what caused SW Airlines to do this?

[JessicaR]

A message from SWA:

Thanks to everyone for their support and for sharing their concerns. To answer some of the points raised so far. Our web site clearly states that pets must remain in their carriers at all times http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/animals.html. As for the alergy issue, we have carried service and emotional assistance animals onboard our flights for years and years. We will work to separate Customers with allergies and those with pets onboard the aircraft. Also we would hate to lose anyones patronage over the pet issue, but keep in mind that Southwest was one of the last airlines to ban pets from the cabin. AirTran, Alaska/Horizon, American, Continental, Delta/Northwest, jetBlue, United, and US Airways all allow pets in the cabin,, and some of them like Continental and Alaska allow household birds and rabbits onboad in addition to cats and dogs.

Brian Lusk — Fri, 05/29/2009 - 09:36
http://www.blogsouthwest.com/blog/southwest-airlines-introduces-new-pet-policy-other-changes

 

[sorul82?]

What do they do with people with service animals? Will they bump them or make the allergic one take another flight?

I think this would be a very tough situation to be put in as both parties are covered under the ADA. It would be up to the airline and the affected parties to decide what is best.

 

[sorul82?]

Here is the response that I received:

I don't believe you would need a note from your doctor regarding your allergy...as we don't ask for that documentation when someone has a peanut allergy...the difference is..if a person has a peanut allergy,,we cannot give out peanuts to anyone onboard...but if a person has an allergy to pets then we deny boarding to the passenger with the pet..so there is a difference there. Thanks for flying on Southwest Airlines...we LUV our passengers!

 

[Pinnie]

What do they do with people with service animals? Will they bump them or make the allergic one take another flight?

I do believeThe Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 prohibits the discrimination of passengers with service animals. The are allowed IN the cabin and the allergic passenger will be the one that will have to take another flight.

pinnie

 

[Pinnie]

I found this on the Allergy and Asthma foundation website

"Virtually all major airlines allow pets in the cabin, provided customers meet certain requirements. You can reduce the chance that there will be an animal in the cabin by asking the reservations agent for your airline if another passenger on the same flight has made reservations to travel with a pet. You will, however, still be exposed to animal dander on every flight even without any animals in the passenger cabin. This is because most animal allergens are carried into the cabin on the clothes of other passengers."

pinnie

 

[The Orchid]

See, I don't understand why it has to be a debate about whose life is more valuable, the animal or the person. It is easy enough to accommodate everybody's needs. Years ago when smoking was legal on planes, there was a smoking section and a non-smoking section. Why not just have a section where animals can be allowed and a section where they can't? Then everybody's problems are solved. It just doesn't have to be this difficult.

As somebody who used to be severely life-threateningly allergic to cats and dogs, I know this solution would be adequate for the vast majority of people. If everybody would work together and stop insisting their needs are more important than everybody else's, then the solutions would be very simple.

I can tell you that having once been on the allergic side, it can be very frustrating when animal lovers get condescending and sarcastic. That helps nobody. And it helps nobody when those who are allergic minimizes the value of animal-friends to many people. It's hard for those who are allergic to understand the bonds that can form between people and their animal-friends. Just because one can't understand it doesn't mean they should dis people for it.

 

[JessicaR]

This is an excerpt from the DOT - Federal Aviation Administration.

The whole thing is an interesting read and touches on many issues that have been discussed in this thread. Its interesting that if its a service animal they will move the allergic person to another flight. I guess service animals trump allergic passengers.

Subject: MANAGEMENT OF PASSENGERS WHO MAY BE SENSITIVE TO ALLERGENS

15. What passenger handling procedures can we, as an air carrier, put in place to respond to passenger concerns about animal allergies?


Develop flight attendant procedures to respond to passengers who are concerned about sitting near an animal. These might include reseating the passenger with a pet to another seat on the aircraft that is removed from the passenger with allergies or, if necessary, provide another flight as an alternative to the passenger with the cabin pet. In the case of a service animal (which is not a pet), you can provide a reasonable accommodation to the passenger with allergies. For example, you can offer to move them to another seat on the aircraft, or, if necessary, provide another flight as an alternative to the passenger with allergies.

http://www2.airweb.faa.gov/Regulato...9A91A8CD30DD7FA186256CAD006AC95D?OpenDocument

 

[luvmy3]

I flew with my cat years ago and if I remember correctly when I purchased my ticket I was told that they had the right to change my flight if they needed to because of someone with allergies.

 

[luvmy3]

My son 2, is highly allergic to peanuts and highly allergic to seafood. He is also allergic to dogs and cats. We carry epipen jr. wherever we go. I guess i just have to let the airline know not to be near any dogs and/or cats and no peanuts and seafood. The problem i see is that if he does get the allergy reation.. he has only 15 minutes to get to the ER after using epipen. I don't know how fast a plane can land and how far the hospital is. Life threatning it can be when flying.

My dh just got back from San Francisco and on his return flight they made an announcement that they had a passenger who was highly allergic to peanuts so nobody was allowed to eat or take out any food/snack that had peanuts. Of course dh bought a bag of trail mix so he couldn't eat anything but completely understood. I had never heard an announcement like that, you could ask if they could do something like that for your ds. This was JetBlue.

 

[kaytieeldr]

It is absolutely an everyday thing. I fly 2-3 times a week, and always see pets everywhere in their pet baggage - my last flight on Tuesday had two dogs and two cats, and that's just from what I noticed. You might not notice it because it's pretty discrete, they ride in pet carriers that look just like a small overnight bag.

Southwest is really jumping into this feetfirst. Most airlines seem to restrict the number of pets to the four you observed:

JetBlue Only four pets are allowed per flight. The fourth and final pet must be booked at the airport at the ticket counter and is available on a first-come first-serve basis. http://help.jetblue.com/SRVS/CGI-BI...0000000008617270,K=5078,Sxi=2,Case=obj(392857)

AirTran AirTran Airways accepts small, domesticated cats, dogs and birds that will fit in an approved carrier under the seat. Airfare for a pet is $69 per one-way. Only six pets are allowed per flight with a limit of one (1) pet per paying customer traveling on the same flight. http://www.airtran.com/faq/q/can_i_bring_my_pet_on_the_flight.aspx

Delta One pet each in First and Business, two in Coach (from chart in FAQ, unable to copy/paste correctly) http://www.delta.com/planning_reser...avel_information/pet_travel_options/index.jsp

American Pets traveling in the cabin require a reservation to ensure no more than 7 pets are booked on any single flight. The maximum number of carry-on kennels allowed (on American Airlines flights accepting them) is seven per flight: two (2) in first class and five (5) in coach and/or business class. http://www.aa.com/aa/i18nForward.do...hPets.jsp&anchorLocation=DirectURL&title=pets

USAirways The number of pets that may be carried in each cabin is limited. In order for your pet to travel with you, you must make your reservations on flights with cabin pet space available. Also, Pets in cabin count toward the carry-on baggage allowance. http://www.usairways.com/awa/content/traveltools/specialneeds/pets.aspx

Continental
Only one pet per passenger is allowed in cabin. One pet per flight is allowed in the front cabin (select aircraft only). Four pets per flight are allowed in the Economy cabin " http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/content/travel/animals/in_cabin.aspx

United does not post a limit but does state

Advance arrangements are not guarantees that your animal will travel on a specific flight. To be as humane as possible, airlines reserve the right to refuse to transport an animal for reasons like illness, poor kenneling or extreme temperatures at origin, transfer or destination airports. Airlines have the right to refuse carriage of any animal that demonstrates aggressive and/or violent behavior.

And this complaining about pets in the cabin is ridiculous and selfish. Ever think of the pet owner? Why must the pet owner also be inconvienced because of somebody else's allergies? It works both ways

Drat. Where's a stunned, jaw-dropping, "thud" smiley when I need one... Continental notes in their pet FAQ that "No oxygen will be administered to a pet in the event of an emergency." In addition, this minimal research shows that airlines require pets (except service animals) to remain secured inside the kennel not just on the plane, but in the airports as well. I know of no airline that requires human passengers to travel in kennels.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Honestly, sufferers are understandably upset. However, there ARE preventative measures that can and should be taken prior to flying. If a sufferer has severe reactions to pets then they are already taking these measures on a daily basis. Premedicate and have your rescue medications handy. If this is unacceptable don't fly.

Respectfully, would you say the same thing to a person with a peanut allergy?

People with allergies can also choose other means of transportation.

So can people with pets. Why does, or should, wanting to take a pet on a plane supersede the rights of an allergic passenger?

If being around animals is going to cause a visit to the ER, then the answer isn't that the hundreds of people around you has to change their schedules

How is a dander-allergic person with a Southwest ticket for (say) August, causing people around [them] to alter their schedules? Those people either weren't already flying on Southwest, or had purchased their tickets with the understanding that the airline would NOT be transporting numerous pets.

How many people must suffer an affliction before it becomes (from the perspective of those people who do object to the peanut bans) everyone else's problem?

Well, ONE peanut-allergic person on a Southwest flight will cause the airline to make the entire flight peanut-free - so, one?

So now you are (inadvertently, perhaps by a new flight crew) moved to a spot where just a short while ago a pet carrier sat for a lengthy flight with layovers. It's no longer there, but its invisible remnants are...

Ah, but if there remained one major airline that did not accept pets, this risk would be minimal.

 

[bicker]

Well, ONE peanut-allergic person on a Southwest flight will cause the airline to make the entire flight peanut-free - so, one?

Thanks for being the first person willing to stick their neck out and answer this critical question. I suspect that you know, however, that many people don't agree that one person should be able to dictate restrictions for hundreds of others, and that that may vary based on what those restrictions are, and based on what alternatives there are to imposing such restrictions. The airlines and the authorities must therefore craft policy that represents a compromise position between the absolute accommodation perspective and the no accommodation perspective.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yeah, well, you know I'm just afraid you'll find out where I live...

Seriously, though - at least according to Southwest's responses (quoted on page 7 of this thread, I think?), accommodations in the case of pet-pets will be to put the pet-owner on a later/different flight; while their existing policy regarding service animals is, I think, to put the other/allergic passenger on the different flight.

 

[Mermaid02]

If other airlines have been doing this in the past, and people with allergies fly on the plane afterwards, say in the same seat, and don't have reactions, is the airline cleaning that seat really well after?

I HIGHLY doubt that! So perhaps the fact the cat is contained in the carrier, makes it not really a problem for people with allergies.

What do the allergy people do when I sit down next to them & I come from a cat home? Surely I have cat fur on my clothes.



If a person is THAT allergic, then they need to tell the flight crew so all precautions can be made. I've been on flights where peanuts were not served because someone on board had a terrible allergy. They served pretzels instead. The flight crew made announcement stating that was the reason.

I would sneeze, my eyes would get red and puffy and I would wheeze.... of course I would have already taken my Allegra and have an inhaler with me so I'm sure I could handle it! Those of us with allergies have to look after ourselves... Can't expect the rest of the world to conform. I would however worry about animals "relieving" themselves in their carriers... that would make me vomit.

edited to add: My son had a peanut allergy for 5 years and we flew twice... they served peanuts... we avoided them.

 

[bicker]

Yeah, well, you know I'm just afraid you'll find out where I live...

Don't you know I can see you through your television?

Seriously, though - at least according to Southwest's responses (quoted on page 7 of this thread, I think?), accommodations in the case of pet-pets will be to put the pet-owner on a later/different flight; while their existing policy regarding service animals is, I think, to put the other/allergic passenger on the different flight.

Yup, so firmly a 50/50 approach, rather than 100/0, 0/100 or even a 90/10 approach.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Don't you know I can see you through your television?

No, you can't. I'm sitting at such a sharp angle, you can't see me... but just in case I'm wrong, I'm SO glad I have the A/C on - means I've been wearing a robe over this ratty t-shirt since I got up this morning!

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Wow, some of you people are harsh. Do you tell people with peanut allergies to 'get over it' and not worry about the snacks they're handing out?

Even if it isn't life threatening, it can still ruin a vacation. I can see why losing the last pet-free major airline could be upsetting to someone. Had Southwest not made this change your precious Fluffy and Fido would still have options, but this person apparently now may not.

I have allergies myself (though thankfully not severe) and I understand that peoples' clothes and hair can also be a prime vector for animal-based allergens. But they've never affected me as strongly as the animals themselves.

Relax, people. She didn't say she wanted to kill your pets, she just would prefer not to fly with them. I can't understand why there's such a big fuss over THAT.

I agree. Sheesh! But the part about telling people with peanut allergies to get over it...I've seen that type of post here on the DIS.

I would however worry about animals "relieving" themselves in their carriers... that would make me vomit.

Yeah, what about that? I'd worry too about an animal that just smelled bad anyway. (And yes, I'm sure there are people that smell bad on a plane too...I "get it".)

Personally, I don't have a big problem with it, until and if I fly on a plane with an animal and it is, for some reason, a problem. No pet allergies in my family, altho my DH and DS do have allergies that make them (and me ) miserable, so I certainly understand the concern. The OP and others will just have to do some research I guess and talk to their doctors and make a decision from there.

After the flight I took last week, I just want a "turbulence-free" airline.

 

[LuvCuteBoys]

I haven't read the whole thread, but I gotta say I'm thrilled. Southwest is my airline of choice, but frequently couldn't use them because I was traveling with my cat.

All airlines are required to allow service animals on. So having non-service animals really shouldn't make a difference.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

I honestly don't think this is worth a panic attack.

I don't think the OP is having a panic attack. Do you know what a panic attack really is? I just wish people wouldn't throw around exaggerated accusations about what people post. The OP has a family member with allergies, and she's not happy about the change. There have been some good discussion and suggestions for dealing with the situation, but geez, some people...

We were on a recent Jetblue flight and as we were walking onto the plane to be seated, there was a lady with her dog on her lap, holding it up as she was french kissing it...

Insert "puking smilie" here. Hopefully, the dog was licking its butt right beforehand.

Are you that crazy cat lady with the sign in her yard that says "if you run over my cat, I'll run over your child"????

I was actually IN an airport when I saw that news story. A true pet lover...letting her pet run free? (I couldn't hear the report well among the noise of the airport, so I'm not sure of the exact story.)

A message from SWA: keep in mind that Southwest was one of the last airlines to ban pets from the cabin.

So they allowed them before, and then they were banned, and now they're going back to letting them onboard? Am I reading that correctly?

 

[bicker]

No, what Jessica meant was they're one of the last airlines to remove the ban on pets in the cabin.