Plane, simple: How to present at airport

Readers respond to Transportation chief's recent admonitions on fliers' attire, manners.

- BY JUNE HSU

LUDMILA SHCHERBAK hugs daughter Kate Abourched at Los Angeles International Airport on Nov. 25.

(GINA FERAZZI Los Angeles Times)

During one of the busiest travel weeks of the year, many of you surely found yourselves rubbing shoulders with fellow fliers at one of America's finest airports.

But have you ever taken a moment to see what’s on those shoulders? According to Essential California readers, it could be a cozy sweatshirt, fancy sport coat or anything in between.

My colleague Gavin J. Quinton recently reported on U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy's November video urging travelers to dress nicely and mind their manners in hopes of returning to a “golden age” of flying.

We asked readers what they wear to the airport. Here are some of the main takeaways:

Trips have changed over the years, and with them, expectations for attire.

As Gavin writes, “Flying was endowed with a sense of occasion, if only for wealthy passengers and businessmen,” and many dressed the part. Now, while air travel is more inclusive and accommodating, the “golden age” Duffy speaks of is no more.

People are corralled into shrinking airplane seats while paying more.