Delta Air Lines flight 694 from Detroit to Los Angeles diverted on Monday when a dog became sick and the carrier determined that it needed emergency veterinary care.
About an hour into the five hour flight, flight attendants were alerted that a dog was in distress. A call for medical assistance produced an onboard veterinarian who stabilized the animal, but the assessment was that the dog needed professional treatment. The Airbus narrowbody with 181 customers and six crew aboard made a 300-mile detour to Delta’s Minneapolis–St Paul hub.
Medical personnel met the aircraft at the gate on arrival, and the owner accompanied the dog off the aircraft. Before Flight 694 continued westbound, the captain assured passengers over the PA that the pet was expected to make a full recovery. After about two-and-a-half hours the flight pushed back again and landed around 145 minutes behind schedule.
According to the airline,
The safety of our customers and people comes before everything else at Delta. That’s why Delta flight 694 diverted to MSP to ensure a cabin pet that became ill received proper care.
Medical diversions don’t happen ‘all the time’ but certainly aren’t uncommon. Airlines are expected to interrupt their operations to allow access to medical care in an attempt to save human lives. Diverting for an animal is rare. I can’t think of a time where I’ve heard of a similar incident.
Diversions of any kind are costly in terms of,
- Extra fuel
- Extra cost for crew
- The time of all passengers onboard
- Delays and costs related to passengers and crew for onward flights operated by the aircraft, or other flights where these crew were scheduled to operate
- Missed passenger connections, associated missed meetings and family events, and layover costs like meals, transportation and hotel
And airlines almost always have to bear those costs – except for inconvenience costs borne by passengers – in full. Should they bear those costs for animals, too? Does it matter whether the dog was a pet in cabin (for which the airline charged) or a fake service (emotional support) animal?
I’ve always been a little bit uncomfortable with the idea that the airline bears the diversion cost for a medical incident. Perhaps that’s something that should be covered by medical insurance, or travelers should opt for supplemental insurance that would cover that cost? On the other hand,
- A regime that didn’t save lives or that stuck customers with the costs wouldn’t be great for air travel overall.
- The way norms have developed so that airlines cover the costs suggest that insurance is, in some sense, bundled with the price of a ticket.
On the other hand, given how rare medical diversions for pets are, no such norm that the airline covers the cost or bundles it with the ticket has developed. But not diverting might lead to even bigger costs if the dog gets sick and passengers wind up having to ignore a six hour stench.
Dogs matter quite a lot on Delta, from bumping passengers out of seats to turning around and delaying my flight in the fall.
Here’s Delta booting a first class passenger to accommodate a plus-sized woman with emotional support dog and four carry-on bags. And here’s an emotional support dog eating off the restaurant table in the Delta One lounge at New York JFK.
(HT: Enilria)
Other than people that have a true medical need for a dog, and they are far and few in between as evidenced by the number of animals now on a plane. Dogs (and cats) have very sensitive hearing. These morons dragged their pets into an environment that scares the living hell out of the poor animal, they don’t know/understand what’s going on and it becomes torture for them. No surprise some poor dog got deathly sick.
If you can’t leave home without your emotional support animal stay at home. Somehow 20 years ago this wasn’t a “thing.”
Airlines don’t bear the costs for medical diversions. It’s a cost of being in the airline business and gets passed onto passengers in their ticket pricing. I think most people are happy to pay an extra $0.25 (likely even less) per ticket to know that if they have a medical emergency they don’t have to wait out the scheduled flight for treatment.
Whether 181 people’s inconvenience for one passengers pet is worthwhile would certainly be a matter of debate.
But for the airline, diverting the flight is almost certainly cheaper than dealing with a “Delta killed my dog” PR incident, which would also ultimately get passed onto the passengers as a cost of doing business, so we’re probably better off overall with the diversion.
Maybe airlines should stop accepting cabin animals entirely.
I completely support Delta’s decision. Then again, I love animals.
This incident would have provided for an interesting social experiment. Put the issue to a vote. Also, how would the vote look if it were by a “show of hands” or a secret ballot?
Personally, I have never taken a dog on a plane unless I am flying across an ocean and then my dogs have always been under the plane, for which I paid a cargo fee.
But I resent the implication that most dogs in cabin are fake service dogs. I am fortunate that my disability does not require a dog for me to fly, but if it did, I would expect compassion and understanding from people like Gary.
Once again it is clear Gary doesn’t own a dog. They are as important to many people as their children. I applaud Delta for doing the right thing
@Raphael – you won’t get any sympathy from Gary. This is one of his many pet peeves (pun intended). I also disagree that as many people as Gary thinks are scamming the system. My daughter has had 2 service dogs and has flown with the first one (has yet with her current dog). She doesn’t have an obvious disability but trust me she does. I’m aware of her medical visits, drugs she has to take and prior episodes where she was basically incapacitated However if Gary saw a woman in her 20s leading a very well behaved lab onto a plane I’m sure he, along with a few others like George Romney, would just assume it is a scam.
Not all disabilities are obvious Gary. Educate yourself!
Kudos to Delta and the other passengers who were understanding albeit inconvenienced.
I assume that Gary has never owned and experienced the love of a dog. Unfortunate if true.
As the late Andy Rooney once remarked, ” The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.”
Dog took its last poop on the plane
FT Dog and its owner. Everyone needs to sue for their time value.
“The safety of our customers and people comes before everything else at Delta. That’s why Delta flight 694 diverted to MSP to ensure a cabin pet that became ill received proper care.”
Is the dog a customer?
Gary, For some reason, a year or so ago, you seem to have booted me off your comments when some other commenters were making some nasty comments about something I had said. I just wanted to be removed from that conversation, but not comments over all.
In any case, I wanted to say that I would have been delighted to accomodate a sick dog. I know you review the comments, and there is not reason to “publish” this one which is just for you.
Great move by Delta!
Raphael and AC,
As someone who works in the airline industry, I can assure you that a large portion, if not most, of the dogs on airplanes today ARE fake service dogs (you can buy those vests online with no questions asked, and you can usually tell by their behavior). YOU only see your particular service animal, but I see all of them. YOU may be a decent person who doesn’t abuse the system for your own benefit, but that doesn’t mean that everyone else is. And I can assure you, they are not.
Some times, the issue is money: a pet has to be paid for; a “service animal” does not. Many airlines won’t allow an animal on the plane unless it fits under the seat in front of you, and stays in its container, so a big dog can ONLY fly if you pretend it’s a service animal.
BTW, people with ACTUAL service animals are almost universally against these fakes, because it prejudices people against them as well, and in some cases, a fake service dog’s behavior toward a real service animal can cause the real service animal to lose its expensive (and possibly life-saving) training.
Bah, it had been a while since Gary posted a dog story. Often riles folks up. Engagement!
Good job, Delta. I’m with @greggb57, @AC, @Raphael, @Ron, and @Lynn, on this one.
And, as usual, @Mike P has the wrong take. Oof, @Frank, just awful.
Thanks delta for doing the right thing
NO Dogs Allowed
To carry dogs that are not true service animals in the passenger compartment is something that Delta elects to do, the same as electing to put off maintenance. If in such an elective case it causes problems with other customers, compensation should be due in accordance to regulations and rules. In this case, landing 2 hours and 25 minutes late could have caused problems with some customers. I hope that the ones disrupted received adequate compensation.
I’ve treasured the companionship of a dog for 67 of my 78 years. I’m married but have no natural children – a dog isn’t a substitute, but it can help one get through life. We travel frequently, but only once – a trip to visit our new retirement home in Mexico a year before the move – did our current dog join us on the plane. He was small enough for a carrier under the seat. But any larger dog should be in a hold in pet-safe containment, nowhere else. “Emotional support” is a ruse or reflective of a more serious psychological condition. If one can’t travel without their pet, stay home. (BTW, I’m a foster parent of a rescue elephant in S Africa and financial supporter of Planet Wild, an org to save animal diversity globally.)
While I’m sure that there are many legitimate service dogs flying, the stats indicate too many fakes. In 2017, Delta experienced an 84 percent increase from 2016 in aircraft cabin animal incidents, ranging from animal bites to urination, defecation, and other problems. Service dogs are trained to not have these problems.
United Airlines reported that 43,000 emotional support animals were brought on United flights in 2016 alone. By 2017, that number jumped to 76,000 passengers bringing emotional support animals on board, a staggering 76 percent increase.
I am definitely in the “hate fake service animals camp”, but OF COURSE Delta had to divert to save the dog. Can you imagine the trauma and bad press if the dog died and its body had to be removed? They’d be getting bad press and threats of dead-dog PTSD lawsuits.
Assuming this is NOT a true service animal, by allowing it to fly, Delta IS partly responsible for messing up the day of everyone else (particularly any missed connections). Throw a few points at the passengers (and more points for anyone missing a connection) — better yet, some free, nicer snacks while on the ground and post-diversion — and (nearly) everyone will be fine with it.
The reputational risk management for letting a human die is probably around zero. Letting a dog die?!! Reputational disaster.
Gary does own a dog.
Any odious anti-dog people in these comments ought to be killed by terminal cancer. No need for such odious human beings living among us
The dog could have been in great pain and crying loudly which disturbed everyone. What did the persons size have anything to do with the subject? You got everyone fired up over something so rare. The pilot might have been reprimanded. Everyone is jumping to conclusions. You are extremely pretentious Gary and you don’t look so slim yourself.
“And, as usual, @Mike P has the wrong take.”
I didn’t offer a “take.” Seriously, if you’re going to comment, at least make the effort to read the post you’re offering an opinion on and actually do a little thinking.
changes … Emotional Support Animals are no longer protected under the Air Carrier Access Act. If an airline agrees to carry them they’re considered a “Pet”, with fees, weight/size limits, etc. Delta accepts a limited number on each flight, arrangements made days in advance, it specifies only “small dogs.” For “Service Animals”, DOT now has a Form that a carrier can require be filled out for each flight, lists Trainers (ADA says don’t ask why the ‘service’ is needed), etc., has a nasty notice at the top “Fib on this, it’s a Federal Crime.” And they still have the right to reject the animal if it’s too large or heavy to “be accommodated” in the Cabin or would cause a “significant disruption.” Way over half the States have criminal laws for claiming the animal is necessary when the paperwork is bought over the Internet. Seems those selling the documents have been putting a “Registration Number” on the Form. I guess they never looked at the laws, there’s nobody to Register with.
It was the right thing to do.
I think the reason why they chose Minneapolis as the best detour for the dog is because this state and the city has special rules for animal companions where they must care for the dog as if it was human because here the dog has rights, like humans, it’s the law. You can’t hurt an animal here, by negligence, ethical negligence or intentionally negligent. The animal is a companion like any companion human, must be given emergency medical treatment. That would include hospital care veterinary care, because the animal is elevated to companion.
While I might be annoyed to be delayed, Delta made the right call here.
Another reason for my no non-humans in the cabin policy. Even service dogs should be in the hold.
I loved my dog, he lived 14 years, parting with him was excruciating. However, that is quite an expensive vet bill, paid not just by the airline but but by the other 180 passengers. A minimum 2 hours time lost by all, plus missed connections, so really maybe 4 hours average * 180 * let’s be generous and say on average only $50/hr value of their time. That’s $36k, and I’m sure the airlines expense is even more. Who knows if the pet would have been fine without diverting anyway… probably would. So would you really pay a $75k vet surcharge to expedite a vet appointment? I doubt it.
This is just another case of why pets shouldn’t fly. It’s extremely narcissistic to think everyone else has to suffer for your convenience. Somehow I went 14 years not forcing my dog on everyone around me. Owning a pet has sacrifices, but some entitled selfish people can’t accept that.
Years ago, before the “emotional support animal” BS, there were specific limits as to the number of WARM BLOODED animals in each cabin AND a size limit. The limit was waived for military animals and police animals. The warm blood requirement is because reptiles can/do carry the salmonella bacteria which is dangerous to humans. That said, it’s great that a veterinarian was aboard and the flight crew took the doctor’s advice and diverted the plane. I know that if it was my pet, I would be eternally grateful to Delta for this act of kindness at great expense and the passengers who suffered the inconvenience to save my pet. “We’ll never stop climbing”!
@Sean Murphy – You are absolutely correct, it DOES boil down to saving money for many people with fake service animals. But legacy U.S. airlines are largely responsible for this phenomenon. For example, in the mid-1990s the fee for an in-cabin pet was $25 each way on AA, which has since quintupled to $125 each way — more than twice the rate of inflation over the same period. This rapaciousness has fueled the onslaught of travelers to come up with creative ways to circumvent these excessive fees. Lower the fee back down to $50 (or less) where it ought to be and you’ll see this problem mostly resolve itself.
Would the dog owner have paid $50-100,000 for the medical treatment the dog needed? Because the airline and people flying on the plane probably paid that amount in fuel costs, extra wages, and all the missed flights and potential overnight stays.
Delta was in a total no-win situation here. Of course, a diversion costing thousands of dollars and inconveniencing hundreds of people for the sake of a dog is utterly ridiculous. But then, we all know that rationality goes out the window when a dog is involved. If the mutt had snuffed it, there would have been an outcry and Delta knew it. Guaranteed this is not going to be the last time this happens. Surely the best solution for any airline is simply to say “no more dogs”. They must cause far more problems than they are worth in terms of revenue.
Great job Delta! I like you even more now!
To the people saying that animals need to be in the cargo hold- NO, they should not be!
Any incident where the plane catches fire or lands in water or anything abnormal, they’re going to evacuate the cabin only, and the animals in the cargo hold are going to die!
I think it’s absolutely criminal to
put animals in the cargo hold. They don’t know what’s going on and are terrified down there. Think about it from their perspective for once.
Delta did the right thing, no question. I would not take a pet of mine on an airplane unless I’m moving overseas and have no other way to get them there.
A life was saved. Congratulations to Delta. As for those who think a dogs life is worthless. Karma is keeping an eye on you. Your selfishness is showing.
Just an FYI to those people thinking the added wages of the crew is exorbitant, y’all need to learn some math. The flight attendants are paid from $0.28-$0.57 an hour per passenger. The pilots just a little more ( depending on aircraft) at $2-5.00/ hour. So for a crew of 5 each passenger is paying roughly $12.00 an hour. Flying hours. On the ground, the crew is only paid, ” per diem ” which is less than dollar for the entire crew.
@ 1990. Would you feel the same if you missed your west coast connection to Asia and a VERY important business meeting . . . or, it seems, a free room stay at a 5 star hotel?
I’m with Sean Murphy, Christopher Hugo and numerous others on this. REAL Service Dogs are well trained (to the expense of around $20-30,000 for training) and are easily identified by their behavior and obedience to both verbal and visual commands.
Should you think I don’t love animals, WRONG! I have a Service Dog, I just haven’t been consistent with the recurrent training and therefore would not take her on a passenger flight in the cabin unless it was an emergency. Years ago I did travel with other dog on the Braniff/Alaska Airlines Pipeline Express interchange flight. The dog rode with me . . . in an approved kennel in the forward cargo compartment of a B-727. Didn’t bother her a bit and ground handlers aways check her water.
@ Doug. NO ONE wrote that a dogs life is “worthless.” That’s as absurd as saying “check with the Koreans on that.” Stop with the hyperbole.
@One Trippe — Thank you for the ‘layup’ so that I can now promote passenger rights legislation. Yes, it would be nice if there were better guidelines, even compensation, if a severe delay was caused by an airline (say, a staffing issue, maintenance problem, etc.), causing missed connections (even to Asia! *gasp*). Yet, I would imagine a medical (or a canine) diversion, may not be a ‘covered’ reason (similar to severe weather, etc. ‘out of their control’). I’ve done my best to find the travel insurance policies that cover these things (on a consumer-level), and it’s not easy, because the fine-print often requires +72 hours delay or 50% of the Trip to be affected. Glad to hear you brought yours in the cabin. When I traveled with mine, years ago, I did the same. Never under. Wouldn’t attempt again, namely because it’s a vulnerability for the animals and us. Board them, drive them, (or take the ocean liner, QM2?, if need to cross the Atlantic.)
@Mike P — Horrible ‘take,’ yet again. Bah!
@1990. Wrong . . . read it again . . . my dog traveled in an approved Alaska Airlines kennel in the forward cargo compartment of a B-727, not in the passenger compartment but on a passenger flight that I traveled on.
If there was no Veterinarian on board who would have made that call? My experience when flying for airlines was there was NO MedLink for PETS, just humans.
“Horrible ‘take,’ yet again.”
I think we’ve found the problem. You have no idea what it means to offer “a take” on a subject. Keep trying, it may come to you.
This is ludicrous. Delta get a grip. Trump needs to attack you guys for your bs attitude. Fafo
@Mile P, you’ve been caught in the vortex. A small-brained poster doesn’t read/understand your post. But the little single-cell creature is so impatient to “score points,” that your post isn’t really read. I found my life is so much better since I don’t read posts by the idiot.