Sunday night (12/7) Flt 2298 Ex MIA, seated in 3A/B when very strong chemical smell permeates cabin. Seat 3F pulls sweater over her head coughing and my wife who has a condition similar to asthma starts having difficulty breathing and needs to use the emergency adrenaline she carries. We were very close to requesting an EMT or the onboard oxygen. (FYI – my wife is Elite on AA and USAir from BIS travel this year and under normal conditions has no issues – this is not someone who doesn’t or shouldn’t fly).

When asked about the fumes, FA says she sprayed Air Freshener (that she carries) into the forward lav because it smelled bad. When asked not to repeat the process she got very defensive and treated us as if this was our problem and that we should have told of her of our allergies or conditions…

• How can an FA trained in safety/medical not understand the risks of this action?
• Aren’t all chemicals used in an airline cabin carefully screened and reviewed?
• Did bringing a can of air freshener onboard violate any rules (either AA or TSA)?


Any tips on who I should contact at AA to help this safety issue rise above just a complaint about poor or indifferent service, especially since the FA clearly did not think she did anything wrong.