U.S. to let airlines limit service animals on planes

Re:U.S. to let airlines limit service animals on planes by kelnos on Wednesday January 22, 2020 @06:32PM (#22123223)

I'm reminded of a recent flight I took where I was in the last seat of first class (yay upgrade!) and, right behind me, in the bulkhead economy seat, there was a not-small, long-haired dog (40-50 lbs maybe?) just lying on the floor in front of the owner's seat, not restrained in any way.

It wasn't an excessively long flight (~5 hours), but still, not sure how they could ensure the dog wouldn't need to go to the bathroom in that time.

I'm mildly allergic... it was not a pleasant flight for me at all.

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Re:U.S. to let airlines limit service animals on planes by Marsymars on Wednesday January 22, 2020 @07:12PM (#22123498)

> It wasn't an excessively long flight (~5 hours), but still, not sure how they could ensure the dog wouldn't need to go to the bathroom in that time.

You have the dog do its business beforehand. Same way most dogs are able to stay indoors while its owner(s) are at work for the day.

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Re:U.S. to let airlines limit service animals on planes by rhexs on Wednesday January 22, 2020 @09:21PM (#22124250)

I've always been confused by this -- if you're allergic to dogs, and the flight is required to have a dog on it for whatever reason, is the airline then liable for any and all medical bills related to an allergic reaction after the flight? Are you not entitled to reasonable accommodation as well?

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Re:U.S. to let airlines limit service animals on planes by kelnos on Wednesday January 22, 2020 @10:35PM (#22124606)

I'm not sure... I guess maybe it depends on how severe the allergy is and how much of an issue you make of it. For me it's not life-threatening; it just makes me uncomfortable: a little nasal congestion, and perhaps my eyes feel a little itchy. I didn't say anything on that particular flight, but perhaps if I had, they could have accommodated me somehow.

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Re:U.S. to let airlines limit service animals on planes by CaptainZapp on Thursday January 23, 2020 @07:25AM (#22126947)

For me it's not life-threatening

Same here. It's not life threatening. But depending on the dog it can mean real misery for an extended time.

I usually have medications in my travel kit. But until a pill works it takes an hour and it can be too late.

I wouldn't complain about service animals. But scumbags, who are just too cheap to pay for proper transportation of their pet severely piss me off.

Thankfully it's not such a big issue in Europe.

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