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Home » Travel » Sandals on Airplanes
Travel

Sandals on Airplanes

Matthew Klint Posted onOctober 31, 2010 4 Comments

After a long day of flying yesterday, I just wanted to get home. I had one flight left: San Francisco to Burbank on United Express. The flight wasn’t full, in fact it was less than half full, and I settled back in exit row eight (another CRJ flight operated by SkyWest) and opened up my book as other passengers boarded the plane.

I had been up for many hours and soon my eyes became heavy and I closed my book, shut my eyes, and leaned back. To my left, I heard some rustling. I looked over and saw that a "seat poacher" had taken 8B (telling his wife in row 10, "I’ll sit here instead."). Whatever, I thought.

Again I closed my eyes and leaned back. Then suddenly it hit me. The worst smell ever. Rotting corpse + spoiled eggs + curled milk on steroids. Ughh…. What was it?

I turned to my new seatmate across the aisle and ascertained immediately where it was coming from: his feet. He was wearing sandals and the smell was magnitudes worse than the normal stinky airline smells of re-circulated air or flatulence. I scooted over to the window seat and pulled my shirt over my nose.

The FA must have noticed it too because when she came by to verify that we would help in case of an emergency: the look on her face was priceless. I hope she knew it wasn’t me!

So here’s my question: why do people wear sandals and flip-flops on airlines? Are they that comfortable? It is to make TSA screening easier? To look hip?

I realize most people don’t have podiatry problems like "Buster" did, but don’t your feet get cold and stepped on 30K feet above the ground.

Even as a Angeleno, I can’t see the utility in wearing sandals or flip-flops. It’s always shoes and socks for me…

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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4 Comments

  1. BTA Reply
    November 1, 2010 at 12:56 am

    Sorry to laugh at your agony, but that is awesomely horrible.

    Sandals (or slippers in Hawaii) should be for the beach, not for walking around airports. Yuck!

  2. Michael D Reply
    November 1, 2010 at 1:32 am

    Clean feet are not optional no matter what the footwear. I have worn sandals on planes in the past but the bathrooms soon convinced me otherwise not cold or stepped on toes. My shoes are off almost immediately on a flight though. And I will stretch my hamstring on the bulkhead. But I never clip my toenails.;)

    Why? Yes comfort. Many people feel more comfortable in sandals and flip flops than shoes. TSA is more of an excuse to be able to wear them in my opinion: no one who doesn’t like sandals and flip flops are wearing them to help TSA.

    On a similar vane what about stinky breath. I thought someone had thrown up in my seat pocket but it turned out the guy sitting across the aisle one row up and talking to his friend directly across the aisle in front of me had vomit breath. A rugby team from Canada was going to Sydney on my flight. Their hearty parting, as I eavesdropped, of the evening/morning before culminated for him with a visit to the toilet just before the flight.

  3. Matthew Reply
    November 1, 2010 at 5:23 pm

    @Michael and BTA: Thanks for your comments.

    Wouldn’t you know it, last night on my SFO-PHL redeye my seatmate was wearing…sandals!! It was 39F in PHL this morning…

    But at least my seatmate last night seems to have washed up once in a while.

  4. julie Reply
    March 16, 2011 at 12:00 am

    anyone who flew a morning flight September 8 2010 out of IAD to ORD.

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