ATLANTA Seatback pockets hiding sticky surprises, carpets with patterns that can no longer conceal the curious stains, overripe lavatories and crevices oozing snack grit and plain old grime.

Increasingly, that describes the modern U.S. airliner, an untidy tube hurtling through the sky full of passengers who cannot wait to land and go wash their hands with disinfectant soap. Cleanliness may be next to godliness, but in the airline industry it has taken a back seat to financial survival.

Airlines in the United States, which have been paring their fleets to cut costs, are flying their jets fuller than ever - and some of them are just a little too crowded not to be smelly. After dispensing with the expense of most meal service, airlines invited passengers to bring their own food aboard, and many planes now land littered with a smorgasbord of wrappers and leftovers.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/10/...ness/clean.php