Ridiculous.
Since I spent the weekend examining airport escalators for barefootedness, (See Ya Escalator, Alligator), I think most folks can figure out that I did so while flying.
The airline contracts of carriage are simply ridiculous.
In Flying Barefoot I wrote about how the airlines write a “Contract of Carriage”, and how Daniel Howell, author of The Barefoot Book, was escorted off his plane on the way to New York to discuss his book on “The Today Show”.
Almost all Contracts of Carriage say that the airline may remove you for not wearing shoes.
Now, I haven’t flown in about six years. When I did so, I hadn’t had much trouble doing so. This weekend showed me that either things have gotten worse, or I just had a string of pretty bad luck.
First off, let me say that I made sure I had flip-flops in an easily accessible location of my carry-on bag. I did not want to get kicked off—I had a family wedding to get to. (Also, getting kicked off would really piss off my wife. 
)
Leaving Columbus on U.S. Airways, things started out well. The folks at the gate were very nice. One guy actually kidded me about being barefoot (“You need shoes on! . . . Just kidding.) The lady who took my boarding pass said that she envied me. So I went down the boarding ramp barefoot.
But then at the airplane hatch I was confronted by the flight attendant. She not only gruffly told me I needed shoes, but after I put them on, she added, “And keep them on!” Later, during the flight, I actually saw her leaning over to check that I still had them on (I was in the middle seat, so she could see fairly easily). Geez! It’s not like plenty of other normally-shod people don’t take off their shoes. It is even recommended to help with swelling of the feet from sitting so long.
Now, in the past, even if told to put on shoes to get off, I’ve walked off the airplane barefoot, and even had a flight attendant go apoplectic because of it. But what could they do, throw me off the airplane I was already leaving? But in this case I was sufficiently intimidated that I walked off wearing the flip-flops. I had a connecting flight on the same airline, and was (probably overly) concerned that this flight attendant might get so pissed she’d call ahead to my next flight. But I did take them off as soon as I left the plane.
So now I was in Charlotte. Again, I had no problem at the gate. On entering the airplane, I stayed close behind my wife (to hide my feet), but in this case the flight attendant must have seen my heels, because she chased me down the aisle after I’d passed her.
All I can say is that U.S. Airways must be carefully training their personnel to look out for this scourge of flying: barefoot in the aisle. This time, though, I didn’t worry much while in my seat.
I’m afraid that by the next flight (yes, it was a three-legged trip to get to our destination) I didn’t even bother trying to get on barefoot. It was a long day; I was tired (and discouraged). Enough already.
Oh, and as my wife and I were getting our rental car, one of the other passengers was sure that I’d somehow lost my shoes, and offered me a pair of his flip-flops.
My return trip was no better (except that I only had to change planes once, instead of twice), this time on American Airlines. At Corpus Christi, no mention of my bare feet at the gate, but the flight attendant asked, “Where are your shoes?” So on went the flops, I walked back 14 seats, and then took them off. This time I did exit the plane barefooted.
Then at Dallas I had the gate personnel insist that I wear the flip-flops through the boarding ramp. Again, I took them off and stowed them as soon as I sat down.
So, how is all this ridiculous?
After all, I only had to put the flip-flops on for a very short time. But the real question is, “Why?” What real purpose did it have? What problem did it solve? I spent a lot of time in the airports walking around barefoot, perfectly safely. Nobody can tell me with a straight face that the first 14 rows inside an airplane (okay, it was 24 rows on one of the flights) are somehow more hazardous than the airport (or even outdoors).
I will provisionally concede that if there were a crash and the plane were on fire, footwear might be useful to walk on burning and/or melting carpeting. (Glass? Not a problem. See this. Besides, all the windows are plastic.) Except I suspect that’s not why the rule is there. I suspect it is a holdover from when people almost always wore shoes and socks for flying, and if you took them off, it would raise a stink (literally).
I suppose folks could say it is ridiculous that I make such a fuss about it. May be. But I really never carry footwear. Instead, for flying I need to make these sorts of special arrangements, and for what? 14 rows? It would be nice just to not have to worry about it at all. It would be nice not to have to stop for an empty gesture that really serves no purpose but to satisfy somebody’s idea of propriety.
So, I feel I at least need to make the attempt. To me, it is always good to test the limits, and try to change them.
About a year ago, I boarded a Delta flight without shoes. I didn’t know about any such contracts of carriage, so it didn’t occur to me that there would be a problem. The flight attendant that was greeting everybody as they entered the plane asked me, “You’re not wearing shoes?”
“No,” I replied, and walked past her.
She stopped me and asked, “Why not? Do you have any shoes?”
I simply responded that I didn’t wear them and asked why it mattered.
Turns out, she didn’t know any better herself about the contracts of carriage and just stated that it was required.
I asked her if it was an FAA requirement.
She said she didn’t know.
I then asked her where the requirement was printed on my ticket or anything I signed in purchasing the ticket. She was dumbfounded.
Finally, I said, “Ma’am, if you can show me an FAA regulation that requires shoes, I’ll staple something to my feet. If you can’t, I fail to see why you should make a big deal of it.”
She said, “Excuse me one moment,” and then headed over to a nearby phone just inside the walkway. She nervously looked around, making sure not to have any eye contact with me. After a short time, she returned and said, “We can’t find anything that says one way or the other, so I’ll have to let you on.”
“Thank you,” I said and found my seat.
Later on that same trip, I was accosted by the woman at the gate for being barefoot. She chased me all the way to the plane, but I had a good lead on her and when I got to my seat, I removed my hat and shoved my feet under the seat. She walked right past me, and paced the aisle several times trying to find me but never did. She finally gave up and returned to the gate.
Wow. Yes, it is. It’s absolutely ridiculous.
My hat is off to you. You’re better at this than I am. However, if she had made a big deal of it with the pilot you could have been kicked off, as we’ve all seen stories about folks being tossed for the most ridiculous of reasons, like T-shirts. For instance, American Airlines, in addition to banning bare feet, also has a line that says: “clothed in a manner that would cause discomfort or offense to other passengers.” Quite arbitrary, of course.
By the way, Delta’s contract of carriage does ban bare feet, and is here. The barefoot line is right between “disorderly, abusive or violent” and “appears to be intoxicated”. Because they are all so similar, doncha know. Pfft.
But if you’re that one guy who only wears women’s underwear on his flights, you should b e fine on US Air.. o_O
Same experience here, flip-flops to board at least. I’m sure shoddies uncork funk foot enough for routine complaints, just another reason to keep the rule in place. It boils down to maintaining a customer image, like a nightclub, hence the exclusion of those that appear or act like lower class undesirables. Board First class first to set the image so that coach can see what they should strive for.
Some private entities will always be superficial, image conscience and petty. They will follow the lead of their most important clientele. This will never change, not in our lifetime at least. It’s hardly ridiculous, it’s big business and you just might be in the way, so put your shoes on or get out!
This is so strange to me because I have flown roundtrip at least 4 times since becoming a full-time barefooter – on AirTran, NW, and Delta – and only once has anyone connected to the airlines said anything at all. And that was a flight attendant as I was deplaning who was just making sure I hadn’t forgotten my shoes back in my seat.
So, maybe there is at least one perk in being a very conventional-looking, middle-aged woman nowadays?? After all, we are pretty much invisible in contemporary society. (grin)
A few years ago an Air New Zealand flight was stopped from taking off because the pilot noticed a couple of 3-4 year old kids didn’t have any shoes with them. The whole flight had to wait while they unloaded the luggage because the kids’ shoes were packed away. Two MPs who were on the flight were very angry at the airline, pointing out that as soon as they were in the air flight attendants actually advised people to remove their shoes to be more comfortable for the long-haul flight. The story got big media coverage and Air NZ had to apologise and change their policy so kids under 6 can be barefoot.
I fly a lot for business and holidays so I can see the trends. New Zealand airports have no issue with bare feet and it very common to see half a dozen or more people barefoot in them on any given day. We don’t have no shirt, no shoes signs in NZ. However I’ve never seen people actually board a flight barefoot.
A year ago though I was on a flight from NZ to Singapore. There was a Kiwi family whose kids took off their shoes and packed them away as soon as we were on board. Well actually many kids and adults did this. But this family didn’t bother putting the kids’ shoes back on to disembark in Singapore. They were stopped by airport security at the end of the airbridge and as I passed them they were desperately searching bags for the kids shoes. These kids were not that little, maybe 8-12, so I wonder if that was a factor in their being stopped.
I also had a chuckle and wondered if NZ is so notorious for bare feet that Singapore stations security at all our arriving flights to check we’re wearing shoes.
Fortunately, I do not fly much anymore. The last 10 years of flying was required by family deaths or business, and I really abhor what flying has become today and have no desire to fly anywhere ever again. That said, from the time I started fulltime barefooting around 2004 until my last flight in 2009, I was never asked to put on shoes. Primarily I flew in Europe, but occasionally had to cross the US to California to visit relatives. Never a problem in Europe, even from US flight attendants handling international flights to the US. I did everything I could to hide my feet (I am not looking for trouble as some barefooters are) mostly bunching up with other people and staying very close behind my wife, who would often run interference for me by talking to the flight attendant while I went around my wife, which kept her between me and the flight attendant handling boarding.
I do not doubt that it has become more difficult since then, because being just plain barefoot in public places has become nearly impossible for me, due to dogged employees who claim they are just following rules. I cannot go barefoot in any store I need to frequent in my small town, having been threatened with a call to the police in a couple cases–even when I presented no argument and agreed to go get flip-flops. Being barefoot in the heart of fundamentalist Bibleland is tantamount to going naked in public.
The fact that kids and teens will not go barefoot these days is part of the problem, I believe. There are not enough people pushing the envelope any longer, and the few of us who do, are no match in numbers to wear people like flight attendants down.
I’m pretty sure the safety instructions for emergency exits down the inflatable slides say to remove your shoes – stilettos and inflatable slides not being a good combination. I have boarded in toe socks without difficulty, but never tried barefoot.
By the way, thanks so much for maintaining this informative blog. I found it when trying to determine whether it was sensible to think about play tennis in bare feet.
The other thing to mention, I do not know if younger people even know this, flying was considered a luxury and an experience onto itself. Before flying became a dull routine way to get from point A to point B. People voluntarily got dressed up for the trip, even when going on a vacation to a tropical place. Men wore suits and ties, women wore dresses and dress shoes, and it was considered sort of a “formal” event. When I first flew with my parents and their friends in 1969, they were all dressed up, stuffed me into a suit and tie, and the girls wore dresses. But when I flew during the early 1980s and 1990s, it was casual all the way. There were plenty of people that at least took off their shoes on the plane, (mostly women), and would walk around the aisles that way with no problem, and I saw some get off the plane without putting shoes on. It did not seem to be an issue at all then, even saw young women walking around barefoot all over the airport in LA. So even if they had a rule then, they were not enforcing it. And I remember after boarding, and reaching cruising altitude, pilots saying to take off your shoes and relax.
And Singapore? They are one of the most uptight places anywhere – they would not let men with long hair past the airport at one time – they actually had barbers there waiting to cut your hair before allowing you to go out into their spotlessly clean, mindless conformist city and defile it with your barbarian-like appearance. So that is not surprising at all that bare feet would not be welcome there either.
@Beach Bum, flying was considered a luxury? Have you looked at the ticket prices for the 1930s? If anybody thinks the prices today are crazy, just take a look at the 1930s tickets adjusted for inflation, you’ll see that you’ve got quite a bargain today on even the most expensive of airline flights.
Flying has quite a fascinating history if you bother to research it. Really intriguing.