Please put your shoes back on
 

Last week did a MR and elite upgraded to FC the whole trip (thanks NW!) The last segment of the flight (noting i was a bit cranky from all the flying) the gentleman next to me in 1A takes his shoes off. Suddenly the aroma of unwashed feet began to fill the air. Unsure if I was the only one who noticed or if everyone up front began to smell it, but no one said anything including myself, and we remained silent despite inhaling the fumes for the 2 hour flight.

Is it appropriate to ask 1A to put his shoes back on? Does it make a difference if it's FC? What do you say? has this happened to anyone? Should I arm myself with a can of Lysol next time? =)

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"to travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries"

Easy.

To the guy in the Armani suit next to you in FC:

"Excuse me, please can you put your shoes back on. Thank you"

To the guy with the construction belt and the old jeans next to you at the back of the plane:

"Excuse me, please can you put your shoes back on. Thank you"

Ah, haven't seen this topic for a while http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif

For me, it all depends on the length of the flight. For a long-haul, there is no way I'm keeping my shoes on for the journey. Any request to do so will be met with a polite but firm refusal.

But then I have the courtesy to make sure I have clean feet/socks for the duration.

I agree with WHBM. I think many people with smelly feet (at least in the U.S.) are embarrassed when others notice (people often get immune to their own smells) and are happy to mitigate the damage.

Or, you could carry a subtle noseplug and put it on http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif

Same rule if a woman pulls out smelly nailpolish and starts putting it on.

"Please wear some socks?"

- Pat

Lysol would do the trick. If they couldn't figure it out, spray it again.

Some earlier discussion:

http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...ML/002227.html

And a couple of others:

http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...ML/001929.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...ML/005346.html

And one of my favorite FT threads:

http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...ML/006795.html

Ah, more Hygiene discussion. Gotta love it.
I always wonder how people who can afford to fly at all, let alone in Business or First Class (even if upgraded) made it that far without having picked up some decent grooming skills that deals with B.O? It's like a religion for me; I always shower the day of my flight. I don't smell absolutely less than amazing when I show up at the airport usually.

Women tend to be a bit better about their personal effects than us guys (admittedly a generalization, but, I am talking about the general public). So I never notice any odious aromas wafting up from open toed shoes they routinely wear (much to my delight given I usually enjoy the view).

But the person who said that we get embarrassed about these things is right. In case someone runs into trouble with this issue, politely requesting they replace their shoes will probably quickly remedied. I know I'd do it, esp. since, I'm not in the habit of wearing uncomfortable shoes.

I actually tried to fly without my shoes on but the problem is that it's so very cold on airplanes most of the time so I keep them on just to keep my feet from getting frost bitten, heh.

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Best regards,
Dairenn Lombard
Los Angeles, CA

"I always wonder how people who can afford to fly at all, let alone in Business or First Class (even if upgraded)..."

Well, I'll provide one excuse: my travel tends to involve international trips to places that aren't on the tourist maps. Consequently, the journey to the airport often requires carrying heavy luggage through a long succession of buses and trains, up stairs and down stairs, sometimes in countries where there may not be a word for "air conditioning" in the dictionary. That's before the 18 hours in airports and airplanes begins. No matter how cleanly pressed I may have been in the morning when I left, I'm sure I've probably occasionally ended up as one of the antisocial stinkers that you're talking about. And I'm sorry.

how hard is it to bring some slippers?

This is one reason why they provide you with fresh socks on international flights. So you can change out of your smelly socks, take your shoes off and not annoy anyone.