Thongs and a singlet: The way we behave on a plane has completely changed….

Do you remember when you or your family would dress up for a plane journey? Nowadays it’s rare to see a well-dressed person on a flight, unless perhaps they’re in business class, but even then it can be uncommon.

According recent findings in the Expedia Passenger Preferences Index, Aussies have given up caring about their attire on a flight. Yes, we’re a laidback country but really, when did this happen?

Loose-fitting clothes, jumpers and stretchy pants – these have all become a common sight.

91 per cent of respondents in the study said they chose to dress for comfort first, and only one in 10 chose presentation over comfort, reports Traveller.

Australians also were the least willing to pay for any added extras on short-haul flights – two in five (43 per cent) said absolutely not. Though we do want to pay for a seat with extra leg room (20 per cent), a full meal (16 per cent) and a wider seat (12 per cent).

On a positive note, Australians are still as friendly as ever, with almost one in five (18 per cent) saying they would strike up a conversation with a fellow passenger to keep themselves occupied. And the older Australians get, the more likely they will talk to their seat neighbour – 25 per cent of those aged over 50 years have started a conversation with the person next to them.

And the one thing we can’t go without on a flight? Water. More than half of the respondents rated water as the number one they couldn’t do without when flying, followed by a meal (54 per cent), headphones (29 per cent), a phone/mobile device (29 per cent) and magazines or newspapers (21 per cent).

When it comes to the top thing we avoid when it comes to flying – paying excess baggage fees. Two thirds (62 per cent) of Australian travellers say they would avoid baggage fees at all costs and almost half said the main reason for not checking in a bag were queues.

Expedia Passenger Preferences Index is a global study that examines the preferences and behaviours of air passengers country by country. The study was conducted on behalf of Expedia by consulting firm Northstar.

Over 11,000 travellers were surveyed (11,026) from across 22 countries in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and South American region, and judging by the results, we’re badly dressed, impatient and stingy!

It’s a far cry from when we felt very privileged to be travelling on a plane.

So what do you think of these results? Have our standards dropped whilst travelling?