US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s call for more civility in the skies comes down to a simple ask: Don’t wear pajamas in public.
But what if your PJs are first-class swag provided by the airline?
After all, one of the many perks of residing in the front of the plane is a cozy, branded outfit to soothe the weary premium traveler into a cocooned slumber. Some passengers collect them, online forums hotly debate which airline has the best set, and customers parade them down the aisle as a badge of distinction that separates them from the huddled masses behind the curtain.
Duffy’s request has set off a public debate about the acceptable standards of sartorial appearance — and the limits of what a government can tell its citizens to do. Some may find that his views miss an important point, which is that air travel has become almost universally awful, so why try harder? Others — probably Duffy included — will counter that while we are more than what we wear, the clothes we choose are an expression of who we strive to be.
“I’m not trying to put the blame on anybody, I’m just asking us all to be better and do better and we’ll all have a more pleasant experience,” Duffy told reporters this week. “Let’s try not to wear slippers and pajamas as we come into the airport.”
The Trump administration has been strangely focused on looking the part — be it Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanding physical fitness of his cleanly shaven warriors or President Donald Trump himself redecorating the Oval Office with gold trimmings as far as the eye can see.
It’s in that same vein that Duffy pledged to revive “The Golden Age of Travel,” with a recent nostalgia-infused ad referencing a more civilized age — long before budget carriers were invented and brawling passengers went viral on social media.
But to many a tormented traveler, Duffy’s call to civility runs counter to the obvious shortcomings of modern air travel: overflowing airports, flight delays, cramped quarters in the cabin and minimal on-board service.
Besides, not all pajamas are created equal. Delta Air Lines Inc.’s first-class swag sells for as much as $100 on eBay Inc., and some carriers have teamed up with brands such as Swiss luxury underwear maker Zimmerli or shirt maker Van Laack to create in-flight loungewear. Emirates prides itself in having “moisturizing sleepwear” featuring fabric infused with shea butter and argan oil that’s gently released as you move.
Either way, the rules of dressing on board have changed as much as the regulations for flying in the past few decades. Gone are the days you could light up a cigarette anywhere on a plane, freely pack bottles of booze in your carry-on or amble into the cockpit for a chat with the captain at 30,000 feet.
With the democratization of air travel and ever-cheaper tickets came an erosion of etiquette. Airports today are heaving with holidaymakers dressing in devil-may-care outfits as they brave a long-haul flight, backpackers wearing toe-curling sandals and families parading around in matching pajamas.
One carrier that’s at the forefront of today’s no-frills, cheap-and-cheerless travel has turned the entire debate on its head. Known to enjoy a good laugh, the social-media team of Irish low-cost airline Ryanair Holdings Plc has taken to unapologetically trolling its own customers.
“We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone wearing jeans on a 4hr flight,” Ryanair quipped in an online post last month.
For now at least, Ryanair-branded pajamas have yet to make it to market.
(Reporting by Leen Al-Rashdan. With assistance from Kate Duffy, Sri Taylor and Allyson Versprille)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Bloomberg news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
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