A passenger on a South Africa flight found a dog occupying his leg space for the entire journey. There was nothing he could do about it, so he just drank. “My dad is on a long flight back from South Africa and mentioned he’s had about 40 screwdrivers. When I asked why, he sent me this,” adding “the 40 drinks deep and 20 hours is an exaggeration btw. I think the actual flight is 16 to 18 hours.”
My dad is on a 20 hour flight back from South Africa and said he’s about 40 screwdrivers deep. When I asked why he just sent me this.
byu/benjaminrogers91 inmildlyinfuriating
Passengers can bring service animals on a plane, and don’t have to pay extra to do so. They just have to fill out paperwork, which largely amounts to attesting that it’s a service animal.
Emotional support animals aren’t supposed to be a thing on planes anymore, but it’s really an ‘honor system’ sort of thing.
That means that there are still plenty of animals on planes, even if it’s not the Noah’s Ark two of each animal situation that it used to be. The average passenger wanting to bring an emotional support animal also happens not to be very good at handling the paperwork in advance.
When you see an animal at your feet, encroaching on your space, do you ever stop to wonder why it is that you’re the one stuck giving up your space for the animal? Why is it that passengers are forced to pay the price when a seat opponent brings an animal onto the plane?
“Service Dog” in my leg space the entire flight. Should I complain?
byu/noteverythingnotyet inunitedairlines
Hey @Delta this isn’t supposed to happen two #ServiceDogs in the same row that don’t know each other?!? Why you put us at risk of a missed medical episode & I just had two fusions! Flight1682 to Houston pic.twitter.com/6xW2cD1TWX
— Michelle Z (@SpoonieandtheSD) December 12, 2023
While airlines are responsible for providing wheelchairs to those who need them (or who just wish to board early), when a passenger requires more space that space usually comes from their seatmate.
You already do not get very much space in economy on a plane, so you’re the one least well position to provide the accommodation. Yet you’re the one stuck. Alternatives:
- Passenger pays for the space that they need, if their pet needs space then they buy space for their pet.
- Airline pays by providing a free extra seat. That’s closer to how the burden is usually treated under law elsewhere, though it surely seems unfair when it’s an emotional support animal where the passenger has simply filled out the paperwork claiming it’s a service animal.
There are real service animals, and animals that passenger call service animals. Does it matter whether the passenger actually has a qualifying need, for you to care that they’re taking up your space? I don’t think so. In either case they shouldn’t be able to encroach on the space of another passenger.
I’d just get up, give the Emotional Support Animal my seat, walk back to the galley and explain to the Flight Attendants why I no longer have a seat.
I have a great lawyer and after he’s done with the airline I suspect I’d have a few free treks to / from Europe along with a bit of cash to pay him (the lawyer).
And the next thing is to get MY OWN emotional support animal, to wit: A full grown African elephant. That would teach the airlines a thing or two (or three, or four).
I’m confused, if the dog forced the man to drink 40 screwdrivers, how did the dog hold the shot glasses in his paws?
I just star sneezing uncontrollably. My coffee accidentally spills near the dog. My water spills on the dog. I am allergic to dogs. I can go into anaphylactic shock. They consider “accommodating” me as well. I need emotional support too.
So much alcohol, at altitude?
Impressive, but dehydrating.
Clearly a high tolerance for one thing, but not another.
How about the airlines just replace the support dogs with a double dose on Xanax. the dogs go in the hold and the owner is out cold for the flight. Problem solved.
F-yuck that!!! I’m very tall and need every inch of the space under the seat for my long legs and size 13 shoes. Frankly I don’t care if it’s called a “service animal” or an “ESA”, that does not give them any rights to my space nor force me to accommodate them! When entitled pet owners use the service animal ruse to try and expropriate another passenger’s paid for space that’s not happening. It’s the airlines responsibility to accommodate these people and their pets without infringing or disadvantaging other passengers!
There is no excuse to drinking that much, except alcohol dependency. Sorry.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought Delta stopped allowing emotional support animals. Any kind of dog other than a service dog is supposed to be in a carrier case for the duration of the flight.
The reality here is that the guy is an alcoholic. That said, airlines need to start letting people buy an extra seat for their dogs, any dog, as long as it is leash trained and housebroken. And for the people who are going to screech about allergies, real service dogs are allowed despite “allergies.”
@James Thurber – you wouldn’t win any lawsuit. Read the contract of carriage and understand you aren’t promised a specific seat, let alone your own space. Seriously. Also, Federal law makes it VERY difficult to sue airlines. Most go to arbitration and few ambulance chasers want to get involved in that.
Gary – you must hate dogs. That makes you are pretty bad person IMHO. Frankly I’d rather have the dog at my feet than obese passengers (seen your photo Gary) invading my space.
I wonder if an airline would allow MY 2 emotional support animals, a pair of spitting cobras. Or I could switch to a pair of black mambas. I promise to fill out the paperwork ahead of time!
The airlines should be allowed and forced by the DOT / FAA to disclose an unenclosed animal being seated adjacent as soon as the animal is booked.
They should also be allowed and forced to advise at booking that the animal must not encroach on the legroom beyond the seat purchased for the safety of the other passenger.
The DOT / FAA can come to agreement on whether extra seats should be offered in advance with a discount or at the same price, or something like the Southwest obese policy.
In fact similar policy should be enabled for pax who are beyond the size of the seat.
And we have regs forcing us to put away a 4 pound laptop for takeoff / landing because it could be dangerous to other pax.
How is a 5 pound or larger dog not just as dangerous if not more given so many are heavier.
BTW the UK has specific accreditation required…
An assistance dog has been trained to provide support to a person with a visible or non-visible disability or medical condition. These dogs are able to travel safely in the aircraft cabin on a British Airways flight. For your assistance dog to travel with you, they must:
Be trained to assist with a disability or medical condition by way of specific tasks.
Have been assessed as suitable for those purposes by an accredited member of Assistance Dogs International (ADI) or the International Guide Dog Federation (IGDF) to comply with the requirements of the UK Government, specifically the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). This does not apply to direct flights to and from the United States of America.
Have had behavioural training and show appropriate behaviour in public and on board an aircraft.
It’s incumbent on the facility (in this case the airline) to accommodate the “service dog” and not the customer/passenger. Enough of this nonsense for entitled cheap pet owners. I’m a dog owner and I would not do that to even people I may not like . . . which could be just about every passenger on the airplane. Who am I kidding . . . the airport.
Oh BTW a miniature “service dog” (I know it was a service dog because it had a Service Dog vest on) was using the DFW TB Admirals Club. AA y’all need to charge dog as a guest.
Just think of the size of the support animal Jae’lynn Chaney would have !! It would demand a whole row to itself !
On American Airlines, passengers bring their emotional support pets by completing the service animal paperwork to receive a fee waiver. Some dogs fly so much, I believe they would be an designated as a dog executive platinum elite and earn miles if their owner was required to pay for dog air travel.
Come on folks. Do you think maybe the number of screwdrivers is hyperbolic to show frustration?
@Gary Wow 15 comments deep and not one from a never poster about how mean you are to those in need, despite you saying: “There are real service animals, and animals that passenger call service animals.” I assume they’ll flood you soon enough.
“Emotional support animals” aren’t allowed by US DOT Rules: “a service animal means a dog, regardless of breed or type, that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a qualified individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Animal species other than dogs, emotional support animals, comfort animals, companionship animals, and service animals in training are not service animals.”
As of January 1, 2024, if requested prior to the flight’s departure, the traveler must be given a bulkhead seat. In the terminal, airlines must provide animal relief areas.
A plane is not a car or a bus. If someone is so ill that they need an animal to travel with them, then they should not be travelling on a plane. It can’t just stop anywhere on a request to get them help. We can’t have peanuts because so many people have allergies but someone can put a cat right next to me. Enough is enough, perhaps we need some new legislation to protect other peoples rights? By the way I love animals, but I’m allergic to them.
You don’t own something if you can’t defend it.
Airlines are selling the same space twice when a passenger plus anything he needs space for onboard exceeds the nominal space available.
This goes for overweight passengers, passengers reclining their seats, passengers with emotional support animals, passengers spreading into other passengers space.
If the airline won’t enforce boundaries/limits then the victim/passenger has no defense and should pay nothing. Not yours if you can’t defend it.
Move your dog or I’ll move your head from its shoulders. Your choice.
Considering the source (Reddit) and the claim (40 screwdrivers), why do I find this to be not credible?
No doubt since I follow the author. He hates animals. He hates people with disabilities. I have a disability (90%) medically certified for which I travel with a service dog. He is ADI certified and trained. I have to admit that I do not travel in coach so my travels for me and fellow passengers are not an issue. Furthermore do travel on long flights a lot with him 10+ hours and that is when yo see the difference between an animal trained properly and those that are just fake. His preflight routine is very strict. On 10+ hour flights no food 24 hrs before and 12 hours before no liquids. And believe there is no base of any kind on doing so. My lasts two cents on allergies I am allergic to certain fragrances perfumes so being allergic to dogs peanuts etc are not the only allergies.
@ Retired Gambler, I have to ask, why does not liking dogs make you a ”bad person”? I grew up around dogs, but they have a lot of traits that can annoy people (barking, licking, smelling, etc), and I understand 100% that some people dislike or hate dogs.
Anyway, I would be livid if another passenger took up my leg space on a flight, regardless of why (service dog, obese, large bag, …). I don’t travel coach and if I’m forced to (looking at you SAS for only offering Y+ intra Europe) I always book emergency exits or bulkhead, and still find it super cramped.
Next year I’m moving by plane, and it will be my 13-lb dog’s first time on a plane. Not an ESA (well, all dogs are, but that’s beside the point). The cabin pet fee isn’t much less than a second seat, and I SO wish I was allowed to do that rather than drug her up and stuff her under the seat. I’d rather sit next to a strange dog than most of humanity anyway.
Ugh. Sigh. It’s all part of the decline of everything. Some people sure have a nerve. Thought all majors put a stop to a carry on mutt.
Katie. That’s why you’d rather sit next to a dog.
Lukas. What you said.
The solution is to get shoes with dull spikes on the outside. The dog will relocate so as to not press against the spikes. Of course it would be a better solution to move to an open seat if there are open seats to move to.
JDCA, please tell me what perfumes set you off. I’ll be sure and lather it on when I sit next to you and your pooch. I’m allergic to dogs, you’re allergic to perfume. Fair tradeoff? Inconsiderate idiot!
Totally unacceptable. If I paid for the seat, it’s my legroom.
@DFL
I AM allergic to animal dander. Touching the clothing of someone who recently pet a dog gives me hives, swollen eyes, and asthma.
It’s about respect. Everyone needs accommodations of some sort. If I complain about a dog, I’m afraid I’m the one who will miss my flight, rather than the fake support dog.
My daughter got severely ill on a cross country flight recently…by the end of the flight, she felt like she couldn’t breath, even though she used her emergency inhaler. Turns out there was a cat in the next row.
I’m so tired of some people being “accommodated” because of fear of lawsuits, while others are ignored – all I want is a seat not near an animal.
Good lord why is the blogger being accused of being a dog hater? Sheesh
I don’t want anything in front of my seat in the aisle
Not a baby not an animal a reptile ,shopping bags etc
The reason why carry ons go in overhead bins or under the seat is for safety
And if you hit turbulence your beloved pet is going to be injured buried or a permanent part of the ceiling or worse die.
Anything in the aisle is a potential hazard and for many others a nuisance
Put all love aside for the moment
“Emotional support animal” is a non-existent term, it doesn’t have any legal meaning. This is yet another instance of entitled narcissists encroaching on other people’s rights and trying to get the world to revolve around them. If you can’t understand the difference between a dog that has been trained to recognize traffic lights and lead a blind person — and a simple pet, you don’t qualify to have a say in this matter.
40 SCREWDRIVERS?
If the Airline Stewards and Stewardesses would learn to not over serve Alcoholics for the almighty dollar, there would be a lot less stories in the news! They create the environment!
Besides, at Airline prices, that was a very expensive Tab!
@James Thurber
Are you descended from THE James Thurber? Your writing displays a touch of the master’s absurdity!
Why is cramming a large dog in a small space for 10+ hours not considered animal abuse?
If that situation wasn’t remedied by a FA, I’d lay my feet on that dog like an ottoman. Push it to the left with my feet every 15 secs. Probably kick it every 10 seconds, and say, “Oh, excuse me, I’m claustrophobic, I have to stretch my legs”. Wouldn’t tolerate it.
Yeah, airplane travel is terribly difficult, for everyone. 40 screwdrivers? The crew allowed one passenger to drink ’40’ alcoholic beverages? BS. Service animal? I would’ve asked the owner if the dog could rest his head on my leg (and are there any treats?)… Good Boy… Good Passenger… Go to sleep. Never thought I hear about a male Karen.
Wow… 95% of you are AH. Service animals are considered medical equipment. (Sad as that is) Would you deny someone an O2 tank? It can alert someone to their low blood sugar or oncoming seizures etc. You all are saying people who need service dogs don’t deserve to fly. That they need to risk their lives by putting their service animal in the hold. Talk about entitled. If you have allergies ask to be sat away from the animal. Don’t expect people who need their animal to not be allowed to fly.
@ Retired Gambler, people impose their habits and lifestyles on everyone else without any consideration. We just left a hotel where there clearly had been a dog. People bring them to hotels and then allow them on the couch or the bed, and that is not only inconsiderate to others, but also unsanitary. Keep that behavior to your own home and not a public place that others have to use. Calling it out doesn’t make one a bad person. It makes the animal owner inconsiderate.
If someone can’t get on a plane without emotional support, they shouldn’t fly. A true service animal, of course is fine, but also shouldn’t interfere with other passenger’s space.