A friend sent me a copy of the United Airlines dress code for companion travel (companions are the domestic partners, children and other relatives of airline staff), and I was glad to see that they have one. Like many codes, it's actually a specification of what companions should not wear and offers no suggestions beyond those prohibitions.
In the First and Business Class cabins, unacceptable items include:
- jeans or denim in any color
- athletic or tennis shoes
- hiking or military style boots
- shorts
- baseball caps
This in addition to the usual stuff like sweat clothes and beach clothing. Travel would be considerably more pleasant if they could make revenue passengers observe the same rules!
But the guidelines did give me a basis for comparison as I packed my beat-up bags for France. I'm travelling relatively light this trip and the only items that UAL would frown on in the cabin are my workout clothes and a bathing suit (were I to wear them in flight).
For two weeks I'm taking half as much clothing as I would for a business trip of the same duration: two suits, an odd jacket, a safariana, one pair of dress shoes, some Norwegian lace-ups, several pair of linen trousers and supporting clothes in a 26" suitcase that hopefully won't weigh fifty pounds (22.68 kilograms) including the clothes steamer. Though the bag is looking rather full, and the tailored clothing isn't in yet. And then there's the bag of electronics. I was not designed for backpacking.
On board, I'll be the guy wearing chinos, a polo, slip-on shoes, and a jacket with a polka dot neckerchief. Fortunately, nothing in the UAL dress code prohibits neckerchiefs.
