice. And if dirty feet disgust you well, tough. I have my own pet peeves about others that I can't do anything about either. I'm not wearing shoes just because someone out there doesn't like to see bare feet.

I've seen others do it and have read posts on FT about seeing others do it. But my question is is there anyone else on FT that does it and what have been your experiences??

I generally wait until I'm on the plane to take my shoes off, but then invariably off they come. I applaud your tenacity. I think as long as your feet are clean and appeasing to the olfactory senses, it should be fine.

Just out of curiosity, do you go barefoot through the whole process--like walking through the airport etc?

I wear sandals most of the year and kick my shoes off every chance I get. I was actually told by a AA FA a couple of years ago that I had to wear socks, shoes or slippers if I was moving around the plane.

I don't see anything wrong with going barefoot and I don't know of any laws that says that you can't do it in an airport. Stand your guns and be comfy!

I would never let my feet touch any surface of an aircraft. They are gross. What gets me is 1. When people put their feet on a bulkhead like they are in their living room and worse, 2. doing so barefoot.

My opinion? People who do that have zero class.

Flying Barefoot
 

Yup, the whole process, airport and all (that's the best part). But doing so I must admitt the bottoms of my feet get quite dirty, but heck, that's half the fun! I do have flip flops in my carryon just in case the unthinkable happens.

Have you ever heard of Vibram Five Fingers?

Well, an exhibitionist I am not. Like I said before I keep my feet to myself. But I have no qualms about walking around barefoot on surfaces that some might claim to be gross or unsanitary. I'm sure airplane/airport floors aren't any worse than most hotel floors or even some peoples' home floors. Adrian Monk would hate me but I certainly wouldn't want to be in his shoes (or mine).

I take it you also plan to go into the airplane lavs barefoot, then track all that wetness back on the carpet to your seat? Real smart.

And wearing shoes prevents this how?

I thought wearing shoes and shirts in public was just to keep the hippies out. Most places say it is for hygiene and the health departments usually mandate it...but that doesn't mean it's necessary.

Whoah! This is the first I've heard of them. Ace -- have you worn these before? Are they comfortable? Aren't people's toes different lengths?

I grew up in a shoe-less household so I really hate wearing shoes and will kick them off at work as long as I'm not doing anything where my footwear is visible, but I always wear at least socks on a plane, if only for warmth.

If you knew of the amount of glassware broken in restaurants you wouldn't be so keen to ignore health department regulations. :eek:

That said, I have no problem with bare feet, but bare feet in most public places are not part of the US culture. So, unavoidably, people who flaunt cultural norms attract attention and suspicion upon themselves.

Since we are herd animals, different often means damaged and the bare feet in public that we are most exposed to indeed frequently belong to street people.

That said, there are posters on FT who espouse the health benefits of going barefoot. I suspect we will hear from them shortly.

Personally, I remove my shoes aboard aircraft, but leave my socks on. I wear kung foo shoes to and from the lav since I do not want my feet nor socks soaked in other peoples, nor mine, for that matter, excrement.

What the? Gloves have an advantage over mittens because you use your fingers to manipulate stuff. I thought that humans had evolved past using our feet like hands.

These things make sense if you're doing something that requires fine balancing, etc. (rock climbing, tightrope walking, etc.) but airplane travel is not one of those things.

As a resident of two countries where baring the sole of the foot is offensive to local customs/traditions (one in Asia, one in the Middle East), I think those Vibram 5 fingers are a much better alternative than bare feet in a confined space where people may take offence. If you're culturally insensitive, probably wouldn't be in a position to be travelling in these regions anyway, but still...

I am completely amazed though, quite how wet aircraft toilets can get. Maybe I'm just a uniquely good aim, but seriously - what are people doing in there??? :confused:

Disgusting. Wear flip flops at least.

I may get disgusted by proxy, but barefoot people aren't going to track anything that shoes won't. If they're okay standing in the urine in the lavatory, so be it.

I don't mean to judge you, but...

Feet do generally carry a hundred or hundreds of pounds of pressure and, as such, are a odor-producing part of our bodies.

Wouldn't you want to show decency and respect to your fellow travellers by at least offering a sock and shoe's worth of a protective barrier between your odors and their noses?

You should be able to run around barefoot all you want in your own home but the aircraft isn't your own to do that.

I feel the same way about people who travel in tank tops and expose the rest of us to their armpits, by the way.

Man that is Filthy :eek: No shoes at all! I am the first to take my shoes off when I am in my seat but you never have shoes on? You are one brave person to walk into an airport/airplane toilet with no shoes !!!:eek:

Shoes and at least one pair socks are a minimum for a plane!

On AA, you are requuired to wear shoes for boarding and deplaning. Beyond that, it's up to you.:eek::eek:

the whole lav thing would be the deal-breaker for me. no way i walk into one of those barefoot.

also, what do you do when you go home? do you wash your feet before going inside? i never understood people that wear shoes inside their homes, and barefoot all the time is basically the same thing. we're a "no shoes inside" family. i might actually make you put clean shoes ON before walking into my house, lol.

Rubbah slippahs, or "flipflops", as you call them on the mainland, are the "de rigeur" footwear here in the Islands: everyone wears them; all the time; everywhere; they are our "shoes". Barefoot, however, is only at the beach or inside the hale (house). On long flights, (trans-Pac; not inter-island), everybody settles into their seats, kicks off their slippahs, and puts on a pair of socks for the flight. When using the lav., one puts the slippahs on over the socks, pressing the sock in between the big and neighbor toe to accomodate the slippahs. When deplaning, one removes the socks (or not, if it cold at the destination!), and puts on da slippahs. If you see someone walking around the airport or plane barefoot, everyone thinks they're a little kapakahi: "Put on your slippahs, bruddah; what, you tink you're at da beach?" :D

I dunno about that. Your foot smells not from the weight put upon them, but from the bacteria that grows in the sweat your foot emits because you bind them up tight in the little incubators you call shoes and socks. I'll bet the op's feet smell less like a gym than yours do on any given day.

That's not to say bare feet don't collect odors of their own ;)

I'd wash 'em off with the garden hose... :)

You know what dey say, bruddah, life's a beach and den you die. So why not? :0

I think cultural attitudes toward bare feet vary, and am willing to accept that to a degree. Personally, I don't wear shoes in my home, and prefer open-toed shoes for anything outside of the home. I kick my shoes off in my office, but only if no one else is present. That being said, I would never walk barefoot in any public place.

As far as others taking their shoes off...as long as there is some semblance of proper grooming, whatever... I don't want to see long, nasty toenails, cracked heels or dirt. Barring that, I don't care what others do.

Greyhound
 

To say that air travel hasn't declined to the level of bus transport, simply read the OP's post. There is little consideration for anyone but himself and not a bit of concern for health and well being of fellow passengers. I hope AA and other airlines do something about dress codes...at least where health issues are involved. To the OP:
1. Would you want FAs to go barefoot too? Should they wash their hands before handling your food? Do you bother to wear shoes/socks to the lav?
2. Should passengers bother bathing that sit next to you?
3. Do you have any decorum when you visit a restaurant? Food is handled there too.
4. Do people go barefoot in your home? Well, maybe given your post.

It is sad some care only about themselves. Selfish and boorish behavior abounds.

I am a Teva dude- wear sandals everywhere... and I mean everywhere...

I've had them from FAI to LIH, SEA to EYW, BOS to SNA... all over the states - flying, hiking, sunbating, fishing, even clamming.

It does not matter if its 129 degrees in Bullhead City, AZ or zero in ANC! I've worn them everywhere, rain, snow, or shine! However if there is more then half an inch of snow on the ground I switch to hiking boots, since I don't like my feet melting a path.

I dunno about that either, since my feet can get pretty bad sometimes. My sandals can smell fairly bad, even after repeated washings... so its an endless battle!

I attempt to keep my floor urine free. Can't say that for a plane. I love walking barefoot as much as the next person, but airports/planes aren't really the place for it.

Preach it!

I've had the head FA make people put their socks back on three separate occasions. This is due to your smelly feet.

dirty bare feet = gross imho. But as long as you keep them well to your self and they don't smell, I guess I can't complain.

In that case, you will need to charter a private jet (or similar), since virtually all commercial airlines do not accept such passengers for carriage:

For example, here is a quote from AA's Domestic Conditions Of Carriage (http://www.aa.com/aa/i18nForward.do?...jsp#AcceptPass):

THANK YOU! :D:D:D:D:D

Just like you said - it's the sandals. not the feet. Those Tevas get a funk to them that translates to a foot smell. I'm a Teva guy myself and have found an overnight soak in baking soda does the trick nicely. Fresh and odor free.

"Feet do generally carry a hundred or hundreds of pounds of pressure and, as such, are a odor-producing part of our bodies."

To add to that, your feet sweat about a cup a day. The guy should at least wear birks or something. There's a reason why places have a no shirt, no shoes no service policy.

/\ Wow. That made feet even grosser to me.

I don't really get what the big deal is. I'm a shoes all the time guy, but that is because I don't want my feet on the dirty floors. As long as your feet don't stink, I have no problem with you being barefooted. It's not like the floor is getting dirtier due to your bare feet. Anything a bare foot can track around a plane or any other floor can just as easily be tracked around by a foot in a shoe.

I'm sure much of this has been said already, but I haven't read the 3 pages of replies...so here goes.

Why not get a little set of slippers, like those given in biz class on Asia flights? They take up virtually no room in a bag and can easily be slipped on and off.

It's a good idea for a number of reasons. Firstly, the floors are nasty. The lavs do not get mopped and sanitized between every flight and those floors are gross! A lot of male types have a hard time aiming on solid ground, so one can only guess what goes on in there in a bumpy airplane. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has seen pee streams on the walls. And every time someone goes in or out, it's tracked onto the carpet - along with whatever else has been spilled in (or vomited onto) the aisles during normal course of business.

Secondly, I'm sure you've seen FA's trying to clean up broken glassware in the galley. We have no real cleaning supplies. No vacuums. There are always tiny shards of glass or china left behind when something breaks - and the little pieces that end up behind the galley carts doesn't get vacuumed out until the 'big' cleanings occur (which isn't that often). Every time a cart is rolled back and forth, all that debris gets tracked with it.

Thirdly, every time you walk through the galley to get to the lav, you're walking through a food service area. Would you consider walking barefoot through the kitchen of your favorite restaurant? What would the reaction be if you did?

Lastly, it simply is offensive to people. You may not care, but it is.

Everyone loves to bemoan the fact that airlines don't give the service that they used to...but let's face it. Passengers don't board the plane with the same etiquette that they used to either. It's fine if you want to go barefoot beneath your blanket on a long flight. Socks aren't always comfy given the variable cabin temps and that's fine - but be courteous enough to cover them up when walking through the public areas.

Ding, ding, ding! I think we have a winner! ^^^

Personally, I don't think beachwear like flip-flops or sandals are appropriate for planes (let alone barefoot), if for nothing else than safety reasons. Of course, as a hetero male, I've never even owned a pair of sandals or flip-flops, but to each his own...

:confused: Wha' choo sayin, Willis? You callin the State of Hawaii one mahoo? :D