Body Odor when flying
 

Are you prepared for a smelly seat mate while traveling?

How would you handle it or what do you have to get you through the time?

i.e. how do you deal with the smell?

I would ask the FA to reseat me. I then would have to judge whether the BO is so bad that I would trade my bulkhead aisle seat for the middle seat in the 2nd to last row.

Option #3: Leave the Smell Behind
 

I agree, asking the F/A and then checking reseat options is good. If you notice it in enough time (like before take off) you should alert the F/A and the agent. They may have to remove the passenger.

I was once working a flight (SFO-JFK) in which a passenger went in his pants. He was a very distinguished looking gentleman and was silently horrified. We actually turned the plane around and went back to the gate to allow him to shower etc and fly later. Anything could be rearranged (meetings etc.) to avoid embarrassment.

^^^ Impressive!

I would ask a cabin crew member discreetly if it is bad enough.

Or, I just hope that I suddenly develop a bad enough hay fever to nullify my sense of smell. :D

Goldbond powder offer it to the person with BO, I use it for foot odor myself :D

Well, since you asked... :p

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/air-c...ody-odour.html

Have you seen that happen? I didn't think they had the right to do that. Would they remove a passenger who bathed himself in cheap aftershave?

Could that have been because he was sick? I can't imagine how furious other passengers must have been for their flight to return to the airport from which it took off. All of the connections lost? Wow.

Air curtain. But only if it's slightly offensive. Reseating for the truly offensive.

Of course the FA/airline has the right to remove someone who smells offensive.

Sounds like the SFO-JFK event happened on the ground, so returning to the gate was an acceptable delay. Had they been airborne, I'm assuming they would have continued on to JFK and tried to make the man as comfortable as possible in the back of the plane or whatever.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing too. No way they would turn the plane around after lifting off just because a pax wet himself?

proudbird didn't specify the type of waste.

I don't think I'd last very long next to someone who shat in their trousers

Once on a flight LAX-TPE, about 2 minutes after we took off on this 15 hour flight is when I noticed the severity of the problem with a passenger seated two rows back. I am sure those seated immediately next to him must have noticed sooner but apparently no one said anything and once you leave the ground LAX-TPE, unless someone is in danger of dying, you are pretty much committed to being in the air for the next 15 hours no matter what. It was BAD. Really bad. The flight was full too. I just resigned myself to the reality and hopelessness of the situation. Shortly after the FA's got out of their jump seats and started moving about, apparently they became aware of the problem too and before you knew it a FA walked quickly down the aisle and discreetly let loose a spray of some industrial strength air freshener just as she passed him. Hardly a perfect solution but the stuff was remarkably effective at partially masking some of the smell. The flight attendants were very discrete about it but every 15 minutes almost on some kind of schedule for the whole rest of the 15 hour flight one or another of them would walk quickly down the aisle from the mid galley to the back galley with a quick spray of the air freshener right as they passed that passenger.

I always carry deodorant with me. If I was ever in this situation I would offer it to the smelly seat mate. ;)

On some cAAriers, there is absolutely a procedure in place. If the offensive odor is detected on the ground, the LCRO is called to determine if there is a medical reason for the smell. If there is not, the pax is discretely asked to freshen up within their powers, or the airline will help them if they are unable.

If it is deemed a medical condition, then there is truly nothing to do but accept the pax, and try to reseat those that are unable to understand and accept the situation.

Four years back, two of my cousins and I visited Tokyo. We stayed there for 9 days in an apartment hotel during the Summer. There was a washer and dryer but we couldn't figure out how to use the dryer since it seemed to just steam our clothes. I was fine but my cousins were sharing clothes. One would wear a shirt and the other would wear it a couple of days later.

After, one cousin and I went on to Seoul. We were on different flights but I heard a funny story once we arrived. He said he was seated in the exit row and the lady next to him commented about the smell. He said it must be the toilets. She replied she didn't think so. When the flight attendant came to ask if they would accept the responsibility that comes with sitting in an exit row, the lady said she wouldn't.

Luckily, we had relatives in Seoul and got all of our clothes cleaned when we arrived.

I carry Burts Bees Radiance Lip Shimmer. It's clear (albeit shimmery) and smells like peppermint.

Smelly pax sits down, I slather my nose and lips with the lip shimmer. Every time I rub my nose, it smells like peppermint!

This was a lifesaver on some flights in China.

Slightly OT, when I was a student I used Vicks Vap-o-Rub on my upper lip or in my mask when dealing with smelly situations in the OR (I hated some of the smells). That said, I havea little Vicks in my carry on all the time...under 3.3 oz, of course :p

I think Proudbird was being as tactful as possible given the situation: it sounds like an elderly passenger did indeed do that, and they taxied back to the gate to let him off. ^ Best outcome for everyone, even if it caused that five-hour flight to be 20 minutes late.

Being allergic to most deodorants, I would politely decline said offer. (that being said, i bathe regularly, and make use of the (very) few products available that don't irritate my skin, so would not likely be put into such situation to begin with)

I had that unfortunate experience once. Fortunately it was only from LAS-LAX. But watching this large man rushing onto the plane after I had thought the doors were closed and then my dread of having him sit next to me realized was not fun. Especially since he smelled, probably sitting gambling all night and didnt have time to shower. I just accepted it and said to myself that i would be off the plane in 42 minutes:mad:

I once had a tank-top German with no Deodorant sitting next to me (in the middle seat because I booked ultra last minute on a non-preferred airline). That was the stinkiest flight of my life.

In December I flew EWR to SAT next to a female physical therapist from the Netherlands (she had a professional journal) and wow... BO city, we're talking four hours of funk on a 100 pct full plane - I would have asked for a seat next to the lav to escape from the funk. So if there are any Dutch physical therapists that flew from EWR to SAT in Dec I'm talking to you! Yikes, your pal ruined it for everyone.