It happens all too frequently. You settle into your airline seat, then eyes water, nose stuffs up and sneezing starts. You have allergies, and it’s difficult to breathe stuffy airline cabin air. It’s full of pollen, dust, smokers’ clothes, pet fur and other pollutants. Now, to find relief, you can hope your airline will soon follow Swiss Air’s new policy. 

The European Centre for Allergy Research Foundation has declared Swiss Air the first airline to be allergy-friendly. The squeaky-clean carrier uses many systems to keep pumping fresh air into the cabins, as well as doing thorough cleaning of the seating, bulkheads, aisles, lavatories and other areas.

Founded as the Philadelphia Zoological Society in 1859, it was the first in America. Your travel4seniors.com editor grew up just a short distance from the great Philly Zoo.

As a kid, many Saturdays were enjoyed at the 3400 Girard Avenue facility. As a college art major, there were class sessions there for drawing the animals. Later, the growing family frequently enjoyed visiting the lions, tigers, bears and all the others.

In today’s ever-more complex air travel world, we’ve all experienced the frustration. Too often senior passengers are caught in sudden cancellations, missed connections, denied boarding due to overbooking and other unexpected problems they didn't cause.

In flights to and from Europe, many senior travelers have been left emotionally stranded concerning their rights, confused about effective ways to seek compensation. They may be familiar with laws that require airlines to meet their legal obligations in such cases, but can’t nor don’t want to do all the necessary direct contacts and paperwork. Help is on the way: Refund.me

The airline introduced the “Giant Seat.” It offers roomier space for travelers willing to pay more for added comfort.

On the first and emergency exit rows, six Giant Seats have 36 inches of legroom and are 25 inches wide, compared to 17.5-inch width on Allegiant economy seats. For more passenger comfort, the seats are secured in semi-reclined positions.

Allegiant charges $40 to $50 extra per flight for each Giant Seat. For more info, go to www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-giant-seats.