Cross the jetway onto American Airlines’ new Embraer 175 regional jets, and you immediately realize you're in for a different experience: The planes are brighter, cleaner, fresher.

That's right. Fresh.

I never believed there was such a thing as a new-airplane smell until I stepped aboard American's new Embraer 175 for one of its first regularly scheduled flights. Now I do. But then again, most of the airplanes I've flown have been up and down for years before I ever climbed aboard.