topic Re: If you plan to complain about animals on planes in Community Chat

If you plan to complain about animals on planes

Moonchilde — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 21:49:33 GMT

LOL - since we've had sooo many past threads about the rights of those who must fly when there are animals on the plane, I thought this was eye-opening (and who knows, perhaps this woman is someone we used to know... 👹)

The lesson is, if you think claiming an allergy will get you your way about having the animal removed - think again. If you plan to do that, you need to bring a doctor's letter with you on the plane. Otherwise, if you just say you have a severe allergy with no other info, you are the one they will get rid of. So...don't use it as a gotcha.

It sounds to me, from what I've read, that the airline did nothing wrong, and they were forced to call security because the woman was uncooperative. She was doing push/shove and lost. It sounds to me like the airline was following policy and the woman badly miscalculated how far she could carry the whole thing.

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CBS News - A woman was forcibly removed by police from a Southwest Airlines flight Tuesday after saying she had a life-threatening pet allergy with two dogs on board.

A fellow passenger, Bill Dumas, recorded the incident, which occurred ahead of a flight from Baltimore to Los Angeles. The woman stated she had a pet allergy but was unable to provide documentation that she could safely fly with the animals on the plane, Southwest said in a statement.

"There was one emotional support animal and one pet onboard the aircraft," the company said. "Our policy states that a customer (without a medical certificate) may be denied boarding if they report a life-threatening allergic reaction and cannot travel safely with an animal onboard."

The video shows police officers grabbing the woman's arms and holding her by the chest as they push her down the aisle of the plane. Southwest said crew members asked the woman to exit the plane several times before asking law enforcement to remove her from the aircraft.

Dumas, who filmed the incident, said he believed officers were following protocol. He said the woman's behavior was "odd" and officers were doing what needed to be done.

Southwest said it was sorry for how the situation was handled.

"We are disheartened by the way this situation unfolded and the customer's removal by local law enforcement officers," the airline said. "We publicly offer our apologies to this Customer for her experience and we will be contacting her directly to address her concerns."

Re: If you plan to complain about animals on planes

SharkE — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 21:53:10 GMT

I just now saw this on Inside Edition and I wasn't aware that people can drag on their own animals. If I"m understanding right ? I know service animals are OK and I'm all for these working animals, but, now days can anybody bring in their cats, dogs, birds, snakes, fish, rabbits, calves, etc. ?

I don't fly any more. Has it gotten this bad ?

Re: If you plan to complain about animals on planes

SilleeMee — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 21:58:23 GMT

Oh dear. Pretty soon being on a plane will start looking like those buses you see in other countries carrying chickens, pigs and goats...amongst other animals and passengers..

Re: If you plan to complain about animals on planes

jaxs mom — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 21:59:10 GMT

Bottom line, don't be uncooperative with security at airports or law enforcement. Period.

Re: If you plan to complain about animals on planes

CrazyDaisy — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 22:01:32 GMT

While not condoning this ladies behavior, how many people with allergies carry doctors notes with them concerning a variety of situations. The vast majority of flights are pet free, why would anyone think of getting a note in order to fly.

Re: If you plan to complain about animals on planes

sunshine45 — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 22:04:18 GMT

you can pay for your dogs to be on the plane.

when that woman knew that two dogs were on the plane she should have told the flight attendant immediately, asked to be booked on another plane that did not have dogs on it, and she should carry some type of doctors note that states she has a severe allergy. if it was THAT life threatening she should have left the plane immediately.

Re: If you plan to complain about animals on planes

jaxs mom — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 22:05:36 GMT

@CrazyDaisy wrote:
While not condoning this ladies behavior, how many people with allergies carry doctors notes with them concerning a variety of situations. The vast majority of flights are pet free, why would anyone think of getting a note in order to fly.

If you have an allergy that is so serious that anaphylaxis is a real possibility then you should be carrying an epipen and the appropriate documentation to travel with it. And yes I have allergies and yes I have people close to me that have life threatening allergies ( in this case peanuts).

She should have just gotten off the plane the first time she was asked.

Re: If you plan to complain about animals on planes

Moonchilde — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 22:06:29 GMT

@jaxs mom wrote:
Bottom line, don't be uncooperative with security at airports or law enforcement. Period.

And yet people never seem to get this message. There will always be those "special" people who think the airline should cater to them. Being disruptive or causing a disruption on an airplane just doesn't fly any more (pun intended).

Re: If you plan to complain about animals on planes

Sassealassea — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 22:08:26 GMT

Southwest is customer and pet friendly but there are rules. Yes, passengers may travel with animals in a carrier that fit beneath the seat. Pets are not allowed out of carriers and there are other requirements.

The woman who complained of pet allergy certainly should have had medical documentation in my view. SWA was simply abiding by their policy.

Yep, I am a pet lover and fly SWA frequently on long non stop routes. Often there are multiple pets on board and I have never observed commotion.

Re: If you plan to complain about animals on planes

Moonchilde — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 22:16:27 GMT

@jaxs mom wrote:
@CrazyDaisy wrote:
While not condoning this ladies behavior, how many people with allergies carry doctors notes with them concerning a variety of situations. The vast majority of flights are pet free, why would anyone think of getting a note in order to fly.
If you have an allergy that is so serious that anaphylaxis is a real possibility then you should be carrying an epipen and the appropriate documentation to travel with it. And yes I have allergies and yes I have people close to me that have life threatening allergies ( in this case peanuts).

She should have just gotten off the plane the first time she was asked.

Exactly. If a person has an allergy of any kind that is actually, truly, anaphylactic life-threatening, i.e. an extremely serious allergy, they carry both documentation of some type and an epi-pen. If it's that serious people are prepared and forearmed.

Claiming one has such an allergy when they indeed do not is self-serving and dishonest. Pet dander might make you sneeze or itch or might trigger an asthma attack, but there are medications that can be taken before a flight and during to mitigate this. If a person might have an asthma attack so severe they're afraid it might kill them, from any cause, should they be flying at all and should an airline need to be responsible for them?

The bottom line, I think, is that if an allergy you have IS life-threatening, you always come prepared because it is life or death for you. But most people will say whatever they think will get them what they want, whether it's true or not. I'm thinkin' this news story might discourage that in the future.

Re: If you plan to complain about animals on planes

Moonchilde — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 22:25:01 GMT

@sunshine45 wrote:
you can pay for your dogs to be on the plane.

when that woman knew that two dogs were on the plane she should have told the flight attendant immediately, asked to be booked on another plane that did not have dogs on it, and she should carry some type of doctors note that states she has a severe allergy. if it was THAT life threatening she should have left the plane immediately.

Which means she doesn't have a life-threatening allergy, but said she did to get what she wanted - rid of the dogs. And I hope this occurrence sends a message that animals are here to stay on planes and people will just have to deal whether it suits them or not. AND the message that airlines do not have a responsibility or mandate to fly any passenger period, regardless of their state of health - especially if they didn't disclose it beforehand.

Re: If you plan to complain about animals on planes

eddyandme — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 22:29:39 GMT

IMHO, that woman was a nutcase just looking for a substantial handout! Had she been allergic - without papers - she woud have gladly deplaned.

Hope the airline doesn't give her a dime. Also hope the media doesn't make a big deal out of nothing - that probablu won't happen!

Re: If you plan to complain about animals on planes

Moonchilde — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 22:32:18 GMT

@SharkE wrote:
I just now saw this on Inside Edition and I wasn't aware that people can drag on their own animals. If I"m understanding right ? I know service animals are OK and I'm all for these working animals, but, now days can anybody bring in their cats, dogs, birds, snakes, fish, rabbits, calves, etc. ?

I don't fly any more. Has it gotten this bad ?

@SharkE, as I understand it, if your critter fits in a carrier that fits under a seat, and you pay the airline's fee, you're good to go.

Larger animals MUST be bona fide, registered, doctor's letter and all that, service animals or emotional support animals.

BUT - each airline sets rules within that. AA apparently allows ONLY dogs or cats and refuses all others; not sure how/why they can declare that. Other airlines allow more animals, because I have heard of a pig flying <snork>.

Re: If you plan to complain about animals on planes

eddyandme — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 22:33:29 GMT

@Moonchilde wrote:
@sunshine45 wrote:
you can pay for your dogs to be on the plane.

when that woman knew that two dogs were on the plane she should have told the flight attendant immediately, asked to be booked on another plane that did not have dogs on it, and she should carry some type of doctors note that states she has a severe allergy. if it was THAT life threatening she should have left the plane immediately.

Which means she doesn't have a life-threatening allergy, but said she did to get what she wanted - rid of the dogs. And I hope this occurrence sends a message that animals are here to stay on planes and people will just have to deal whether it suits them or not. AND the message that airlines do not have a responsibility or mandate to fly any passenger period, regardless of their state of health - especially if they didn't disclose it beforehand.

@Moonchilde I'd add regardless to their state of mind (or lack thereof) to that.

Re: If you plan to complain about animals on planes

juperier — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 23:02:30 GMT

Honestly, if I had a life threatening allegy to pets, I would think twice about flying in the first place. Even if there are no pets on the current flight, how can you know if the previous passenger in your seat might have had a pet?

And, yes, resistance isn't the best option on an airline. I would hope they enforce stated policies rather than going "nevermind, you don't like our policy, we'll just ignore it." In my mind, any injury they sustain is on them. Think about it. Even a small child that was kicking and screaming could easily sustain an injury. How successful would you be at maneuvering an able bodied adult who was resisting down a narrow aisle?

Re: If you plan to complain about animals on planes

CrazyDaisy — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 23:06:16 GMT

Why is it that people who have peanut allergies have successfully had them banned on planes and in schools, yet people with pet allergies are expected to leave the plane and be inconvenienced by taking another flight.

Re: If you plan to complain about animals on planes

ms traditional — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 23:11:33 GMT

i have traveled with my cat/s many times over the last 30 some years. you have to plan ahead to make a reservation etc. never heard of there being a problem like this.

Re: If you plan to complain about animals on planes

blackhole99 — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 23:12:04 GMT

There are all kinds of hoops to jump through for the passenger who is traveling on a plane with their pet. My son brought his rescue cat home with him from Mexico last year and it cost hundreds of dollars to just get the pet on board. Document of wellness from the vet, special pet carrier that would fit under the seat and 150 dollars for the cat to ride. No one even knew there was a cat on board, he didn't make a sound. If you are allergic you should have documentation to prove it, but I would think that could be resolved when the passenger purchases a ticket.

Re: If you plan to complain about animals on planes

CrazyDaisy — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 23:12:25 GMT

Re: If you plan to complain about animals on planes

sidsmom — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 23:12:42 GMT

@CrazyDaisy wrote:
Why is it that people who have peanut allergies have successfully had them banned on planes and in schools, yet people with pet allergies are expected to leave the plane and be inconvenienced by taking another flight.

I just flew Southwest recently & they still do the peanuts.

I shake my head when I see all these peanut packages being opened

and invisible dust being scattered everywhere in the air & on the

seats, trays, magazines in an enclosed area....and yet, no one has

ever has a peanut allergy attack on these flights. Hummmmm.