Long gone are the days when airline passengers put on their very best suits and dresses before stepping foot on board a plane. Nowadays, athleisure wear, including shorts, leggings, and slides, is all the rage amongst today’s more comfort-focused travelers.
It’s hard not to reason that when airlines are forcing passengers to sit for hours on end in ever-shrinking and backache-inducing seats, they should be allowed to keep their best clothing at home, or at least packed away in their carry-on.
But what about when you are dressing in First or Business Class? Is there some sort of secret rule that requires those fortunate enough to travel in the pointy end of the plane to wear better clothing than everyone else on the plane?
That’s exactly the thought that went through one Business Class traveler’s head on a recent British Airways flight when they noticed two passengers being booted from the airline’s premium Club World cabin because of what they were wearing.
Club World dress code?
byu/Puzzleheaded_Sale364 inBritishAirways
“The cabin manager has just asked two passengers to leave the Club World cabin because they’re wearing shorts, and the captain isn’t happy to fly with this being the case,” the man wrote on the popular social media platform Reddit.
Also wearing shorts, the man quickly posted to a group dedicated to British Airways seeking help for fellow travelers as he feared he was next to be downgraded.
“I can’t find anything on my booking confirmation or the BA website – and I know the captain gets what the captain wants – but is there a precedent for this?” the man asked.
Fortunately, it soon became clear that the man had nothing to worry about. No, he had not run afoul of a secret dress code that Business Class passengers presumably just know without having to ask.
It transpired that the two downgraded passengers were traveling on staff standby – often referred to as non-revenue travel, as passengers pay a fraction of the price of normal passengers but only get onboard if there are spare seats at the end of boarding.
While airlines have pretty relaxed dress codes for regular passengers, the rules for non-revenue passengers are much stricter.
Take British Airways, for example. The airline doesn’t have a formal written dress code at all for regular passengers, but non-revenue travelers have to comply with a long list of requirements.
British Airways bans staff standby passengers from wearing:
- Overly revealing or sheer clothing, including bare midriffs
- Sportswear or Activewear
- Jeans with cut-off/frayed hems or holes
- Beach clothing and flip-flops
- Clothing with questionable/offensive wording or graphics
- Shorts of any description (except for children)
Judging by these rules, the downgraded staff passengers were lucky to be permitted to fly at all.
BA’s dress code continues: Colleagues (and nominees, including children) are expected to use their best judgment when deciding what to wear for their journey. Regardless of which cabin you are in, please think of our fare-paying customers and show sensitivity towards them.”
“Today’s customers often have a more relaxed approach to their own dress, and it’s fair that BA colleagues should feel relaxed too. Jeans, t-shirts and casual shoes are acceptable in every cabin, provided that some basic rules are applied.”
All of this information is contained on a website created by an aviation industry organization that manages reciprocal travel benefits for airline employees between different carriers.
The website is designed to help airline employees navigate the various rules of traveling as a non-revenue passenger on another carrier with which they have reciprocal benefits.
Some airlines have far less strict dress codes than British Airways, whereas others really do expect staff passengers to dress up like it’s still the Golden Era of air travel.
On one end of the spectrum is American Airlines which has a very relaxed dress code, which states:
“Staff travelers are asked to always wear clothing that is clean and neat.“
“Clothing may not be offensive or distracting to other passengers. This means clothing that’s overly revealing, vulgar, or violates community standards of decency.”
At the other end is German flag carrier Lufthansa, which wants its non-revenue travelers to look their best. The rules explain:
“Eligible Persons should be dressed in accordance with public standards of good taste. This will normally mean attire suitable for an office, or smart casual wear. It excludes T-shirts, sweat-shirts, shorts, gym shoes, and similar extremes of casual wear.”
Qatar Airways also used to famously have a very strict dress code for staff and passengers, but this has now been relaxed, and the Doha-based carrier now permits plain t-shirts, sneakers, and jeans.
Distressed jeans will, however, still get you turned away from the gate. Baseball caps and any other hat, for that matter, are also a strict no-no.
As for other US carriers, Delta Air Lines asks staff travelers to, at the very least, wear some form of footwear, and stipulates that the “overall appearance should be well-groomed, neat, clean, safe and respectful, from head to toe.”
Meanwhile, United says it’s understandable that staff and passengers want to be dressed comfortably and says that shorts and leggings are permitted. The airline changed its rules on leggings after a high-profile incident in 2017 when the carrier was accused of sexism when it denied boarding to two female passengers who were traveling on a ‘buddy pass.’
That being said, shorts and skirts must not be more than three inches above the knee, and revealing clothing is also prohibited.
There is, however, at least one airline that might bar you from traveling when wearing shorts, even if you’ve paid the full price for your ticket. Saudia Airlines, the national carrier of Saudi Arabia, has a rather opaque dress code that states:
“Saudia requests that their guests abide by the dress code, which is subject to the discretion of the local airport authorities.”
In 2018, travel writer Jordan Bishop discovered the hard way that Saudia’s unwritten dress code included a ban on wearing shorts when he tried to fly with the airline from Jakarta to Istanbul with a short stopover in Riyadh.
Jordan managed to circumvent Saudia’s strict rules by purchasing a sarong from an airport concession and wrapping it around his waist, thereby achieving the level of modesty that the airline demanded of its passengers.
That was the policy for NRSA travel at UA when I had those benefits. It was business casual or you were not getting on. The GA would look everyone over when we handed over our passes. A couple of times the GA asked another non rev to go change in the bathroom or they weren’t getting on. Small price to pay for flying F on UA transcon PS service for $50.
NRSA is a privilege, not a right. When I first started, coat and tie was required for men and the appropriate dress for the ladies. However, that made us stand out! Dress codes were relaxed so that NRSA don’t stand out. I dress for the cabin or seating I would like to ride in. Being a pilot instructor, I also know the safety protocols aboard the aircraft. This can pay off as you won’t see me wearing pajamas, open toed shoes, shorts, etc. I think to myself, “That’s someone who will be injured or killed if we have a serious emergency.” I have jumped down the emergency slide during training. It ain’t fun when you feel your bottom heating up from the friction generated. My dress and demeanor has paid off when using ID90 on other carriers. Dress for the cabin you would like and, for gosh sakes, in case of emergency.