Wearing short sleeves isn't going to stop the smell of sweat!

The last few flights I have been on were Thomas Cook and I needed a fleece blanket as well as a thick cardigan to keep warm.

Totally agree Sunaddict but it wouldnt so in you face !!.

I sympathise entirely but it's not a dress code issue - it's basic personal hygiene - or, running out of clean clothes at end of holiday and couldn't be a**ed washing anything. Don't know how you regulate that!

Some airlines do an obligatory spray of the cabin before take off with some kind of insectisied - maybe they should do something similar on embarking and spray everyone's armpits too

Shell
Limassol, Cyprus

A lot has to be down to the hotels "kicking out time" and the travel agents transfer times...

eg One year our return flight wasn't until something like 8 at night, however the hotel kicked us out of the room at 12 noon. They didn't have a spare room available and even the "shower room" (a small sweat box of a place in the basement) was booked up solid (we had a peek down there hoping to nip in but someone was just going in). So we packed all our stuff up had our last shower and were out of the room for 12. We then spent 5 hours in the heat of the sun, not wanting to do too much to avoid sweating but there isn't a lot you can do about it. Nearer the transfer time we went into the toilets and did our best to have a standing wash (don't forget you've no flannels etc)... and change into clean clothes... So we were a little uncomfortable by the time we had got on the flight but smelled ok etc ... however it would have been a night mare if we had been a party of 4 or 5 with children etc...

its about time hotels let you go out when the transfer came and then go in and clean before the new arrivals (I'm sure they are normally hours apart anyway)

its about time hotels let you go out when the transfer came and then go in and clean before the new arrivals (I'm sure they are normally hours apart anyway)

Not always, with a great many of the flights used by tourists travelling on a packge with a TO the first flight of the day is going to be from the UK base for that operator and will arrive loaded up with the first outbound passengers from the UK before taking home the first inbound group of the day. At the end of the day the last passengers going home to the UK will be leaving after the last arrivals have flown in. Turnaround times for planes are quite tight these days so depending on the transfer time between resort and airport the only available time for cleaning the rooms at busy periods is between guests leaving for the airport to catch their plane and the passengers who've just got off it arriving at the hotel.

Yes, this window could be around 4 hours long but believe me, the difference between the state that I've seen hotel rooms left in and what most of us expect in terms of cleanliness these days makes that a very tight schedule! Especially since the housekeeping staff are doing this alongside the daily cleaning expected of occupied rooms. These days hotels are expected to thoroughly clean every room everyday, including stripping and replacing the linen. The logistics of not having standard checkout times in place would I suspect prove unmanageable in the end. And in the meantime could result in a surge in complaints from arriving guests who can't get into their rooms because the previous guests are on a late transfer.

And of course if it became standard practice to let people stay much later in their rooms as a matter of course, the working 'day for the housekeeping staff would become much greater and this would all have to be paid for. Packages based on late flights are often cheaper because of the inconvenience and to compensate for having to get out of the room hours before departure. Remove the inconvenience and the prices would go up because every holiday price would end up including the added cost of 'late check-out' factored into it. And TOs would have to lower the price to entice people to book holidays based on inconvenient flight times.

SM

AskCy wrote:

its about time hotels let you go out when the transfer came and then go in and clean before the new arrivals (I'm sure they are normally hours apart anyway)

That presumes the vacated rooms are filled by people coming in from the same country on the same flight as the people that have just left.
I doubt that is what happens in reality.

I can see what you are saying but where we stop its rare that we see the incomming groups before we have gone...

To be honest we have now started booking the room for a full extra day so we can stay in right until the taxi arrives... costs a little bit but worth ever single penny !

We used to use night flights when we travelled with my stepson when he was a bit younger as it was always the cheaper option or free kids places were almost always on night flights.

We always asked to keep our room whether we had to pay for it or not. If they couldn't accommodate us, we used to go to the next nearest hotel and ask to pay for a room for 1 night. We rarely paid more than 10GBP for a room and that way could keep it right up till the last minute when we used to take our cases to the pickup point at our original hotel.

We had to pack at midday anyway so this option was always better than worrying about whether the luggage was safe and not having to lug our hand luggage around with us all day. It also gave us a chance to get a bit of a snooze in too

Shell
Limassol, Cyprus

This year , fully packed , we put travelling clothes in a seperate bag, lazed around the swimming pool , then nearer the time to being picked up , we used the pool then used the pool shower minus shower gel , dried off then went to the toilets and got dressed , left behind wet towels and swim wear , hubby kept deodorant on him until we got to the airport , sprayed and then dumped deodorant can .
Its not very pleasant i know but some people do perspire more than others and its not down to not caring , it just cant be helped

In the situation of having several hours between vacating hotel room and being picked up for transfer to the airport, I'd have a packet of wet wipes in outer pocket of one bag so that we could have a freshen up just before coach pickd us up, wet wipes would then be put into hand luggage to be used before getting on the plane if needed. I would sweat a bit more than the average person so ensure that I wear sensible clothes for travelling in, I also have a small can of deoderant/body spray in 'liquids' bag to use if needed.

Two bad cases I've encountered, in no particular order:

1 - PMI - LBA - after the holiday from hell in Magaluf boarded the flight home looking forward to a nice relaxing couple of hours, all lovely and quiet until a commotion invaded my ears at the front of the aircraft where a big overweight lager lout boarded wearing shorts, no top, (yes, you read correctly... no top) and having a Union Jack painted upon his face...... and yes, he came and set directly behind me on the way back home, the 2 & 1/2 hour flight seemed to take forever !!

2 - LEI - MAN, (last year), (this isn't so much aircraft dress sense but something else that was worn !!), boarded aircraft, a couple sat directly behind the Mother in Law, all of a sudden the hazy stench of excrement came breezing throughout the cabin, (in a hot humid cabin I may add) to my shock and horror, with a moment of caution I lifted up my 1 & 1/2 year old Son who was sat on my knee thinking he'd timed his number 2 perfectly only to find it wasn't him, it was the woman sat behind my Mother in Law !!!!!

I can just about get my head round number 1, we have all seen folk like this and offered up a prayer that they will not be in the seat behind, infront or indeed within 12 rows of us.

But don't think I have ever heard of number 2 'the hazy stench of excrement.................................. I would have been reaching for the sick bag at that point.

We did have a little lad throw up near us for the whole duration of a flight to Egypt recently. Felt a bit sorry for him, I wondered at his parents taking him on such a long flight if they knew he suffered from travel sickness, seemed a bit selfish.