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February 19, 2022

Do you smell good enough to fly Jazz Air?

As Canadians, we’re always looking for an edge over our Yankee counterparts, who constantly accuse us of having an inferiority complex the size of Michael Clarke Duncan.

Yet when we’ve exhausted all avenues – when boasting “we’re just nicer than you” or “at least the whole world doesn’t hate us” is no longer accepted – there’s only one thing left for us to do.

Kick an American off our airplanes.

Such was the case in a recent story getting a lot of buzz worldwide, which saw a U.S. traveller kicked off a Jazz Air flight because of his “brutal” body odour.

According to the Guardian newspaper from Charlottetown, the American visiting Prince Edward Island caused so much of a stink aboard the Canadian airline he had to be deplaned before takeoff.

“People were just mumbling and staring at him,” one witness told the paper. “The guy next to me said ‘(his smell is) brutal.’”

A Jazz Air spokesperson told CNN the man was manoeuvred about the flight to find a spot where his natural cologne could be isolated, but no agreeable resolution was found.

“It’s important to understand that our crew members make every effort to resolve a situation before it becomes an issue,” she said. “Unfortunately, in some circumstances, it may become necessary for our crew to remove passengers.”

Now, pick-a-side time: you really do feel bad for the poor guy, but – my goodness – it’s tough to discount what the other travellers would’ve been put through on a flight they’d paid hard-earned money for.

Was it right for Jazz Air to kick him off? On the Internet, it seems, there is no definite answer.

“How can you get kicked off for smelling bad?” writes one CNN reader. “There are people who are actually distractions and threats to planes … He should have just been left alone and people should have dealt with the smell.”

Or …

“Amen!” counters another commenter. “If you can afford a plane ticket you can sure as hell afford a shower WITH SOAP and some laundry action … If you wanna defend the right to smell like a pig farm on flights because the ticket was paid for, think of the other 99.9% of passengers who also paid for it.”

By Jason Buckland, MSN Money

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Gordon PowersGordon Powers

A long-time fund company executive, Gordon Powers now heads up the Affinity Group, a financial services consulting firm. Gordon was a personal finance columnist for the Globe & Mail for many years, has taught retirement planning...

James HaversJames Havers

James is the senior editor of MSN Money living in Toronto. He has worked for the Nikkei Shimbun (Tokyo), canoe.ca, AOL.ca, Canadian Business and other publications. Havers turned to journalism after teaching overseas.

Jason BucklandJason Buckland

The modern-day MC Hammer of money, Jason can often be seen spending cash that isn’t his with the efficiency of a Wilt Chamberlain first date. After cutting his teeth as a reporter for the Toronto Sun, he joined the MSN Money team with...