The Thoroughly Be-Pooped Diaper

June 4, 2009

in Odor Stories

Flying from Milan to Atlanta on a Delta flight, I was lucky enough to snag a bulkhead seat, right in front of the entry/exit door on a 767 widebody. Across the aisle from me sat a young couple with their infant child in a bulkhead-mounted bassinet. The child was about a month old if I had to guess.

About an hour and a half into our flight, the cabin crew started serving the first meal service of our tenish hour flight. Almost immediately after the carts appeared at the front of the aisle to start handing out food, this child’s mother began changing her kid’s thoroughly be-pooped diaper. In the cabin. In the middle of the meal service. It bears mentioning here that there was a pull-down changing table in the lav immediately in front of where they were seated, not more than six feet away.

Needless to say, the taste and texture of airline cuisine is not necessarily improved by the aroma and sight of baby feces. However, no one complained, either to the cabin crew or to the inconsiderate mother.

Fast forward about 6 hours. The flight was now in US airspace, with about another 90 minutes to go before landing. The cabin crew begins the second meal service of the flight. And Mom decides that since no one complained about her diaper changing performance during the first meal service, that no one would object if she did it AGAIN, subjecting everyone in the front of the Economy cabin to the smell of her baby’s particularly ripe diaper.

It’s times like that that really make one understand the psychology behind “air rage” incidents.

{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }

Jodi June 2, 2009 at 3:35 am

Personally when the first incident arose I would have have mentioned something to the crew so they could politely inform her that for sanitary reasons she would have to change her baby in the spot provided. This would have spared you the second exposure.

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Nacho June 2, 2009 at 5:01 am

I would have done the same as Jodi, but the fact that no one complained should not have served as precedent for that woman to do it again. How rude… and more so, disgusting!

I wonder if she stood up to wash her hands afterward. Ever think of that? Not only do you have baby poo smell, but a mother whose hands were all up in that… then all up in her food. ::gags::

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Jeanie June 2, 2009 at 7:31 am

Ew. Just… ew.

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SAW June 2, 2009 at 12:41 pm

Part of the problem, is that everyone complains after the fact, and not DURING the fact. If there's an odor problem when getting on a plane, COMPLAIN WHILE THE CABIN DOOR IS STILL OPEN! If someone changes a diaper in the cabin, complain immediately – don't wait for it to happen again.

Some of these "horror stories" I read could be averted if the storyteller and those around them would simply (but politely) open their mouths and use that "communication skill" they should have learned though years of adulthood

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Hugh June 5, 2009 at 1:40 am

I agree with SAW. Complaining to us now does nothing. Mentioning it at the time, nicely and politely, at least at first could have resulted in a better outcome.

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