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As part of my 2023 round the world trip, I flew several legs in business class. On my trip report for my EgyptAir Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner Business Class Review IAD-CAI, I had someone comment “Did you change into those clothes or is that how you typically fly?”. I thought about responding but figured it was not a serious question so I didn’t bother. It did remind me of this post about dressing up to fly in first class, which has gotten some of my angriest comments ever! I figured that it was worth a rerun – original post follows

I had a few interesting comments over the weekend regarding dress code when flying first class.  I am a laid-back guy and was wearing a pretty Dan-typical outfit of shorts and a T-shirt on our Emirates First Class Dubai to JFK flight

emirates-a380-first-class-review-suites-seat

I got a few interesting comments on that

Can’t you dress up a bit more for that flight? You can’t wear a t shirt

and

Can’t buy class….. not even with miles.

My response was something along the lines of “haven’t you seen The Wedding Singer?  First Class passengers can do whatever they want!”

So while I’m not particularly worried about random Internet commenters and their assumptions of my “class”, I did wonder what others have done or consider “proper”

History of airline dress codes

Sure, back in the day, EVERYONE was wearing suits and other “fancy clothes” when flying ANY class of airplane.  I think that ship has sailed long ago.  Especially given security lines, you see many people in the airport in flip flops and snuggies nowadays.

I do remember my first and only time flying on a flight attendant friend’s “buddy pass” (nearly 15 years ago).  She let us know that one of the “rules” of flying on the buddy pass is that we had to dress up, so we did.

Do you dress up in first class?

I have now flown first class (using miles and points) 3 times, all as part of my recent first class round the world trip

(SEE ALSO: Upgrading to first class – the best 80 cents* I ever spent!)

(SEE ALSO: Learn more on which cards earn you miles and points here)

japan-airlines-first-class-review-pic

I’ve also flown business class a few times

Though my very first business class trip on Aer Lingus from Boston to Dublin ended up canceled while I was sitting on the tarmac!

Each time I was wearing more or less the same clothes (shorts and a T-shirt). Not to mention for many of those long-haul flights, I ended up wearing the complimentary airline pajamas for a good chunk of the flight anyways.

Taking a first class flight? Is there a dress code or particular outfit when you travel in a first class cabin?

So I want to hear your experiences.  If you’ve flown first (or business) class, what do you typically wear, and what do you think is an “acceptable” dress code for flying premium cabin?


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