Comments on: Doggone airlines! 4 reasons pets shouldn’t fly

By: TFlores

TFlores — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 18:24:44 +0000

I have totally mixed feelings about pet policies with the airlines. I own a very large german shepherd and you are not restricted to domestic flights only. I am military and have flown my dog from the US to Japan and Hawaii to the US so yes you can. One thing everything needs to do is READ all the details. If the woman was pulled out and humiliated then it’s her own fault. And I see it embarrassed her but not her dog…that’s just stupid. I do not feel any pet should be seated with people due to others allergies (except for service animals) which should really have their own part of the plane designated for them. I am not one to take my dog anywhere without finding out the rules whether is a plane, beach, store or whatever. I am extremely allergic to cats or what others like to say “your not allergic to the cat, your allergic to their dander”…either way the dander is part of the cat so I’m allergic to the cat but anywho after getting seated in a flight my eyes started to itch and so on. Minute after minute it got worse, eventually when my eyes were swollen as if I had pink eye, sneezing and add in the feeling of a severe sinus infection I asked the stewardess if there are any pets nearby and it turned out a woman had a cat a few rows up under her seat. I immediately asked for another seat as far as possible which she was kind enough to ask other passenger if they could switch but I found that just a big headache for us passengers. It takes me being just 20 feet away before my symptoms begin and the closer I am and longer I stay by them the worse it gets FAST. I get highly discriminated as it is everywhere by the breed of dog I have but I in the end I always make sure I’m not affecting my fellow human being first. Unless they have a yappity, growling, vicious type mini dog (which people rarely train) that’s acts like they are going to attack me then I give my dog the command to protect us which usually puts the little ankle biters at bay.

By: Ron Evans

Ron Evans — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:39:32 +0000

Please note,
Others traveling with animals,and the airlines,are not treating regular customers fairly.My wife is allergic to all animals {affects her asthma as well}(cats more than others),and non disclosure to us resulted in ruining a 2 week vacation with our grandchildren,keeping her under medication,when she found it difficult to breathe.continue,it would be wise to ask all passengers if they have allergies or asthma,and to seat such people at least 6 rows away,or keep all animals in very rear of plane.
Thankyou,
Ron Evans

By: Ronda

Ronda — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 01:09:34 +0000

ah now you’ve done it. giving money grabbing airline execs a new idea… tsk tsk tsk. i dont want ot be stuck paying a diaper surcharge. or formula tax. you know they’ll do that next.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:54:17 +0000

I just traveled from Denver to Chicago with a huge golden retriever service dog sharing the three seats with me and his owner, a delightful young woman. I am mildly allergic to dogs, and by the end of the trip, I was pretty itchy and sneezy, but, that beautiful, well-behaved dog (who had to be miserable during take-off and landing on the floor in front of us, as we were in the very last row) when finally allowed up on the seat, rested his head in my lap and he was so soothing and more pleasant than many of the passengers I’ve shared space with on my frequent travels, that it was worth a little discomfort. The large ummm…. fragrant woman on the next leg of my flight whose thigh crept well under the armrest and spent the entrie flight glued to mine… not so much.

By: Katie

Katie — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 05:20:53 +0000

Blech, I had to fly with my kitten once and I will never, ever do it again. It was one of those last-minute, pet-sitter-canceled sort of things, so I had no choice but to take her along on a family visit. All the reasons listed here are true, but even more are present. I actually wrote to Chris to ask what the $50 fee covered (I was on JetBlue, that was the cost for that airline), as you certainly get no more “perks” / care when you have a pet aboard that takes up not as much room as a backpack or other carryon. Even lap babies probably can get a snack or a drink! ;-)

This flight was from JFK to Pittsburgh, so only about an hour, which I figured was totally fine for the cat to be cooped up. At the time she weighed about 4 pounds, and the carrier was, as I mentioned, about the size of a back pack. Well, naturally the hour long flight was delayed – for four hours. This is, of course, added onto the hour it takes to get to the airport, and the hour and a half of waiting for the plane at its scheduled time. After getting into P’burgh, it’s another hour to get to my family’s house there. So, a grand total of 7 hours for a cat in a cage. Uggghhh. After the two hours of waiting, I had to go back outside with her so she could, erm, “go” and then take her back through security. Security one time sucks, but added to taking a shaking kitten out for the case to be x-rayed – twice – is a nightmare. Totally, totally not worth it.

I’m not even blaming the airlines for this – I was totally naive. Perhaps it “should” be easy to take a 4 lb. kitten on an hour-long flight, but it isn’t, regardless of policy/fees/whatever. I just wanted to add the possibility of delays, etc., in reasons for NOT taking your animal. There are always rare circumstances that necessitate it, but if you really love your pet, I second leaving them at home.

By: JMA

JMA — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:26:31 +0000

I would like say that if the person who owned their pet companion has properly trained them like some parents should train their kids. You would never even know that this pet was on board.

If the pet is a service animal they do not have to be in a carrier.

Oh and Tom just in case your a little bias toward children I would like to say that some of them are going to criminals and not all children grow up to be doctors. And not all doctors are liked either. Animals do more for humans than alot of humans do for humans. And some of those animals are considered to be companions and not just animals. And not everyone see’s things the way you do.

And the person with the allergies I find this very hard to believe that a animal in a cabin would cause a allergic reaction without touching the pet. Now if the pet was out of the kennel and the animal was in your face or touched you then maybe I can except this. But in most cases if the animal was never taken out of the kennel (which most crews will address this situation in a heart beat) you would never even know it was on board.

By: Ian

Ian — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:18:47 +0000

@Naomi- if they were waving the dog around the cabin, you have a much more serious grounds of complaint with Delta than broken entertainment. Pets are only allowed in cabins if they can stay safely in their carrier.

Also, out of curiousity, my understanding is that pets can only be carried in the cabin on domestic flights- so which 11 hour domestic flight were you on?

By: Naomi Shapiro

Naomi Shapiro — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 06:50:05 +0000

Perhaps this is the place to tell you about recent nightmare (for me) with pet (someone else’s) on a plane. I was totally mortified to see the two people sharing my three-seat-wide show up with a cage WITH A DOG IN IT! I am allergic to pet dander, and I nearly fainted to see the dog, let alone think of sitting near and having allergic reactions for the 11 hour flight! The plane was full, but I was eventually able to exchange seats with a kind young woman across the way, but was further mortified when, during the flight, they took the dog out of the cage to play with it, in their laps, hold it up (for all its dander to fly) and hold it in front of this nice young woman, who looked sorry she had ever changed with me. I got further comeuppance from Delta when the entertainment system in my new seat failed after an hour and I was left to my own “devices” to pass the time, namely watching the people play with their dog. Point: I believe passengers should be warned that a pet will be hear them, so they have the opportunity to get as far away as possible, esp. if they have allergies????? PS Delta flight attendants never said a word about the dog, but I should complain to Delta about the malfunctioning personal entertainment system. Wasn’t that amenity, after all, part of the ticket price?

By: Chester Shoeshine

Chester Shoeshine — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:59:19 +0000

So, when people have to move a long distance for a job, family, or whatever reason, they should just dump their pets on the side of the highway?

I suppose there exist people who think it’s great fun to fly with animals, even cats, but believe me, I really doubt many people do it in circumstances where it isn’t the only possible option.

I’d rather be on a plane full of animals than a plane stuffed with idiotic, senseless fools with entitlement complexes who block the aisle for 20 minutes while they screw around poking their oversized “carry-on” into the best possible overhead bin. But that’s just about every flight these days.

By: eldenstein

eldenstein — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 21:33:43 +0000

Five years ago I moved to California. I flew on United, and had an upgrade to first class. My cat, Baby, flew in cargo. After boarding, the flight attendant came up to me with a pink cargo slip and said, “Mrs. Stein, your baby is safe in cargo.” . . .