birder

I recently flew Emirates again, and was struck (again) by how heavily perfumed everything is. The hot towels they give you to wash your hands are so strong it takes my breath away. The soap and lotions in the bathroom, likewise. The amenity kits actually have perfume in them! I wish they wouldn't do that - someone on my flight actually used it and we were all choking and gasping. I know this is a very small thing, but I was wondering how others felt about it. I'm used to US airlines, which don't do this at all, and Air NZ, which has some perfume-y scents but it's practically subtle compared to Emirates.

chicagodesi

I think it's more of a cultural thing..Asians/Middle Easterners are big into perfumes, scented oils, etc. so I think that's where it comes from. It doesn't bother me that much though..although if someone was allergic/sensitive to scents that may not be too pleasant.

ung1

US airlines don't, but clothing stores certainly do go about spraying their scent on the clothes every half hour. You know the ones I'm referring to. Maybe to some extent it's to build brand recognition based on smell. Just a wild guess.

residentx

I've always figured it might be to do with counteracting the different cultures on board. If you've ever been to an Indian airport, even the more modern ones, they still manage to achieve a pungent aroma. Same with BKK, it's got a really odd smell. Until recently LHR had an oddly damp smell to match LGW. Locations in Africa are also the humid and busy inside the terminal. Trying to achieve a uniform onboard smell is obviously quite an uphill struggle.

Many airlines have perfumes or after shave inside them, its considered generous and also probably free to the airline (1000s of premium passengers sampling the fragrance every day). US carriers probably don't do it due to weight and worries about the size of bag to fit it all in etc.

birder

Thanks for the replies everyone.

LovetoTravel83

I think it's alright really.

But I agree with you that it sometimes gets annoying cuz it's too strong and you can't sleep or do anything dueing your flight.

I'm from the gulf and it is not a cultural thing but we do love perfumes.

george_l

Although I am not from Asia, I do like and enjoy it. Emirates has made a difference in my life, I enjoy their service

GigoloArt

From my observation, if you fly in Y a leg like RUH - DXB, the FAs would go along aisle and keep pressing a room spray (don't know how they are correctly called) left and right, up in the air. In premium cabin(s), they don't.

Bigbouthay

I would prefer this smell to the old musty smell I experience on some US routes

afhstingray

i thought those sprays were the antiseptic sprays required before landing in some countries?

Kiwi Flyer

I love the Air NZ manuka-scented hand washes and creams. Reminds me of home.

GigoloArt

You might be right - but even those are slightly perfumed...

lovetotravel123

Actually I love the perfume and scented sprays used on Emirates. Especially on their long haul flights where you can get tired of your neighbours breath. I guess different strokes for different folks.

afhstingray

otherwise the plane would smell like a hospital

bruce80

And obviously, they succeeded. I could already smell their store in South Street Seaport in NYC even when I was two blocks away. I really don't like being bothered by strong smells where I cannot evade them, so I'm curious to experience the EK smell on my own (still about two months to go).

However, I don't like the smell of the SQ J lotions ("Verbena" by L'Occitane) which are not too "heavy" but still very strong - well, they're asian. The lotions in LX J smell more like the interior of a pharmacy... so I think it's all a matter of taste (and probably also cultural differences).