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Woman sits in urine-soaked airplane seat

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Woman sits in urine-soaked airplane seat

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Josh Roberts believes the best trips involve long hikes and muddy boots. His life goals haven't changed much since he was a kid: He still wants to be Indiana Jones when he grows up.

Follow him on Twitter (@joshwhowrites) and Instagram (@joshwhowrites), and visit his website (joshrobertsbooks.com) or Goodreads page to learn more about his forthcoming novel.

Josh joined SmarterTravel in 2001, and is an active member in both the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI).

In addition to SmarterTravel, he has written for USA Today, The Boston Globe, Yahoo! Travel, The Huffington Post, Airfarewatchdog, TripAdvisor, Jetsetter, ABC News, Oyster, and Business Insider. His travel photography can be seen in Britain and Ireland's Best Wild Places, published by Penguin UK.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: "A lacrosse ball. It's small, lightweight, and works wonders on loosening up tight muscles."

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: "Being the first to discover an ancient lost city. Failing that, visiting as many of the already-discovered ancient ruins as possible."

Travel Motto: "Not all those who wander are lost." -J.R.R. Tolkien

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: "Aisle."

See recent posts by Josh Roberts
joshwhowrites @joshwhowrites

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I’ve been upset by airline behavior before, but until now I’ve never been literally disgusted.

Yet how else to feel about this report from Boston-area television station WCVB Channel 5, which says that AirTran actually gave a urine-soaked seat to a passenger on a flight between Florida and Boston? Talk about Hell on Wings.

“I was sitting maybe 30 seconds to [a] minute and realized that my pants were soaked,” says Jennifer Castellano, the passenger in question, who was then informed by a flight attendant that another passenger had “gone to the bathroom in the seat” during the previous flight. Urine-soaked and wrapped in a blanket, Castellano moved to another seat for the duration of the flight.

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AirTran says it is “investigating” the incident, and will refund Castellano for her flight and damaged clothing. But they’re missing the point. The time for action on this is not after the fact. Since the flight attendants were able to find an alternate seat for Castellano after the incident, they clearly should have warned her ahead of time that her assigned seat was not suitable.

So, anyone still think we can do without a passenger bill of rights?

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We hand-pick everything we recommend and select items through testing and reviews. Some products are sent to us free of charge with no incentive to offer a favorable review. We offer our unbiased opinions and do not accept compensation to review products. All items are in stock and prices are accurate at the time of publication. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission.

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