Here’s a very specific airport lounge etiquette question that I’d love to get some reader takes on…
Airport lounge furniture: shoes or socks?
It’s common to see travelers behaving poorly in airport lounges, whether it’s people picking their nose at a buffet, or putting their bare feet on chairs. However, here’s where it gets tricky, if you ask me.
Many airport lounges have chairs with ottomans, so that you can get comfortable. If you choose to sit in one of these seats, should you keep your shoes on, or take them off? Logically speaking, it’s considered a best practice to not put your feet with shoes on furniture, right?
Well, I just spent (don’t ask how many) hours in the Cathay Pacific First Lounge Heathrow, which has quite a few chairs with ottomans overlooking the apron. This is my favorite place to sit, since the chairs are comfortable, and the views are amazing.
But here’s what I noticed — not a single person who used the ottoman took their shoes off. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t spying on people, or anything, but every 15 minutes or so I’d just glance over, and would notice that everyone had shoes on, and no one was just wearing socks.
While I kept my feet off the ottoman for most of my stay, at some point I did want to put them up, so I took off my shoes, and placed my feet with socks onto the ottoman. For the record (not that anyone is asking), I had a fresh pair of socks on, and I had just showered a couple of hours earlier, in the lounge. I almost felt self conscious placing my feet in socks on the ottoman, simply because I was countering the trend.
When a lounge staff member came up to me, I quickly put my shoes on, because subconsciously I almost felt like I was doing something wrong. It reminded me of the below elevator experiment.
Am I wrong? What am I missing?
Human behavior is a funny thing, and I can’t help but be fascinated by what I observed. Literally dozens of people put their feet up, and not a single other person took their shoes off. Am I just wrong, and the correct etiquette is to keep your shoes on? Did they realize the better etiquette is to take shoes off, but didn’t care? Were they worried their feet were smelly?
I’m trying to make sense of this, and I can sort of kind of see where people might be coming from. Generally, taking your shoes off on a plane is questionable (especially if you’re seated close to others), so perhaps some people think the same policy applies in airport lounges. And I can also see how people might be self conscious, given that feet might be smellier than usual when traveling.
But it’s also possible that I have it completely wrong. Is the correct etiquette in fact to leave your shoes on? Is either acceptable?
Bottom line
I feel like it’s a best practice to never place shoes onto furniture. Yet based on what I’ve observed, people in airport lounges do that, rather than taking off their shoes, and placing socks on furniture. I tend to think that if it’s me against the world, then I’m probably the one in the wrong. So that’s why I’m asking y’all…
Can anyone help me understand this? What’s the correct etiquette for feet on airport lounge furniture?
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