Another example of a service dog causing inconvenience to a customer occurred when a traveler on a recent United Airlines aircraft was forced to change seats because a service dog had occupied the seat allotted to them.
A similar incident occurred on a Delta Air Lines trip last month, when a customer was requested to relocate from his first-class seat to make room for a service dog.
Passenger asked to move to a different seat
A Reddit user described their experience with a recent United Airlines flight in which they had to give up their assigned seat due to a service dog occupying it. The plane was full and headed for Denver.
The passenger’s name is unknown, but according to a Reddit post, they discovered a huge service dog sitting on their seat. The animal was too enormous to sit on the floor in front of its owner, so the only option was to place it on the seat.
When the traveler informed the flight attendant, there wasn’t much they could do. The plane was full, and the passenger expected to be asked to depart. Fortunately, another unoccupied seat was ultimately found. The traveler commented:
“A United staff member came onboard and spoke to the passenger but the dog remained. Finally, somehow they located another seat for me. The dog stayed on my seat for the whole flight. Totally absurd that an oversized dog can displace a paying passenger from their seat.
“Your dog should sit in the floor space in front of your seat. They can’t be in the aisle or the floor space of the travelers next to you.
“It is nasty to have a dog outside of a carrier sitting on passengers’ seats with his butt on the armrests. The gate agents carefully check the size [of] my carry-on, but apparently they don’t monitor the size of people’s ‘service’ dogs! WTH.”
Simple Flying asked United Airlines for a remark and received the following response:
“Our policy calls for service animals to sit either in the floor space in front of a customer or in the customer’s lap. If they need more space, the customer will need to purchase an extra seat or a seat in a premium cabin so there is room for the animal to sit in the available floor space. Occasionally, we may ask other customers to consider changing seats to accommodate a larger service animal.”
Not the first time
The most recent incident is comparable to one that occurred on a Delta Air Lines flight not long ago. Last month, it was reported that a customer who had been upgraded to first class had to return to economy due to a service dog occupying the berth. In a Reddit post, the passenger explained:
“I got upgraded to first this morning, only to 15 mins later get downgraded (to a worst seat than I previously had). I asked the desk agent what was going on and she said “something changed”.
Another instance involving a service dog occurred in April last year, when a Belgian malinois named Bella bit two passengers at Denver International Airport. One was an American Airlines employee, while the other was a passenger waiting for a flight.
Flying with service dogs
Many airlines let passengers travel with assistance dogs. Smaller dogs are easy to accommodate, however larger canines require more consideration. Many people benefit from service dogs, which are trained to conduct work or execute activities for individuals with disabilities, such as physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disabilities.
There are various rules regarding traveling with service dogs, which Simple Flying has studied in depth in the article below.