Traveler ejected for smell loses legal suit

[peejay 327]

Traveler ejected for smell loses legal suit

BERLIN (Reuters) - A court in Germany rejected a man's compensation claim against an airline after a cabin crew ordered him off a plane because other passengers were offended by his smell, authorities said Thursday.

An appeals court in the western city of Duesseldorf upheld an earlier ruling that British Airways (BA) had acted within its rights by removing the man from the aircraft after a female passenger sitting next to him complained about his smell.

"The stewardess took him to one side and asked him if he could put on a fresh shirt, but they were all in the hold," a court spokesman said. "So then he was asked to leave the plane -- about two minutes before take off."

BA said other passengers were upset by the smell, he added.

The corporate lawyer and his wife were scheduled to return home from Hawaii via Los Angeles on a BA flight sub-contracted to American Airlines last year, and missed their connection to Germany when the incident forced them to take the next plane.

Including the cost of staying an extra night in Los Angeles, the earnings he had forfeited and his wife's lost holiday time, the man calculated BA owed him nearly 2,200 euros ($2,819), and took his case to a lower court in Duesseldorf earlier this year.

"The man said he couldn't help sweating after carrying three suitcases in 29 degrees (Celsius) of heat and sitting in the airport for two hours with no air conditioning," the court spokesman said.

"But the court said the airline's terms and conditions made clear they could bar passengers because of their smell."

The appeals court delivered a judgement Wednesday by default against the man when he failed to attend the hearing. The man, who told the court he was stuck in traffic, has the right to appeal.

According to its website, American Airlines' conditions of carriage say that transport may be refused if passengers "have an offensive odor not caused by a disability or illness."

British Airways stipulates that the airline may refuse to transport passengers "if carrying you or your baggage may affect the comfort of any person in the aircraft."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061117/od_nm/...ny_passenger_dc

[mRx 16]

maybe they should conduct smell screening during the security screening eh?

[Mags 112]

If someone sat next to me, and they smelled, I'd say something to the stewardess. 8/9 hours next to someone who reeks of BO (or worse) is not a recipe for a comfortable trip.

Edited November 20, 2006 by mags

[~Jess~ 0]

oh goodness! smelly subject lol. on EVERY flight ive been on there are lots of stinky people............ive never personally had to sit near any, but walkin by sure makes me gag.................thankfully they allow travel size stuff on the airplane now, i love having my perfume to spray around me

[fozzie 41]

A bit harsh really!! So the guy smelled! I would have countered the argument by saying "I hadn't noticed how bad a smelled due to the overpowering smell of your breath!" and I would have demanded that she be removed frm the plane instead.

[Kez/JWolf 6]

oh goodness! smelly subject lol. on EVERY flight ive been on there are lots of stinky people............ive never personally had to sit near any, but walkin by sure makes me gag.................thankfully they allow travel size stuff on the airplane now, i love having my perfume to spray around me

Lets just hope there is nobody around you who may be alergic to the perfume you choose to inflict on everyone...

[DeadPoolX 9]

oh goodness! smelly subject lol. on EVERY flight ive been on there are lots of stinky people............ive never personally had to sit near any, but walkin by sure makes me gag.................thankfully they allow travel size stuff on the airplane now, i love having my perfume to spray around me

Lets just hope there is nobody around you who may be alergic to the perfume you choose to inflict on everyone...

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Some perfumes are really strong and cause me to sneeze almost uncontrollably.

[anya-D 8]

I think some kind of perfume are as bad as body smell.. some people prefer different smell and might not be comfortable with strong perfume smell too (I sat next to a guy who wear a very strong perfume once.. he's well groom though but I just got plane sickness becasue of it

[aliciaandfran 0]

Ok...so, yesterday at the restraunt where I work as a waitress, there was a person with such bad body odor that they stunk up one whole half of the room that they were sitting in...All the wait staff noticed the smell as we walked past that section of the restraunt. I'm sorry, but I think that even if you have a problem with BO you can at least shower right before you leave the house to avoid inflicting that kind of torture on other people. I'm not trying to be insensitive but can you imagine trying to eat with that kind of smell invading your space? I don't blame the lady for not wanting to sit next to that man.

[Cristy 4]

I had a coworker like that. I thought I was going to throw up after an hour. I complained. They talked to her and I never smelled her like that again.

[Jenn! 918]

I think that people who are so easily offended by the odors of others should take private jets.

[~Jess~ 0]

lol yea some perfumes are bad....but id rather smell fruity then like bo or worse

[Mags 112]

I think that people who are so easily offended by the odors of others should take private jets.

Yeah, but there is smelling and SMELLING. If you stink up a WHOLE plane then it must have smelled really bad.

One or two people complaining you could put down to being fussy or over sensitive. A whole planeful of people complaining means he was REALLY ponging.

[luvaLimey 0]

oh goodness! smelly subject lol. on EVERY flight ive been on there are lots of stinky people............ive never personally had to sit near any, but walkin by sure makes me gag.................thankfully they allow travel size stuff on the airplane now, i love having my perfume to spray around me

Lets just hope there is nobody around you who may be alergic to the perfume you choose to inflict on everyone...

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Some perfumes are really strong and cause me to sneeze almost uncontrollably.

Sometimes it's not just sneezing as a reaction to perfume. If I wear any perfume around my stepmom or step sister, they begin having trouble breathing, and it triggers an athsma attack in my step-sister. There are other ways of smelling nice, that I've found...that don't include wearing perfume; you can layer scents: a scented body wash, followed by scented lotion, and then a spritz of body spray. The scent is subtle, but not overpowering and it lasts longer than a spray of perfume. It also doesn't trigger allergic reactions from people around you.

It's as insensitive to wantonly spray perfume around yourself on a plane as it is to walk on smelling stinky.