(WJZY) – When you board a flight, are you one of those passengers who looks like they just rolled out of bed? Do you arrive wearing sweats or PJs? Or are you donning Daisy Dukes and crop tops?  

We’ve all seen those passengers — and in some cases, we may have been those passengers. Others, meanwhile, prefer to dress less casually on flights.

But does it make any difference what we wear? And does it have any bearing on how we’re viewed, or how we behave during the flight?

One thing is certain, though: Gone are the days passengers would dress up to take a flight. Business suits, ties, jackets and dresses used to be the norm in the early days of commercial air travel. Back then, airline customers wore dress shoes — no sneakers or flip-flops. 

Septuagenarian Carol Quinn remembers those days well. 

“Since then, the whole world has gone casual, so you can’t really blame passengers for dressing the way they do today,” she said.  

A new report by the International Air Transport Association reveals unruly passenger incidents rose worldwide by 47% between 2021 and 2022. One incident was reported for every 568 flights in 2022, up from one per 835 flights in 2021.

According to author Christopher Elliott, who publishes a travel journal, there is compelling research linking behavior and attire. He cited Santa Clara University professor Thomas Plante, who said that “when people dress better, they tend to behave better.”

Ken Schulte, a pilot, also told Elliot that, “Well-dressed people never cause drama on a flight.”

“The troublemakers are the ones who look like they just rolled out of bed,” Schulte said.

Most passengers don’t read the fine print, so they aren’t aware of airline guidelines in their contracts or conditions of carriage. Most state that passengers must behave and dress appropriately and respectfully, which usually means no bare feet or offensive odors. 

Lewd, obscene or offensive attire can be grounds to be denied boarding, as well as bad hygiene.

Still, some travel experts say you don’t need to be the best-dressed on the flight. Instead, you may want to dress “respectfully,” etiquette expert Myka Meier tells The Points Guy travel blog.

It may pay to tidy up a bit before boarding, too: Well-dressed passengers have been known to get more benefits and upgrades, according to travel experts. 

So the next time you head to the airport, you may want to rethink those sweats and PJs.