This week, he was doing pull-ups in an airport to promote the idea of putting workout equipment, play spaces and other family-friendly features in air hubs. <\/p>\n
But the Duffy idea that has captured my attention is his campaign to \u201crestore courtesy and class to air travel\u201d by, among other things, \u201cdressing with respect\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s try not to wear slippers and pyjamas as we come to the airport,\u201d he told travellers the other week. Jeans and \u201ca decent shirt\u201d were preferable. <\/p>\n
This has inspired ridicule and mild protest from flyers who have arrived at the airport in their pyjamas to mock Duffy\u2019s efforts.<\/p>\n
They have a point. A transport secretary who tackled soul-sapping flight delays, knee-crunching seat space, and all the other cattle-pen indignities of modern flights \u2013 as opposed to slovenly attire \u2013 is one I could get behind.<\/p>\n
Personally, I would never wear pyjamas to the airport. But I would, and do, wear the next best thing: the most roomy, soft, elastic-waisted clobber I can find. <\/p>\n
[\u00a0Keep your socks on, don\u2019t forget to flush: A flight attendant\u2019s etiquette rulesOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n I am not talking actual tracksuits, but upmarket versions of black yoga pants with vaguely matching tops, and footwear that slips off easily in security lines and errs towards the capacious rather than the classy.<\/p>\n As someone who regularly spends more than 22 hours flying from London to Melbourne in economy, I assumed all frequent flyers I knew took a similar approach and would therefore find the idea of dressing \u00e0 la Duffy inane. I was, however, wrong.<\/p>\n It turns out I am surrounded by people who head to the airport decked out in tailored trousers, button-up shirts, jackets and laced leather shoes \u2013 for reasons I had failed to consider before. <\/p>\n Martin Wolf, the FT\u2019s chief economics commentator, is one of them. He draws the line at a tie, but otherwise goes for the full day-in-the-office look, on grounds of self-interest and time management.<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes sense to look respectable,\u201d he told me. \u201cHuman beings are very hierarchical. They work out very quickly if you matter or not.\u201d <\/p>\n In other words, looking smart bolsters one\u2019s chances of being treated well by border control guards, airline workers and other potential obstacles to airborne progress. <\/p>\n![\"US](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/J2443AD4OL6IXUJCNWMG6XA4JY.jpg\")
US transport secretary Sean Duffy Photo has pledged to ‘restore courtesy and class to air travel\u201d by, among other things, \u201cdressing with respect’. Photograph: Heather Diehl\/Getty Images <\/p>\n