A common complaint about flying is the smells. Whether it’s too much perfume, certain….personal….smells, or simply the scent of recycled air, there is a long list of fragrances that aren’t the best part of flying. A frequent smell on that list is pungent food–onions, certain chips, tuna….the odors extend farther than one might assume from items so small.

Generally it’s recommended to stay away from strong scents all together when flying, including those that come from food. However, sometimes you order something that sounds great and inoffensive, like perhaps French fries. You board shortly after you get your food so you just wait to open your tasty treat. Then you get to your seat, open your bag of food, and…..WHOA.

It turns out the fries you that came with your sandwich were actually truffle oil fries. And truffle oil is fragrant, and not necessarily in a super pleasant way.

It turns out that you are the jerk with the smelly food on a plane.

So what do you do?

Well, in this totally hypothetical, not at all what happened to me a couple of weeks ago, scenario…you eat a few fries as fast as you can then crumple the bag in as small a ball as possible and shove it inside another bag so at least the smell is contained. And you vow to look more carefully at restaurant orders from now on.

Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot you can do about your surrounding environment when you’re flying. Someone’s too loud behind you? Your seatmate leaves the light shining when you’re trying to sleep? There are offensive odors somewhere nearby? Alas, you’re stuck. All you can do is insulate yourself the best you can. Bring an eye mask and wear your earbuds or ear plugs. And bring something that smells good to help block any unpleasant odors, like an herbal tea bag (pictured) or a freshly laundered scarf. Just in case!

Readers, any stories to share? Any time you were inadvertently the jerk? What did you do?

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