I don't know what the official rules are, but I am sorry to hear about this happening to you.

Airline passengers should bathe and use deodorant and generally try to look presentable, of course. Beyond that, I don't get wearing perfume or cologne on a six-hour flight.

rather than post here i think you need to educate yourself on what is and isn't allowed on different airlines. For ex if you purchase a purifier from magellan's it says right on the page

http://www.magellans.com/store/Health___Hygiene___Jet_Lag_PreventionEP225

and her's a similar report, so it's been this way for some time
http://www.wsvn.com/features/articles/helpmehoward/MI131560/

If I recall correctly, several airlines have been cited by the FAA for failing to accommodate disabled persons with scenarios such as yours. You would be doing yourself and fellow passengers a service if you would make your complaint with the closest office of the FAA. For that matter, you may want to get in touch with one of the advocacy groups for disabled persons to make your case for you.

I'm not sure what the opposition to the air purifier mask would be. What's the difference between you wearing the mask and me wearing noise-canceling headphones?

the strictures against the air purifier machines is that some of the early models exploded in flight (one on Jet Blue and i believe they were the first to outlaw them) and also TSA has a hard time with them as not being medical equipment, as they don't need a prescription so some flyers have had them confiscated at security. SO maybe some airlines feel it's not worth it if they may be disallowed at security anyway.

Thanks for that backgrounder, mztery. Didn't know any of that.

I'm very sorry you had such a difficult experience. As a person with a hidden disability myself, I too know what it feels like when your concerns are minimized by those who simply don't understand.

That said, however, venting here may help you feel better temporarily but it won't change anything in the long run. You need to learn to become an advocate for yourself and others who share your problem. And as mztery suggested, you need to educate yourself about what is and isn't permitted first. Then, armed with knowledge and your own personal story, you can approach the FAA, TSA, your congressman, etc, and work to get the regulations changed, if they are indeed senseless or unnecessary.

By the way, Amazon shows over 60 different models of mini air purifiers and I doubt if any of them are marked as specifically approved for air travel. If I were in your situation, I wouldn't put myself in the position you were in but would make darn sure I had with me whatever it takes to deal with a possible severe asthmatic or allergic reaction.

Your flight attendant Cynthia, as well as Jet Blue, were simply following their own as well as FAA regulations, and I suspect most other airlines have similar regulations. The fact that you have been allowed use of your device before may simply mean that the FAs were too busy to notice. I'm pretty confident that if you search deep enough into other carriers' websites, you will find similar restrictions. Here's a sample of what I found in 2-3 minutes:

Jet Blue specifically says your device may not be used onboard or carried in checked luggage: 'Personal Air Purifiers are small, portable air cleaners worn with a neck strap and are NOT considered "medical devices." (Medical devices include portable oxygen concentrators, respirators and/or ventilators.) Battery operated Personal Air Purifiers may NOT be used onboard JetBlue aircraft at any time (while the aircraft is parked at the gate, during taxi, take-off, enroute to the Customer’s destination, or upon landing.) Personal Air Purifiers brought onboard by Customers should always be placed in the "OFF" position. In addition, battery operated Personal Air Purifiers are prohibited from checked baggage.'

United Airlines says: 'Whether battery operated or requiring electrical connection, all electrical devices have the potential to interfere with important aircraft systems. The use of personal electronic equipment is also governed by FAA regulations. Customers who need to use medical devices while onboard must obtain prior approval from United at least 48 hours before departure. We may need special information, including the name and telephone number of your physician. Where specific medical device needs cannot be accommodated, physicians from United's Medical Department will attempt to discuss alternatives with your physician to help ensure that your trip will be safe and comfortable.'

Delta Airlines has almost two pages addressing assistive devices, listing restrictions, approved devices and stating all must meet FAA as well as the airline's approval.

American Airlines offers information almost identical to Delta's. Ditto Southwest.

I meant to add: as unfortunate and unfair as it seems, it's not the airlines' or other passengers' responsibility to ensure you don't have a serious reaction. That responsibility belongs to you. The one passenger who responded to your plight was wonderfully kind and helpful, as was Cynthia when she finally gave you the oxygen you requested. But you can't count on strangers to put themselves out in order to accommodate your needs. I've learned that over and over again and now I make sure I'm well aware of the difficulties, restrictions and problems I may face when I travel. I've had to because I love to travel and I don't want ever to lose the ability to do so.

I often rub a small amount of expensive perfume on my wrist when I fly so that I can hold them up to my nose if a nearby passenger has unbearable body odor (something one never had to worry about back in the day.)

I, of course, would take it off if anyone asked for health reasons. I don't get why the other passengers were not willing to comply - another sign of the rudeness that has become airline travel.

Lisa

OP -- Really terrible and frightening experience for you -- can't imagine going through that. Because of the acute nature of your health situation, you clearly need to check the rules for each airline before booking. If JetBlue has experienced an in-flight explosion from such equipment, I am sympathetic if they felt the need to develop a blanket prohibition. Given that other airlines will allow it with prior approval, you need to fly with them. A real lesson for everyone to check on what is allowed in terms of accommodating medical equipment and not just hope for the best.

I'm curious sanelson, what happened with the 'failure to comply'? What was the final outcome when you landed?

For all the folks posting official policy and regulations, thanks, but it never even occurred to me to look it up before I got on the plane, and I've used it on planes from other carriers without incident. The darned thing is so tiny and innocuous. It looks like a necklace. I honestly didn't think it was an issue. Painful lessons learned.

For those that were wondering... Upon landing, I was greeted by an official from Jet Blue who said he wanted to "debrief" me. His tone was accusatory and insulting. He made a gesture to grab my arm. I was so angry and frightened. I knew that if I opened my mouth, I'd say something rude, and I wasn't going anywhere with this guy, so I just kept quiet and walked right past him as quickly as I could. He didn't give chase. I went to the carousel, got my luggage and left the airport without incident.

I did talk to a lawyer and was told that the cost and mental anguish of taking Jet Blue to court wasn't worth it. So now it's been a year, and regrettably, I've done nothing about this, other than complain in writing to Jet Blue and post my story on FB. I have a lot going on in my life and just don't have the time to pursue this anymore, even though I know I should.

After about a dozen emails, Jet Blue offered me a $275 gift certificate to compensate for my treatment. I refused it. I tell everyone I know about my story. Doesn't do much to hurt their bottom line, but word of mouth is about all I have time for right now.

If I decide to fly again, I am asking my doctor to prescribe a POC. Several models are approved by the FAA, and there are very strict guidelines for carrying one. These devices cost $2000-5000, but work anywhere, and make my invisible disability VERY VISIBLE. Perhaps that's all people need to see, since asking politely for help isn't getting me anywhere. The only downside to carrying a POC is it's another thing to carry and it takes up major space, so I'll have to rethink how I pack and put more stuff in checked baggage rather than carry-on.

What is a POC? I too suffer from scents and aerosols.

I am still wondering about "the yellow slip"? Is this a soccer game? As a flight attendant for many many years I have never heard of such a thing!

Sanelson, I think you have done many people a service by posting your story and eduacting others. I can certainly understand that you would have no reason to check the airline's policy in advance and were therefore caught unawares. Was the 'gift certificate' a credit towards future flights? If so, no use to you, obviously. But if something more flexible, I don't see why you didn't accept it, sort of like accepting an apology, right?

I'm baffled that someone with a disability ie very severe asthma and allergies to perfume would not think to inform the airline when booking or check the airline's regulations about medical conditions & equipment and then be outraged when the airline crew asks that the prohibited device be turned off during the flight.

I side with JetBlue - while sympathic to the delima of the traveller - it is HER responsibility to ensure her device is approved. I think they treated her fairly under the circumstances - particularly when she did not even do them the courtesy of doing the "debriefing" where she would have learned their rules and perhaps the background as to how they came to be. Very likely they were sued by other passengers when the device exploded for not "providing a safe travelling environment". It is hard to please everyone

"...flight attendant told me that it was against Jet Blue regulations to wear such devices in cabin..."

"Later on in the flight, she showed me a page from the Jet Blue regulations, showing me that Jet Blue does not allow such devises (sic)..."

"After another hour into the flight...she informed me that if I did not turn off my miniature air purifier, the captain would ground the plane at salt lake city and eject me from the plane..."

"Being threatened with ejection from the plane and causing terrible inconvenience to all the passengers onboard, was too stressful for me..."

"This situation could have been entirely avoided if 1) the airline allowed me to wear my air purifier and 2) the flight attendant made a serious effort to ask the people around me to remove their scents."

Sympathetic as I am to the situation you found yourself in, I can't agree with your last comment above. The situation was entirely of your own making. Regulations pertaining to the use of devices such as yours are on airline websites and easily accessed. If you don't use the internet, you can telephone.

I am also sympathetic toward other passengers on your flight who were undoubtedly made very uneasy and/or uncomfortable with the situation you created in continuing to use your device after being instructed to turn it off.

And I am sympathetic toward the FA who was following regulations while dealing with a difficult situation.

Odinon Aug 19, 12 at 5:56am
I'm baffled that someone with a disability ie very severe asthma and allergies to perfume would not think to inform the airline when booking or check the airline's regulations about medical conditions & equipment and then be outraged when the airline crew asks that the prohibited device be turned off during the flight.

YEP.

What a horrible experience. I don't know if the OP flies enough to think about what type of air purifier she has but I'd think the FA should have been a little more sympathatic .


"Beyond that, I don't get wearing perfume or cologne on a six-hour flight"

Duty free shops. It's hard to resist taking a little squirt and thinking, I have another hour on this layover. After reading this, I'll never do that again.

thanks OP

"I'd think the FA should have been a little more sympathatic . (sic)"

What is it about FAA regulations and Jet Blue regulations that is difficult to comprehend? It's not like they are optional...or that the FA has the freedom to apply them or not at her discretion.

I am sorry, but the people who actually refused to remove their perfume with a supplied wipe were a* holes. How mean,, you were in distress and only one person bothered to do something that cost them NOTHING to help another human being be able to breath,, honestly shameful.

And I love wearing perfume, but in an enclosed area with someone I knew was suffering I would take it off immediatly if asked.

Selfish people , is this normal behaviour..

Me too justineparis and if a FA asked me to do that and explained the situation, there would be no grumbling at all. That's what I meant when I said, "the Fa should have been a little more sympathetic."

BTW, I don't think most people are that selfish. If it were explained to them, one may be a jerk but most people would comply.

True the silly steward could have made this all a non event,, but for some reason it seemed more important to watch someone have an attack then merely politely explain to those sitting near her the problem and asking if they could remove perfumes etc,, I think(well hope) more people would have complied if it had been explained to them properly.

Why does everyone want to take someone or some company to court.

Wouldn't you have realised before getting on the flight with so many people in close proximity that there would be people with perfumes etc that might cause an asthma attack. You sound like you were surprised to find that when you got on board

Sounds like the OP did realize that ppl would be wearing perfume, hence the air purifier

I too understand the airlines stance, even though I sympathize with the OP. It's useful information for others to know, so the OP deserves credit for alerting others. It does sound as though the stewardess could have been more helpful, and I totally don't get why the other passengers wouldn't remove their perfumes.

I believe if you read her write up - she asked the attendant to ask those around her to remove their perfume - the attendant declined to do so and the OP never made the request directly. Other travelers were not aware of the situation.

For those that asked, I did ask the airline, 48 hours in advance, if there was anything they could do. They said they could not unless I were carrying oxygen or a portable oxygen concentrator (POC) and if I had a note from my doctor. At the time I didn't think I needed either of these devices or a note. I never thought to ask about the tiny air purifier, since I'd worn it a couple of years before on another airline, and wear it often on buses, light rail, subway, etc. For what its worth, I don't travel that much (one flight every couple of years), and my allergies were not this bad, the last time I flew. In the almost two years since this incident the perfume allergy has gotten much, much worse.

Sanelson, I have nut and peanut allergies, and the reality is that each airline handles food allergies differently, just as they do your device. Furthermore, passengers are pretty selfish on an airline. I once posted here how I finally found the foil bags of tunafish that I could open without a knife or scissors to eat and people berated me for eating something smelly on an airplane.

One thing I would recommend is that you get a signed (preferably notarized) letter from your doctor stating your medical condition and the recommended medications/devices for treatment. If you are going to another country, I'd have a translation of it made.

Finally, the other thing I would suggest you ask your doctor is, are there medicines he/she recommends you take before or during your flight in case a medical device doesn't work, or if it isn't allowed. Check with him/her also about things like plain saline drops for the nose. I do this 2-4 hours before my flight.

Nothing I can add to some of the above comments above - but as a nurse I find myself fascinated with such a device. First, I have never heard of such a thing and after Googling it found many models on sale - since I did not even know what they looked like. A couple of descriptions noted they were not allowed on aircraft - still not exactly sure why.

But what I am most wondering about is how they actually work. Not questioning that yours is effective for you - only you can know that. But most indicate they are effective for removing particles from the air - that would explain effectiveness on general particle pollution like on a city street. But wondering how they work on gasses - which is what I presume is what perfume odors would be, since they do not seem designed or able to do that - some scientific sites stating that one needs a much larger type device to do that with technology that is too small to be worn around ones neck.

Always interested in learning something new - so if OP is still around, any info you could provide would help me do that - hopefully some sort of info from a source other than the manufacturer.

Hopefully you will get this worked out so that you can enjoy future travel. A letter from an MD will not be effective in revising airline regulations for you on a particular flight for 3 reasons. They don't let individual MDs write the rules for an airline. But more importantly, anyone can create some impressive looking letterhead and authentic-sounding letter on their home computer in about 5 minutes. Third, while this device is effective medically for you, that does not necessarily make it a recognized "medical device" in terms of the airline. These definitions/lists are rather short and restricted - and while this device serves that purpose for you, it is that way to prevent random people from calling anything a "medical device", getting a letter and taking it on board (I still remember the story from some years ago where a passenger demanded, successfully, that her pot bellied pig was a Service Animal. Things did not go well on board with a pig ransacking the plane galley in search of food)

Wishing you more successful future travels.

With all due respect, tuna fish is one of the strongest smells one could open on an airplane. Sat across the aisle once from a woman who had purchased a tuna salad sandwich and the aroma lingered the entire 3 hour flight. And I like tuna fish, just not on an plane, please.

Thanks for proving my point, socal.

Icepacks/gelpacks are not allowed through the gate, which would keep many foods I would bring safely cold for a long flight, especially when you think about delays, layovers etc. Some airlines offer foods for sale that are safe for me to eat, in which I buy them. Most don't. I could gamble with whatever it is they are serving, but then you might need to make an emergency landing to take me to the hospital.

Hey, I was not berating you, just offering up an opinion on a strong smell. What exactly was your point? Personally, I think perfumes and other strong scents, like tuna, brie, unwashed bodies, are all pretty much the same in enclosed places. Surely you can refrain from tuna fish on a plane ride.

I guess if it is a question of smelling tuna for the entire flight or making an emergency landing to take 5alive to the hospital, we will choose the tuna - however - how the heck are the people on this board supposed to know that tuna is the only snack 5alive can bring on a plane that is safe for her to eat? Most people can safely eat a variety of foods which are not smelly and can be brought on planes.

Could have been worse...could have been durian

In Singapore, you aren't allowed to even bring a durian on a bus. I bet they are a no-go on planes there too

I would think so. We lived in Asia for several years and got used to seeing signs like this (and for good reason):

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/359455/photo50.html

I get by on an apple and crackers when it's a domestic flight, so most of you are safe. But when I went to Italy from the west coast I had about 16 hours of air time and a short layover. I was supposed to get to the initial airport 2 hours early. And bring whatever food I needed because they don't officially serve peanut/nut free meals on the airline anymore. When you add up the travel time there and from the final airport, it was close to a 24-hour period. At some point, I need a little protein or I get light headed.

I can't eat nuts, peanuts or other legumes and went through the grocery store looking for ideas. As I said previously, it was hard to find anything that didn't need scissors, knife or can opener to open them.

I myself think peanuts smell far worse, and even just a slight peanut smell makes me want to vomit. I had that every day in cafeterias growing up. So I do empathize and would be interested in alternative foods that would keep.

5alive, if you can eat eggs, then hard boiled eggs actually can be eaten if not refrigerated( in shell not mixed with anything). When I grew up we hardboiled and dyed eggs for easter, we then put them in a decorative basket for the a day or two.. then my grandmother made egg salad with the next day. We never got sick from that..

She also made that braided easter bread with an egg in it( a whole hard egg in shell as decoration) ,, we ate it ,, no one got sick,, maybe our family was unusual, lol

Also, ( just throwing out some ideas for protein foods, so that you can have more choices) what about beef jerky or those dried pepproni sticks that are individually wrapped, or ( and I am not sure about this being allowed, or if its too related to your allergins) what about little tins( they make ring pull tab tops on some) of baked beans.. ( ha ha, may be another odor result that people would complain about too..lol )

I actually like those little tins of tuna myself, but beleive me I know some people hate the smell. My son and his girlfriend broke up after dating for 2 years.. she was not a happy camper,, and went into his apartment , opened tins of tuna and dumped them on his bed,, because he hated the smell so much and they would fight every time she opened a tin. I liked her alot and secretly thought it was hilarious...

One thing you can do to minimize the tuna smell is immediatly after eating tuna, rince tin out in washroom and bag it in plastic bag and throw it out. The tuna tin or pouch can make the smell linger.

No, they did not break up because of tuna eating, lol

No, they did not break up because of tuna eating, lol

5alive, I wonder if those insulated lunch bags would help - then you could take something like sliced turkey or other lunch meat, or cheese.

(I do agree tuna doesn't smell great when you're not the one eating it. But the worst to me is people who buy food like pepperoni pizza at the airport and proceed to eat it on the plane. I doubt they "need" to be eating pepperoni pizza)

5alive, they make those little foil pouches with chicken too. I don't know how/if that fits into your needs but it might give you a bit more variety (I'm biased, I prefer chicken to tuna). I have very little sense of smell but the chicken might smell less than the tuna and still meet your needs.

Thanks guys, for the ideas!

I have not found the chicken ones, Iowa--do you remember a brand? Would definitely prefer it.

Do people think a hardboiled egg smells better? I mean, it's kinda sulfur-y. I would change if that's a better idea.

Tyson has it. It's right in with the canned tuna and pouches of tuna. I shop at WalMart so it's nothing too special.

http://www.tyson.com/Products/Premium-Chunk-White-Chicken-Breast-Pouch.aspx

There is a where to buy link but it doesn't show anything in my area and I know I've seen them locally. That at least gives you something to look for!

In response to Gail the nurse: The tiny air purifier cleans the air and seems to help with perfume, but admittedly, on a six hour flight, it probably would not be able to keep up. One of the perfume wearers was right next to me. Just thinking about that flight and sitting next to these people is making me nauseous.

I'm on newer stronger meds now. Have not tested them in-flight. Tested them with a walk through a department store. I still get headaches from strong perfume odor but haven't gotten an asthma attack. I'm actually too scared to travel on a plane now. Wondering if I can tolerate a train ride across country and back. At least I can get off or move to another car if there are perfume wearers around.

For much less than the cost of a RT Amtrak ticket cross country, you could fly first class - not that first class passengers don't wear perfume or eat tuna fish, but at least the seat separation is greater.