to think you should take a bloody shower before a longhaul flight?

[Lilylo]

So I just got off a 13 hours flight. It was awful, mainly because the man sitting next to me had a very strong body hodour. To put it mildly, he smelled like a mix of rancid sweat and urine.

When he was perfectly still it was bad but bearable, but as soon as he moved his arms even the tiniest bit I got waves of the most disgusting hodour.

The plane was completely full so I couldn't move to a different seat (I discreetly asked the hostess). I spent 13 hours holding my breath and just feeling like I wanted to vomit really.

Needless tonsay, I was very very annoyed.

Now, I don't know whether this person had some condition that caused such a terrible smell or just did not take proper care of his hygiene. I just know he made my flight a hell.

AIBU to think people should be a bit more selfware about their BO when they are restricted in small spaces with hundreds of strangers? Shouldn't it be a matter of respect?

[PestilentialCat]

urgh - I was near a revoltingly stinky man on a very short flight & that was bad enough - he was wearing a nylon football shirt & sweating profusely

[VinceNoirLovesHowardMoon]

People who are careless about hygiene probably wouldn't even think about showering before a flight because they don't think about it. But you're right, it's rank

[PestilentialCat]

I think people often can't smell themselves - their nose becomes "blind" to it. My man was unwashed, sweaty & smelt of stale sweat. Your man smelt of urine as well as sweat so might have had medical problems.

[Bickwood]

Might have been a condition

[Vintage45]

Nothing worse OP! Just brace yourself and know it will be over soon

Where are you going, anywhere nice?

[thenightsky]

Oh God that is horrible... 13 hours! 10 mins on a bus next to BO is bad enough for me.

[Lilylo]

vintage I was on my way back from Hong Kong. The stinky offender was British though!!

[Naoko]

So many people don't fucking shower. I have no car so spend a lot of time on buses and there's always that one person who stinks the entire bus out. It's the 21st century. Fucking well wash.

[Fluffyears]

It had this on a holiday flight once. The whole area reeked of BO. Bloody vile a stage worst 4 hours I've ever spent. At one point I sprayed perfume on my handbag lining and literally stuck my head inside my bag.

[x2boys]

Is there a condition where you have really bad body odour I, m only asking because when I was at school back in the 80,s there was a girl who stank for the entire five years and she must have been aware of it because teenagers are cruel her name rhymed with ellie and she got called smelly ,name rhyme .

[Vintage45]

Not sure what him being British has to do with it? strange thing to write.

However, I hate public transport of any description due to assaulting smells though.

[KurriKurri]

Well its not always possible - the last two long haul flights I did I had been travelling for 5-6 hours to get to the airport where my long haul was going from - there wasn't any time or opportunity for me to take a shower and I'd been couped up on other buses/planes for a long time. I hope I didn't stink - I;m not a terribly sweaty person and no one was avoiding me - but I was travelling for many hours from a very hot climate to UK so it's possible I may have got a bit hot and less than fresh !

I agree it's not pleasant, but not necessarily easy for a sweaty person to keep clean.

[takeonefortheteam]

Thats so horrid for you. Maybe he was on a connecting flight from Oz
.
Was the flight attendant sympathetic? There must be a protocol somewhere.

[WhenSheWasBadSheWasHorrid]

YANBU

I hate stinky people.

[BitterAndOnlySlightlyTwisted]

I take the Tube to work every day. There's a dirty fucker altogether too bloody often. Thing is, they got out of bed smelling like that. Very possibly got into it like that as well. shudder Who do these people work with? Who do they live with? The mind boggles.

[AYD2MITalkTalk]

Hodour?

Once would be a typo, but twice...

[Madbengalmum]

It is the worst thing ever.
On short haul flights i always take a perfume tester and spray towards the offender! It always has the desired effect! I think it is disgusting to have to be around that for a few hours.

[peppersaunt]

I had the same problem on a long haul flight but with someone's smelly feet! He was sleeping across 3 seats with feet facing the aisle. Full flight. I now keep a small perfume spray with me (also good for buses/Tubes) for instances like this!

[paxillin]

On some trains I notice the smell gets worse as the weeks goes on, Monday isn't so bad, Wednesday not great and Friday rank. I think the Saturday=washday isn't dead yet.

[MrsPear]

I am sorry but planes have toilets! If know you get sweaty then a decent person would have a though shower with fresh cotton clothing and a strong deodorant before hand. Then you could always wash, put on more deodorant and change mid flight.
My bil can be a smelly sod - h has told him. He thinks a daily wash and deodorant is girly and his smell is manly - he was made by h to sit on door step and wait last time he popped by!

[Lilylo]

AID2MITalkTalk I apologize, I am not an English native speaker, hence English is my second language and I sometimes make mistakes (esp with words I don't write often). *
*
Can you please show me what the correct spelling is?

[EBearhug]

It's not always possible to shower before a flight - not everyone is coming directly from a hotel or home. I've been on flights where I showered before setting off, but setting off included a long road journey first. I'd have happily taken a shower, but not all airports have the facilities, and sometimes there's no time anyway.

Of course, I only ever smell of roses and spring blossom, so I am never a problem. I have nevertheless been very glad to get home/to a hotel room after a long journey before.

[eurochick]

It's a bit grim but not always possible. I recently had a day of meetings in Singapore followed by a 14hr flight. When I got to the airport the lounge had showers but there was a long queue for them. I was exhausted and probably stinky. The shower attendant took pity on me and allowed me to queue jump but if she hadn't I would have been the stinky person on the plane!

[AYD2MITalkTalk]

No need to apologise - I was curious because you wrote BO, for body odour, but spelt odour with an h like hour. UK English is odour, US English odor.

[PestilentialCat]

The correct spelling is Odour