Flying the aromatic skies

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: For cats and dogs that don’t like to travel, pet owners can buy “calming” sprays to ramp down anxiety. Now airlines are doing the same thing to their passengers.

Delta infuses its planes with an aroma it calls “Calm.” It intends to create “a more relaxing environment” for passengers, The Wall Street Journal recently reported. United is spritzing its lounges and boarding corridors with a scent it calls “Landing.” In this, aviation joins other industries practicing a new form of consumer manipulation called “scent marketing.” It’s a dangerous business for any industry, given the number of Americans with allergies — or simply aversion — to chemical scents. For the airlines, in particular, it’s wrong because their customers cannot easily escape.

Of particular concern are aromas meant to alter alertness and mood.

Presumably, Delta’s “Calm” is just a pleasant scent, not a poppy field at 40,000 feet. But it sounds otherwise, and even without sinister implications and the health issues that inhaling chemicals suggests, many people just can’t abide perfume. If the airlines want to provide pleasing fragrances, they should bake cookies on board.