For an indoor air nerd, there’s no worse nightmare than sitting next to the one guy on the airplane that is sick and coughing uncontrollably.   There I was today, strapped in at 10,000 feet next to a young man who managed to cough for 4 long hours from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Here’s a game plan if you ever get stuck in the same situation:

1. Ask to move.  And I’m not talking about the next row over.  For best avoidance, move at least 7 rows away from the offender.  This was the maximum number of rows SARS traveled in a well documented flight in China.  Today’s flight was fully booked so this was not an option.  I got up during the flight to stretch my legs and get a slight reprieve. (more…)