Qantas to enforce dress code in airport lounges. Maybe that’s a good thing

QANTAS will enforce a dress code in its airport lounges from next week and there are a few items of clothing you won’t be able to wear.

OPINION

Since when did flying at high altitude give travellers the right to a sartorial leave pass?

OK, I’m not saying you need to wear a three-piece suit or figure-hugging party dress on your next flight, but is it that hard to match the words ‘neat’, ‘respectable’ and ‘civilised’ with travel clothes?

Personally, I was happy when Qantas announced they will be enforcing a dress code in their lounges from next week onwards. Yes!

Maybe it will ensure we don’t see some plane cabins, airport terminals and airline lounges as extensions of our own lounge rooms, beaches, parks and or local pubs.

Have you seen some of the clothing that tries to pass itself off as travel attire? Thongs, bad shorts, trackies and sloppy singlets fill up terminals and airport lounges to the point where we’re seeing better-dressed bodies on bus and train trips.

If you are not planning on wearing that bright pink velour trackie once you hit Hawaii, why bother wearing it on the plane in the first place?

Many flying peeps have a stock standard, easy travel uniform every time they board a plane. It’s not fancy. It’s not smarty pants. It’s black, black and black. And with all of those said black pieces, they are easily re-worn once the destination has been hit.

Simple. Elegant. It’s not that hard, surely?

And whether your toes turn right, left or go up the stairs on your trip, there’s no excuse to look like a slob when you’re in a lounge, on the plane or wandering around the terminal.

I usually think about what I will wear just a few minutes before I get ready to head off to the airport. But that’s the point. At least I do think about what I am going to wear.

None of us need to dress exxy or up ourselves. But by dressing ‘appropriately’, well, it just shows respect for the people around you and most importantly, respect for yourself.

And if you’re dressed OK, doesn’t it just make the whole plane travel thing a better experience for everyone around you?

Melissa is not a fan of this look.

It is hard enough to travel in cramped and stuffy conditions. Let’s not even discuss passengers who recline their seats in front of you for The. Whole. Trip. There’s questionable food, the cost of checking baggage and looking at mangled toes hanging over thongs. It all makes plane trips fairly dire. If you dress competently, confidently and comfortably, at least you’ll have that to feel good about.

Why not think of plane travel as an ‘occasion’, not just a means to a destination. It is, by definition, public travel, so do you really want to see a plane full of flyers looking like they have just slipped out of bed?

Here, fellow flyers, are a few reasons why it may pay to wear clothes that look half-decent, as opposed to half-dishevelled.

• You may be treated better by transit staff;

• You may get even an upgrade;

• You can wear the same ‘nice’ wardrobe pieces once you get to your location;

• It can plane travel an ‘experience’ and not a chore — no matter where you are sitting.

While we’re at it, here are a few things to avoid when jumping on a plane.

• Rubber thongs. End of story;

• The same trackie you dropped the kids to school in;

• Ugg boots — love ‘em, but keep them for the lounge;

• Pyjama bottoms pretending to be pants.

Should we get ‘dressed’ to catch a plane? Continue the conversation on Twitter and Instagram @melissahoyer