I am (barely) old enough to remember when people generally dressed up to travel by air. Not formal wear per se, but at least what you’d wear to church or a business function. Men generally wore a suit and tie, even if that wasn’t their normal business attire, and women wore a nice dress. Children would be nicely dressed, even if not always well-behaved.
Now when I travel, I just hope the passenger next to me doesn’t stink too badly, and vice versa 
.
Same here. When I was a kid you dressed up in your Sunday best. Last flight I was on some hippy business traveler wore shorts and sandals. In between playing with his blackberry and laptop he picked at his toes which, IMO, were not kept to any standard of hygiene. He was tall so he stuck his legs into the isle.
My goal is not to get stuck between 2 fat people whose enormous fat forces their arms into my space, turning me into an armpit sandwich.
That gives new meaning to the term stick flying and it requires that you use 2 hands.
I’ve learnt a couple of dress tips
Dressing smart increases the chance of an upgrade, if nothing else it ups the chance of a decent seat. They like to put active, authoritative looking people near the exits.
On long haul, wait until the first meal is nearly over, when everyone is pinned in their seats, slope out into the toilet and change into a track suit, reverse performance about one hour before landing - using a fresh shirt.
Really?
My own experience is that it’s best to dress like an onion: wear several layers, so you can play with them.
My brother says that in their way back from their Cancún honeymoon, both his wife and several other people kept complaining about “the a/c being too cold”. Since SiL was already completely freaked out by flying, he didn’t want to compound it by pointing out that it’s bloody cold out there… the problem wasn’t excess a/c but lack of heating (plus most people being dressed to the tropics while traveling to Spain in November).
How do the chances of being in a survivable fire in the air compare to finding oneself in a burning building? It seems to me that most emergencies in the air will kill you no matter how you try to prepare. On the ground, though, those natural-fiber layers might make the difference on whether you get out of the building or not. Ought one to always wear fire-safe clothing, in all conditions?
I had a period where I went barefoot everywhere just for kicks. I boarded two flights in that time, and in one I was allowed on without it being mentioned (I forget the airport), and on another I was told I had to put on shoes (this was at LAX).
Dress for the crash… I’ll have to remember that one!
I’m with Una- and I do try to dress neatly (if not “dressed up”) if I’m flying business class. My husband OTOH could care less, generally. Once we were flying first class to the Yucutan and he was wearing a t-shirt and shorts. But, because he has the same name and approximate age as a guitarist in a rock band, he was mistaken for a rock star and totally forgiven! 
Have you seen how some of those folks fly? Eek.
Former airline pilot …
If you had any idea how disgustingly filthy the floors & seats are, you’d wear a space suit, not a bikini. The fabric parts of the interiors are not effectively cleaned with any regularity, so every bit of sweat & psoriasis from the last 100 people to use yuor seat & floor space is right there soaking into your pores.
I spent years with the Army, ate bugs, lived in the jungle for weeks on end. I’m not squeamish. I’ll eat food that’s fallen on the floor nearly anywhere, home or in public. 5 second rule my ass; as long as the ants haven’t carried it off yet, it’s still good.
Just one place I won’t touch food that’s not where it normally sits, and that’s the floor or seats on our airplanes.
Well, I’ve been on a flaming airliner and lived to tell the tale. Granted, it was a small fire, way out on the wing, and quickly went out, but the point is that airborne emergencies are not certain death.
I’m with LSLGuy on this - why put my precious skin next to the bodily leavings of 5,386 other people? Icky*-poo!*
Yeah, me too. Roasting when sat on the tarmac sometimes, but usually chilly when airborne. Which is why when I’m not travelling on business, I basically wear hiking clothes. Nice wicking baselayer to counteract clamminess, nice baggy layers of multi-pocketed goodness on top. Adjust to suit current ambient temperature, block ear canals, deploy book, relax.
I think this might get you booted of a flight.
Several years ago, I was on a flight out of Columbus, Ohio. About three quarters of the people of the flight were wearing formal business attire, and there seemed to be very few casual travelers on-board. I’ve never seen so many wearing power suits on any flight before or since.
If the airlines are going to treat their passengers like cattle, what’s the sense in getting dressed up for a flight? I wear “business casual” if I’m flying first class; otherwise, I’m dressed for comfort.
I believe that most United States Airlines do not have specific dress codes, but for employees of an airline traveling on space available, there are dress codes. When I worked for Western Airlines and Eastern Airlines, the code was always to wear proper business attire. No exceptions. Once, I wore a leather jacket from LAX to Indianapolis and it was OK from there, but when I returned, I could not get on the aircraft unless I went out and bought a sport jacket. I could almost always spot an employee by the way he/she dressed.
Reminds me of an old story from a friend, who had served a year in Vietnam and flew home in January.
Got on a plane in Vietnam; temperature 103°F.
Flew into the Phillipines; temperature 95°F.
Flew to Hawaii; temperature 90°F
Flew into Los Angeles, California; temperature 85°F
Flew into Minneapolis, Minnesota. Due to mechanical problems, plane could not unload at the ramp. It parked nearby, they wheeled out one of those portable stairways out to the plane, passengers climbed down that and walked across the taxiway to reach the airport terminal.
Actual temperature -15°F, with windchill -30°F.
He claimed that it took him 2 weeks to stop shivering!