Does one have to be dressed well when traveling first class?

BetterThanThou

It's a question I've wondered, I've never travelled first class as I've never been on a journey which I felt lasted long enough to justify the extra money, but, I have considered it and I've wondered this question for a while. Now, I know that you can't be dirty and smelly, as this can be offensive to other passengers, and this rule also somewhat applies to coach as well, but, would there be any issue if one was to fly first class wearing say, a t-shirt and a pair of shorts?

Terrontress

BetterThanThou wrote: »

It's a question I've wondered, I've never travelled first class as I've never been on a journey which I felt lasted long enough to justify the extra money, but, I have considered it and I've wondered this question for a while. Now, I know that you can't be dirty and smelly, as this can be offensive to other passengers, and this rule also somewhat applies to coach as well, but, would there be any issue if one was to fly first class wearing say, a t-shirt and a pair of shorts?

No. A first class passenger is one who can afford the ticket. End of.

paudgenator

I think the way someone behaves is much more important than what they wear. By that I mean; be pleasant and have manners when dealing with the staff - you will be preferred to someone who wears expensive clothes but is rude..

Marcusm

Terrontress wrote: »

No. A first class passenger is one who can afford the ticket. End of.

The proportion of first class passengers on most airlines who have paid with cash from their own pockets is small. I seem to recall that BA has a paid first %age of about 40% of whom most, I believe, will be corporate. Having flown first on BA, Cathay, AA, Qantas and a few others, the clothing worn varies as much as in most classes but more extreme at both ends. I.e. some very expensive very new clothing and some extremely "well loved" older clothing.

corktina

i thought you had to wear spats and a monocle

Grandeeod

I've flown first class on a multitude of airlines since I was in my early 20s. (early 40s now) Aer Lingus treated me with distain as I showed up in my Jeans and T-Shirt in the early 90s. BA were the same. I got a great laugh out of it though! It was back in the days when both airlines charged mad money for London flights. Luckily I could afford it. Virgin transatlantic had a different attitude as they were deliberately trying to be trendy and rebellious.

Nowadays, I don't need to do it so much and my main route doesn't have "first class" anyway. My advice......times have changed. Wear what you like. You paid for the ticket.

coylemj

If you're dressed casually then its highly unlikely that you'll get a discretionary (free) upgrade but if you stump up the cash there's no dress policy.

Interesting side note: a magazine did a survey once in London with four and five star hotels, they asked if there was a dress policy for dinner in the main dining room i.e. the 'posh' restaurant in each hotel. Turned out that most of the four star hotels did have a policy which was that jacket and tie was mandatory for men but the five star hotels had no such policy. The situation was summed up best by one maître d' who said: 'if Richard Branson turns up for dinner in a v-neck sweater and and an open-neck shirt, do you seriously expect me to turn him away?'

Grandeeod

coylemj wrote: »

If you're dressed casually then its highly unlikely that you'll get a discretionary (free) upgrade but if you stump up the cash there's no dress policy.

Interesting side note: a magazine did a survey once in London with four and five star hotels, they asked if there was a dress policy for dinner in the main dining room i.e. the 'posh' restaurant in each hotel. Turned out that most of the four star hotels did have a policy which was that jacket and tie was mandatory for men but the five star hotels had no such policy. The situation was summed up best by one maître d' who said: 'if Richard Branson turns up for dinner in a v-neck sweater and and an open-neck shirt, do you seriously expect me to turn him away?'

Exactly. If you pay the dosh in the first place, what's the problem. I've had similar experiences in Dublin restaurants over the years. They want your money, but not your dress code. What bit my ass was TV personalities/celebrities/pop stars arriving dressed like **** hawks on a clothes line, while daft dress codes were applied to the non-famous folk who could also afford to dine in the restaurant.

But back OT. Airlines don't seem to give a **** anymore and that's a good thing. Pay the fare, climb on and enjoy the class!

L1011

No

You will have to be well dressed to get bumped to first or business; but paying customers can do what they want.

I've done First on the Enterprise in Ulster Rugby gear and despite the train host initially making pains to point out it was First, not a word was said for the journey. Ditto Business Class (Club Europe) on BA in whatever I was wearing for work / after work. Never once could it have been called "formal".

MickFleetwood

No.

JustAThought

Hmmm.

Maybe to an extent it depends on who is with you in the area & what their standards are. Ok - my guess is it's a lot of business's travellers ( suited) who probably wouldn't care; but I did some travelling in Vietnam & I tell you if you didn't come up to dress standard they would let you know - in hotels, restaurants & on the street. No messing there.

hfallada

OP its up to you. Your the one who has paid for the ticket and sitting on a plane for several hours. If I was travelling to Asia I wear sweatpants. Looking at TV shows and Films Twenty something who are wealthy no longer feel the need to wear suits/formal clothes to show they are wealthy.

Halo Kitty

I think it is vital that you wear what you most feel comfortable with, so that you may be more relaxed and enjoy your journey.. I have travelled first class on a 12 hour flight, wearing a tee- shirt, leggings and those sexy travel socks that they issue. due to travel again shortly, and yet again I plan to wear light comfortable clothing..I don't judge a book by its cover.

coylemj

The thing about first/business class is that it's only worth paying the premium for long-haul flights and dressing up in jacket and tie or similar for a 8-12 hour flight would be plain silly.

There was a time when Aer Lingus did business class on all of their flights. On UK and continental (Europe) flights it mainly involved a newspaper, breakfast and free booze in an ordinary seat in the first few rows of the plane. There was a silly curtain delimiting the boundary between business class and the 'ordinary' passengers. In those days nobody cared what you looked like because in almost all cases the passengers were civil servants or corporates i.e. the boss was paying so you couldn't really look down your nose at someone in casual gear. Jealousy rather than snobbery was the order of the day!

Con Logue

Just remember kids, you can't buy class, you either have it or you don't

wonderfulname

It's amusing to think there was a time when nobody would be seen near an airport in anything less than their Sunday best. Wear what you like, I'd be more concerned with being comfortable for the flight.

Grandeeod

Con Logue wrote: »

Just remember kids, you can't buy class, you either have it or you don't

Old fashioned.

You can buy it if you have the money and the standards to appreciate it. But you don't have to be a berk in a shirt and tie. Those days are way over the hill. Class is defined by the person, not the perception.

Judgement Day

Back in the day when I was a very frequent traveler on CIE, free, almost compulsory, 1st class was the order of the day once you got to know the dining car stewards. Ah the stories I could/may yet tell .....

ThreeBlindMice

Hasn't it been trendy to be wearing "designer" torn patched up jeans etc for the last decade or two. :P

endacl

corktina wrote: »

i thought you had to wear spats and a monocle

And a mankini.

I know. It's an odd combo.

Feathers

BetterThanThou wrote: »

Now, I know that you can't be dirty and smelly, as this can be offensive to other passengers, and this rule also somewhat applies to coach as well

Somewhat? If anything it should be less acceptable when you're packed in beside people in steerage than with the room that first-class have around them.

coylemj

ThreeBlindMice wrote: »

Hasn't it been trendy to be wearing "designer" torn patched up jeans etc for the last decade or two. :P

Only if your name is Hector.

L1011

coylemj wrote: »

There was a time when Aer Lingus did business class on all of their flights. On UK and continental (Europe) flights it mainly involved a newspaper, breakfast and free booze in an ordinary seat in the first few rows of the plane

And nobody in the middle seat, guaranteed, which was the main reason for wanting it.

Nobody ever gave a damn there about dress in the era I could experience it - which was when it was to Heathrow and Amsterdam only.


On a proper long haul flight, most of the passengers in first will be in the provided pyjamas before the plane has hit cruising altitude anyway...

corktina

endacl wrote: »

And a mankini.

I know. It's an odd combo.

sadly I know what a mankini is but don't actually know what spats are (are they like covers for your shoes?

murphym7

I've flown first with BA a couple of times and you wear what you want. It’s not a big deal. I've seen guys in suits and guys in track suit bottoms and a round neck t-shirt. You should only make an extra special effort if you are trying to blag an upgrade.

rainbowdash

coylemj wrote: »

If you're dressed casually then its highly unlikely that you'll get a discretionary (free) upgrade but if you stump up the cash there's no dress policy.

Interesting side note: a magazine did a survey once in London with four and five star hotels, they asked if there was a dress policy for dinner in the main dining room i.e. the 'posh' restaurant in each hotel. Turned out that most of the four star hotels did have a policy which was that jacket and tie was mandatory for men but the five star hotels had no such policy. The situation was summed up best by one maître d' who said: 'if Richard Branson turns up for dinner in a v-neck sweater and and an open-neck shirt, do you seriously expect me to turn him away?'

I once spent several weeks in a 5 star hotel while working, I used to head down to the posh hotel restaurant each evening dressed like a lad from a council estate in Ireland, no way would you be expected to dress up each night if you your bill was likely to be over €5000 for the couple of weeks.

Valetta

Ask Michael O'Leary.

He flies first class.

Emme

Valetta wrote: »

Ask Michael O'Leary.

He flies first class.

Did you mean to say he flies everyone first class in his Ryanair planes?

Marcusm

coylemj wrote: »

If you're dressed casually then its highly unlikely that you'll get a discretionary (free) upgrade but if you stump up the cash there's no dress policy.

I can't think of an airline where one can expect an upgrade from first!

ProudDUB

Marcusm wrote: »

I can't think of an airline where one can expect an upgrade from first!

If you are a frequent flyer with an airline, and you have gold or silver membership of their air miles club, you'll get free upgrades fairly easily, often without even having to ask for them. Used to happen a lot to me on Delta. However, you have to fly something like 50,000 and 100,000 miles every year to qualify for gold and silver status. So the average person just going on their holliers once or twice a year, wouldn't and shouldn't have the same expectation level as someone who travels a lot for their job or whatever.

Marcusm

ProudDUB wrote: »

If you are a frequent flyer with an airline, and you have gold or silver membership of their air miles club, you'll get free upgrades fairly easily, often without even having to ask for them. Used to happen a lot to me on Delta. However, you have to fly something like 50,000 and 100,000 miles every year to qualify for gold and silver status. So the average person just going on their holliers once or twice a year, wouldn't and shouldn't have the same expectation level as someone who travels a lot for their job or whatever.

Not sue how that interacts with my comment; I'm fairly familiar with airline clubs being an "elite" (their word not mine) member of three and, up to a year or so ago, doing 15-20 long haul returns a year in business class (at the lowest). My point was that if one is already flying first class, dressing up for an upgrade is not really in point!

ProudDUB

Oh sorry, my bad. I misread your post. I thought you said an upgrade "to" first glass, not "from" first class.

corktina

corktina wrote: »

i thought you had to wear spats and a monocle

By Jove, don't forget to don the jolly old plus fours too. One would hate to be pulled up for indecent exposure, no matter how much the ticket cost. Carry on. What?