Unleashed Dog Roams Free On American Airlines Flight To L.A., Leaves Unwanted Surprise In Aisle

by Gary Leff

A dog roamed around the cabin on Tuesday evening’s American Airlines flight 2308 from Raleigh to Los Angeles. It must have been uncomfortable because it needed to do its business, so the passenger who owned it let it out – until it decided to relieve itself in the aisle.

The dog boarded in a carrier so appears not to have been a service animal. As a result, they’re supposed to remain in the carrier, underneath the seat in front of their owner, and not come out for the duration of the flight. Crew seemingly did not enforce this.


This comes after a United flight diverted this month after a dog pooped in the aisle in front of the first class lavatory.

Messy dog poop in aisle, plane diverted
byu/gig_wizard inunitedairlines

Recently it’s been passengers not dogs making a mess of the aisles.

It really seems like the dog’s owner should be liable to the airline for extra costs – and to the rest of the passengers because, well, that’s a really thing to impose on others trapped inside a metal tube next to you.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  2. If I see a pax with a dog at check-in , I call for the manager and tell him/her that either the dog goes on a different flight , or I do .

  3. Yes. What are the consequences for the owner who let the dog out of the carrier? I suspect nothing.

  4. It is now getting a little ridiculous with pets in the cabin. Bad enough they are allowed in as luggage but people buying seats for them to lay on is beyond the pale.

  5. A shabby dog owner for not standing at the front and apologizing to every one on the flight as they got off.

  6. #1, other than *REAL* service animals, e.g., seeing-eye dogs, NO animals should be allowed in the passenger cabin.
    #2 the owner of this luckless canine should be banned from AA for life. Don’t blame the dog, blame the owner.

  7. Stop the bullshit of phoney service animals. True Service animals never do this. Start enforcement of ADA laws instead of being cowardly at check in or boarding

  8. Great to see so many others joining me on the “if you need to bring your fake emotional support dog, drive to wherever you’re going” bandwagon. It’s been lonely on this ride, but finally people are seeing the light that many of the worst behaved humans got dogs that they can’t properly take care of in 2020 and now the rest of us are expected to just deal with it. If you’re allergic, start claiming that airlines are violating your ada rights or something. Make the airlines more afraid of the sane people who think animals don’t belong on got dang airplanes.

  9. Maybe if American Airlines brought back the service that allowed dogs to fly as checked luggage in the hold for $200, instead of charging outrageous cargo fees, this wouldn’t be a problem.

  10. For this being a personal pet, the airline should hold the passenger accountable and then ban all future travel with animals.

    I wanted to comment though, if you click on the tweet and see the responses from AA, whomever their social media person is, they should be fired. Not a single sign of remorse, I am not saying this person was owed a free flight or something, and I know this was not “entirely” the airline’s fault but they can at least acknowledge they are partially to blame for not preventing the pet from roaming the cabin. The misdirection from the AA social media person is horrible.

  11. In total agreement that only real service animals should be allowed in cabin. There is no legitimate research that justifies an “emotional “ support animal. In fact such animals in cabin can cause emotional and physical distress for other passengers.

  12. Not arguing with anything in any of the comments, but what happens if a real service animal has an upset tummy? It can happen to ANY dog, can’t it? I’ve just never witnessed it.

  13. Dog doo on the floor is better than a dog bite. But either is a good reason to ban all animals except real service dogs. I flew for a major airline and it bothered me to see everything from lab rats to reptiles in the cabin.

  14. GROSS! The dog’s owner should have been the one cleaning up the mess.

  15. Of course it is on its way to LA. Also why the f would you ever fly from NC to LAX? That’s like 5 hours. What was the dog to do? Animals are a nuisance.

  17. Why the pandering to these morons? Dogs traveled in cargo. I have had enough of dogs just from bad dog owners in my neighborhood. I don’t want to see them on planes. Let’s all complain to AA.

  18. I want to know if the crew has been sanctioned for letting this happen.

  19. Middle-aged CHILDLESS white foids use dogs as replacements for their nature instincts to have children because most are so entitled and narcissistic to have them.

  21. My wife has allergies to pet fur. Had to sit behind a passenger with a well behaved crated small dog. However, her eyes were watery the whole transatlantic flight.

  22. The comments section shows many people are illiterate. This dog was not brought as a service animal. It was in a carrier. The owner opened the carrier.

  23. I am allergic to pet dander and have been told by American Airlines (and other carriers) multiple times that my physical allergy is less important than someone elses emotional support.

  24. To accommodate the increasing number of frequent flying dogs on American Airlines flights, wall-to-wall AstroTurf® could replace the aircraft carpet in the coach and first-class cabins. AstroTurf’s synthetic grass cleans easier than carpet when covered by inadvertent dog droppings or passenger vomit dumped on the artificial grass.

    Across North America, airports prefer using AstroTurf products to encourage dogs to poop in designated dog relief areas.

  25. I’ve been on a flight where this has happened.

    People with emotional support animals are repulsive to me. It’s such a weak cop-out. If you’re so fragile that you MUST have an animal to support you, you should just stay home 24/7. The world is not meant for you.

    Most people that get emotional support animals are full of BS anyway.

  26. Flying is no fun anymore.. dogs should be in a container and not in the cabin.
    I have seen cases where large dogs at the owners and fellow passengers feet. Passengers should be compensated for this.

  27. CALM DOWN. Crap happens. As a FA, I’ve cleaned up crap from humans and dogs alike. We work on a bus with wings.

  28. I PERSONALLY DON’T FEEL ANY ANIMAL SHOULD BE ON FLIGHTS OR IN ANY PLACE WHERE FOOD IS….AND ALOT OF PEOPLE ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THIS….STAY HOME…..

  29. I wouldike a dog to sit next to me then those annoying children kicking back if seats or screaming crying .
    Let’s ban children off the flights.

  31. How did this whole overweening trend of having pets on board get started? A commercial airliner is not a kennel. And if someone is so mentally unstable they need their self-proclaimed “service animal” in order to travel , perhaps they should just take a bus instead. Or ship. Or car.

  33. I worked for AA before 2012 when the main cabin cleaning was done by AA employees, inside all aircraft there’s a red bag called “Grab and Go” and service kit with all types of cleaning products and gloves…no reason why was not clean.

  34. No animals except guide dogs in the cabin. No animals in carriers, people are alergic to animal hair.

    And if you need a llama for emotional support, join the zoo.

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