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US ends era of emotional support animals on planes

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Re: US ends era of emotional support animals on planes

#151

Post by pfisch »

pfisch wrote: post #131
sysadmindotfail wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's say my way of self-medicating for anxiety during flights is to get wasted. Does this now entitle me to be a drunk asshole on the flight? No, it does not. This is how I view those who abuse this loophole. Find another way to travel that doesn't impact everyone else in the aluminum tube traveling 550mph.

It is abusive for airlines to charge $250 per roundtrip for a ~10 lb carryon that fits under your seat. They are operating a scam. This was the only way around it.

I love all the downvotes with no explanation about how this is a defensible practice in any way.

I could understand if airlines kept a blacklist for people who have animals out of control, but they don't even do that right now with their absurd overcharging. I could also understand putting down a refundable deposit and a $20-40 charge(though you can bring much heavier carry-ons for free).

The airlines' practices are indefensible. They are wildly overcharging and it is clearly a scam.

It is sad they are closing this loophole that allowed people to end run the scammers.

Re: US ends era of emotional support animals on planes

#152

Post by x86_64Ubuntu »

cj wrote: post #137
jonas21 wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The only alternative was to drive cross-country, or... What was wrong with this alternative (other than being inconvenient for you)?

I don't have a car.

So at what point do you have so many constraints that you "don't get to do it"? You've mentioned you need your animal, but you can't afford a one-way car rental, or a hotel, and that flying is affordable regardless of what happens to folks with allergies. At what point is there not a workable solution in completing your travel task?

Re: US ends era of emotional support animals on planes

#153

Post by throwaway201103 »

renewiltord wrote: post #74

I kind of know why, but I think I'd like to have some sort of "super-normative" service for most things. No accommodations, no changes, no talk. You board your plane, stand on a conveyor and it takes you to your slot, you bring your own urine and poo bag if you want, the airline charges you for damage to the slot. No dogs, no cats, no nothing. No "can I get a this". For the DMV, you have a checklist and you walk up w…

I'd actually support the DMV example. The same for the Post Office. I'd like a trap door at each service counter spot, and the people who show up and are packing/taping/addressing their parcels at the counter would be dropped into the basement, beaten, and thrown out the back door.

Re: US ends era of emotional support animals on planes

#154

Post by TulliusCicero »

llbeansandrice wrote: post #55
TulliusCicero wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who decides what's reasonable, though? The whole thing is a big grey area. The rules should be explicit.

> Who decides what's reasonable, though? The court system. I say something is reasonable, you do not and don't allow me on a flight so I take you to court over it and the court decides.

That's not good. The courts should only have to get involved in exceptional scenarios. The law itself should be more clear.

Re: US ends era of emotional support animals on planes

#155

Post by RandallBrown »

unishark wrote: post #122
cj wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Edit: Removed comment, sparked unconstructive discussion.

Delta allows pets in the cabin. Was your dog too big or something?

Probably. Isn't that only pets small enough to fit under the seat?

Re: US ends era of emotional support animals on planes

#157

Post by renewiltord »

throwaway201103 wrote: post #153
renewiltord wrote: post #74

I kind of know why, but I think I'd like to have some sort of "super-normative" service for most things. No accommodations, no changes, no talk. You board your plane, stand on a conveyor and it takes you to your slot, you bring your own urine and poo bag if you want, the airline charges you for damage to the slot. No dogs, no cats, no nothing. No "can I get a this". For the DMV, you have a checklist and you walk up w…

I'd actually support the DMV example. The same for the Post Office. I'd like a trap door at each service counter spot, and the people who show up and are packing/taping/addressing their parcels at the counter would be dropped into the basement, beaten, and thrown out the back door.

Fortunately, the USPS actually has this. I almost always just use the machine to buy stamps and to post my mail. Very fast.

Re: US ends era of emotional support animals on planes

#158

Post by 627467 »

for some reason, on my last long haul flight on a 250+ people airplane I counted at least 20 cats and dogs being boarded (in cabin, not hold). Only one of them was classed as a service dog. I was hoping for the worst as I never seem so many animals on a flight before but in the end the flight was almost uneventful. BUT... in the middle of the night, a cat did wandered about the isles, and the stewardess did have to go catch it and look for the owner who clearly didn't mind a wandering cat.

If this trend continues (of loose animals in cabin) I bet we'll start having serious problems between pets and people inside an enclosed metal tube. Flying experience is already bad enough...

Re: US ends era of emotional support animals on planes

#159

Post by gravitas »

giarc wrote: post #91
gravitas wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

About a decade ago I used a service "We Move Pets", who at the time was specializing in transporting pets across North America (CA/US) for pro sports players, NBA and NHL etc. It wasn't cheap (and required I go get special vaccinations and paperwork, understandable) but it worked out great - they were passing by my city and had room on the van to take on another pet to the same destination I was going. Looks like the…

Care to share how much it cost? I'm also surprised the players didn't just get to bring the pets on the charter plane they travel around the country on, if only for that initial move.

They provided a breakdown on the invoice for me, stripping out all the sensitive info (reminder this was a decade ago):

    Item #: Transport Fee (small animal)
    Unit price: $495.00

    Description: Total of 1734 Miles (fuel surcharge)
    Unit price: $246.80
Sometimes a plane is not an option - I was moving, a large moving truck was transporting the house, while I was transporting the items they could not carry on their truck (liquids, firearms, ammunition) across state lines. Bringing a pet along while trying to maintain eyesight on a vehicle full of sensitive items was not in my best interest.

Re: US ends era of emotional support animals on planes

#160

Post by [deleted] »

flflfppp wrote: post #142
cj wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> by no means entitles me to abuse measures meant to help the genuinely disabled for my own convenience. The decision wasn't for my personal convenience. It's much more convenient to throw an animal in the cargo hold. It really is not fun to deal with an animal with you on a crowded plane. Convenience is not the motivating factor at least for me... it's simply treating the animal humanely, which to me means avoiding…

Then you should have absorbed the inconvenience of driving cross-country, not abusing a system meant to help people that need it. Also, I'm perplexed by people's use of the word "humane" when it comes to pets. If you want to treat them humanely (as you would other humans), open your front door and let them walk out to freedom. I've owned and will own pets again...but it's preposterous to compare the animal to the hum…

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