I get that some people have business waiting at the pickup and wanting to look professional, but why everybody else?
Human bias. People tend to treat you favorably when you dress a bit nicely. You don’t have to over-do it, but you also don’t want to appear “rough”. I’ve travelled both ways, and can tell you for a fact, you get hassled more if you look like you just rolled out of bed, as opposed to someone who’s at least trying to look presentable.
I always put on pants when I go out. It’s the decent thing to do
Habit. And I’ve become good at finding outfits that look nice and are just as comfortable as ones that look more casual.
There is a simple reason you haven’t considered.
I want to bring my suit on the trip, and I don’t want to crush it into a bag, because it’ll wrinkle.
My company was very old school and had a dress code for all stupid situations, including travel on business. Also, fly in and fly out meetings are a thing. In the 90’s they wouldn’t let you sit in first class - before points aligned status were a thing, travel enough and you would get bumped up often when in a suit over others.
By dressing nicely you show respect for other people.
How? If I were meeting with someone in a formal setting, sure. If I’m flying somewhere after work just to go straight to my hotel, I’m not formally interacting with anyone where being dressed up makes a difference.
I’m don’t see how it’s any more respectful for anyone else I’m walking by in an airport terminal if I’m wearing a suit and tie vs sweatpants and a hoodie.
Does your statement imply that it’s disrespectful to not dress up, or is putting on informal clothes kind of the baseline and dressing up is extra?
Maybe that’s considered so in your (sub)culture, but it’s not a universal truth. That sounds like something a WASP boomer would say.
I’ve never heard of that and I’m not sure I would agree.
I’d say… why not?
For me, comfort, but also I’m usually flying for some kind of vacation where formal apparel doesn’t make sense, like snowboarding or hiking.
One reason among several is tradition. Air travel used to be the domain of the wealthy, at a time when the wealthy seldom left the house in super-casual or working-class attire.
