And how was the AIR on your flight??

Sitting here nursing a cold and a nasty cough has motivated me to surf for info about the quality of air we breathe on planes. Is it really any different from the regular stuff floating around? I suppose it must be, by definition, since it's pretty much canned, prepared, whatever.

Being somewhat laid up right now I've had plenty of time to remember my latest flight and another baby-boomer-aged woman who sat just across from me and had a bad cold. Not only that. This chick coughed all the way from the U.S. to Europe.

Not  once did she cover her mouth.  Now, where I come from - i.e., my parents' home - that particular behavior breaks all the rules of breeding and common courtesy one's supposed to get somewhere around kindergarden, not to mention basics of public hygiene, much less on an almost 10-hr long-haul flight.

And did I mention I can't recall the last time I had a cough quite like this?So here I am coughing suspiciously like she did - all the way across the Atlantic. 

I actually wish I'd found another seat early on since the flight was not full. But they only tell you that once you're settled in your assigned seat.

How do you tell an adult who's not getting any growner to cover her mouth? Do you call a flight attendant to break the news??!

All of which brings me to Diana Fairechild's interesting air travel health website -- something I'd never checked out before -- with a section denouncing the dangers of allegedly bad air on planes.

I'm not saying Diana has all the answers, but she says if you're on a plane and think you may have a problem related to poor air quality, just ask 'em nicely for some new air!

"Gently, kindly, ask your flight attendant (remember s/he is breathing the same air you are): "When you have time, please ask the pilot for less recirculated air and more fresh air because I'm having trouble breathing."

Now, I've asked for a lot of things on airplanes. Better air hasn't been one of them. Yet. But I'll give it some thought. The rest of her article is here.