Shhh! How to deal with annoying seatmates

Alaska Airlines has a similar clause in their Contract of Carriage, reserving the right to deny boarding to “Persons who have an offensive odor (such as from a draining wound or
improper hygiene) or have a contagious disease provided it is not the result of
a handicap.” Via e-mail, Alaska Airline representative Caroline Boren says, “Our customer service agents are trained to identify and address any such issues that arise before a passenger boards the aircraft by compassionately and discreetly suggesting a nearby, private location for the passenger to cleanse themselves and/or change clothes.”

But sometimes a serious odor problem isn’t obvious until a passenger has boarded. Then, says Alaska Airline’s Boren, it’s up to the flight attendants, who are “ ... trained to compassionately and discreetly mitigate any issues that might arise after boarding by, among other options: seeking to relocate nearby passengers or the person perceived to have an odor issue (if passenger loads allow), opening air vents, providing air deodorizer, opening coffee packets and placing them in nearby seat-back pockets to help with odor absorption, etc.”

So, when seated next to someone who smells strongly, don’t be too shy to excuse yourself from your seat and alert a flight attendant to a problem. The sooner the better.

And here a few other ideas:

Tear out magazine pages with perfume samples and tuck a few in your carry-on.  If your seatmate has a stale odor, you can open up a few strips and test new fragrances.

Victorian ladies kept scent-infused handkerchiefs tucked into their sleeves so they could take a whiff of something lovely when encountering an “off” aroma. You can try that as well, or perhaps carry a tiny bottle of lavender or peppermint oil with you for just such occasions.

Or stock up on personal-sized containers of nicely-scented hand creams and other products. For example, at minimus.biz you’ll find 2 oz. bottles and individual “pillow” packs of Pharmacopia’s lavender and citrus scented body lotions.  The Web site, which specializes in travel-sized products, also carries lavender, lemon and peppermint-scented towelettes from Herban Essentials and a variety of “scent inhalers” from Earth Solutions. The “World Peace” inhaler with a blend of scents that includes clove for “courage and strength” and geranium which “brings peace and acceptance” might be especially useful.

Whatever you do, please don’t do what a lady aboard an American Airlines flight did back in December. By lighting matches in an attempt to cover the smell from her flatulence, she caused an entire airplane bound for to Dallas/Fort Worth from Washington Reagan National Airport to make an unscheduled stopover in Nashville.

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