If, by pajamas, we mean the traditional shapeless long pants and long sleeved top in a soft material, why can that only be worn at night and at home? It's as arbitrary as what tradition defines as clothing for women or men. Those pajamas are certainly modest, so that can't be the objection. As are sweat pants.
Is it just that it's not "traditional"? Bah! Peer pressure from dead people 😀. If it's as this man believes, that it will make people act more "respectful" (what he describes is simply being polite) then I think he is mistaken. I don't assume that someone will be inconsiderate because they're wearing casual, non-traditional clothing. Actually, I think I'd be more wary of some obvious traditionalist in a 3 piece suit and tie.
And, btw, I'm 68.
Your survey regarding pajamas is from the UK. It would be interesting to see results comparing different countries. And I think people's attitude towards sweats on a flight might be different than their attitude towards pajamas.
This is interesting. As someone fresh out of high school, I find the idea of sweatpants making flights worse almost confusing. I had to read the article to even understand the concept. You mention social norms in this article, but something that I want to point out is that some younger people tend to dress like this most of the time. I don't dress like this, and not everyone does, but it wasn't rare to see students back in my high school wear pajama pants to class, much less sweatpants. Many younger people don't dress up for anything special unless they are told they need to, or they need to make a good impression. When you are traveling there is no dress code or anyone you need to meet, so they don't dress up.
I also point out, would dressing nicer really solve the problem or make it worse? The last time I got on a plane I had to wake up at 2:30am, and then our flight got delayed by several hours because they had to change a tire. We missed our layover, so we got to our destination about 9 or 10 at night, and I know I'm not the only one to have to wait in an airport all day. I think that wearing comfortable clothing makes people less irritable or more calm on a plane, especially if the flight is late or early in the morning. Wearing nice clothes might make people be more deliberate, but I care more about people being calm, not barely holding back their annoyance when we are going to be in a cramped space for a prolonged period of time.
Thanks for sharing your perspective, Libby. It sounds like your thoughts line up well with the YouGov survey from the UK. Hopefully, we'll get some US data soon.
Govt: makes air travel expensive, inconvenient, uncomfortable, stressful, and frustrating
Also govt: how dare you undermine our efforts
The Afar article is histrionic to the extreme. Worrying about germs on the floor at your seat after every single person walks unshod through the TSA athletes foot transfer station is comical. And "wear closed toe shoes in case your plane crashes" is a real hot take.
48 yo, and the only reason I wear somewhat decent clothes on the plane is because one time I got upgraded to 1st and was told "thanks" for "dressing up," and it was just a button down and a nice pair of jeans with Vans. I fly econ almost exclusively (not by choice, of course) and I don't begrudge anyone who wants to travel comfortably when we're all packed like sardines. The amenities keep getting fewer, the costs keep going up, and the seats keep getting smaller, and you want people to dress up? Get tf all the way out of here. Also, as a father of two, I feel nothing but pity for the parents when there's a screaming child as they are typically the ones who feel the worst about the scenario (speaking from experience). There is *nothing* you can do to ease the discomfort of altitude changes for a baby except try to keep them distracted/entertained for the ENTIRE FLIGHT...like every minute. I'll even ask them if they want me to help and/or hold the baby before I pass any judgement.
I fly enough that I’m usually at least upgraded to Comfort Plus, but I flew in regular economy for Thanksgiving Break. It was an uncomfortable experience, and I’m not even a big guy. I can’t imagine how other people do that.
Interesting to do this by gender. Men's clothing has had a long, but slow secular trend from formal and uncomfortable to casual and comfortable. But women divided sharply and quite suddenly about 20 years ago, between traditional and often uncomfortable (high heels) for example, and active wear (Australia's Lorna Jane claims to have invented the term) worn even in contexts where men would be dressed in more formal clothing.
One surprise in the data: Do people really think its unacceptable to ignore the safety demo? I pretend to look interested if the flight attendant is close enough to make it a politeness requirement (and I often fly exit row, where the demo is part of the package). But crashes almost never happen, and those that do are mostly 100% fatal. It would be more useful to give advice on what to do if a fellow passenger has a heart attack.
The UK survey data looks about the same between men and women, but I would love a cross-tab on gender and age.
I was also surprised by some of the results that people said were inappropriate, because I rarely see people paying attention to the safety demo. I often politely follow along because I know what it's like to be in front of a lot of people who are not paying attention to what you're saying/doing.
Great post that weaves a lot of interesting stuff together (externalities, cost of flying, etc.). I'm pretty skeptical of the psychology research though, strikes me as something that won't replicate in the coming years, although it does seem plausible.
If, by pajamas, we mean the traditional shapeless long pants and long sleeved top in a soft material, why can that only be worn at night and at home? It's as arbitrary as what tradition defines as clothing for women or men. Those pajamas are certainly modest, so that can't be the objection. As are sweat pants.
Is it just that it's not "traditional"? Bah! Peer pressure from dead people 😀. If it's as this man believes, that it will make people act more "respectful" (what he describes is simply being polite) then I think he is mistaken. I don't assume that someone will be inconsiderate because they're wearing casual, non-traditional clothing. Actually, I think I'd be more wary of some obvious traditionalist in a 3 piece suit and tie.
And, btw, I'm 68.
Your survey regarding pajamas is from the UK. It would be interesting to see results comparing different countries. And I think people's attitude towards sweats on a flight might be different than their attitude towards pajamas.
YouGov typically has better survey topics for its U.K. audience than its U.S. version, but I'm hoping they'll do an international comparison.
I know a long-running mantra in education is "dress well, test well." I assume the Secretary's comments are in that same vein.
I dress like a scrub and I routinely finish exams fastest and get the highest grades in my class
This is interesting. As someone fresh out of high school, I find the idea of sweatpants making flights worse almost confusing. I had to read the article to even understand the concept. You mention social norms in this article, but something that I want to point out is that some younger people tend to dress like this most of the time. I don't dress like this, and not everyone does, but it wasn't rare to see students back in my high school wear pajama pants to class, much less sweatpants. Many younger people don't dress up for anything special unless they are told they need to, or they need to make a good impression. When you are traveling there is no dress code or anyone you need to meet, so they don't dress up.
I also point out, would dressing nicer really solve the problem or make it worse? The last time I got on a plane I had to wake up at 2:30am, and then our flight got delayed by several hours because they had to change a tire. We missed our layover, so we got to our destination about 9 or 10 at night, and I know I'm not the only one to have to wait in an airport all day. I think that wearing comfortable clothing makes people less irritable or more calm on a plane, especially if the flight is late or early in the morning. Wearing nice clothes might make people be more deliberate, but I care more about people being calm, not barely holding back their annoyance when we are going to be in a cramped space for a prolonged period of time.
Thanks for sharing your perspective, Libby. It sounds like your thoughts line up well with the YouGov survey from the UK. Hopefully, we'll get some US data soon.
Govt: makes air travel expensive, inconvenient, uncomfortable, stressful, and frustrating
Also govt: how dare you undermine our efforts
The Afar article is histrionic to the extreme. Worrying about germs on the floor at your seat after every single person walks unshod through the TSA athletes foot transfer station is comical. And "wear closed toe shoes in case your plane crashes" is a real hot take.
48 yo, and the only reason I wear somewhat decent clothes on the plane is because one time I got upgraded to 1st and was told "thanks" for "dressing up," and it was just a button down and a nice pair of jeans with Vans. I fly econ almost exclusively (not by choice, of course) and I don't begrudge anyone who wants to travel comfortably when we're all packed like sardines. The amenities keep getting fewer, the costs keep going up, and the seats keep getting smaller, and you want people to dress up? Get tf all the way out of here. Also, as a father of two, I feel nothing but pity for the parents when there's a screaming child as they are typically the ones who feel the worst about the scenario (speaking from experience). There is *nothing* you can do to ease the discomfort of altitude changes for a baby except try to keep them distracted/entertained for the ENTIRE FLIGHT...like every minute. I'll even ask them if they want me to help and/or hold the baby before I pass any judgement.
I fly enough that I’m usually at least upgraded to Comfort Plus, but I flew in regular economy for Thanksgiving Break. It was an uncomfortable experience, and I’m not even a big guy. I can’t imagine how other people do that.
Interesting to do this by gender. Men's clothing has had a long, but slow secular trend from formal and uncomfortable to casual and comfortable. But women divided sharply and quite suddenly about 20 years ago, between traditional and often uncomfortable (high heels) for example, and active wear (Australia's Lorna Jane claims to have invented the term) worn even in contexts where men would be dressed in more formal clothing.
One surprise in the data: Do people really think its unacceptable to ignore the safety demo? I pretend to look interested if the flight attendant is close enough to make it a politeness requirement (and I often fly exit row, where the demo is part of the package). But crashes almost never happen, and those that do are mostly 100% fatal. It would be more useful to give advice on what to do if a fellow passenger has a heart attack.
The UK survey data looks about the same between men and women, but I would love a cross-tab on gender and age.
I was also surprised by some of the results that people said were inappropriate, because I rarely see people paying attention to the safety demo. I often politely follow along because I know what it's like to be in front of a lot of people who are not paying attention to what you're saying/doing.
Great post that weaves a lot of interesting stuff together (externalities, cost of flying, etc.). I'm pretty skeptical of the psychology research though, strikes me as something that won't replicate in the coming years, although it does seem plausible.
We need to ask our teaching friends if they're still using the "dress well, test well" mantra
I have never heard that one. But I did recently start wearing ties when I lecture, so maybe I believe it.
i’m wondering whether the recent uptick in behavioral outbursts on flights is caused by the 18-24 group or if it skews towards other groups
I would love access to this sort of data! I'll blame my own generation here and say it's mosy likely a bunch of millennial.
6-7
Like I'm going to take the word of Trump Loyalist Incompetent Reality Teevee Loser who can't even keep planes flying safely.
Duffy used racist dog whistles the people he was speaking to easily recognized.
Pajamas and sweatpants are not acceptable except at home and in the gym. Have some pride in yourself.
Unless you are a hottie with Juicy written on your bottom it is unacceptable to wear them.