"Emotional Support Animal" on my flight flies for free. Seriously?

 
Old Dec 17, 2012, 3:48 pm
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: PHL
Programs: Former long-time US GP; now AA dirt
Posts: 4,904
"Emotional Support Animal" on my flight flies for free. Seriously?

I'm presently on US 796, LAX-PHL. At the gate, one passenger was carrying a small dog. Another passenger asked, "How much does it cost to take your dog?" The dog's owner said, "There is no charge because she is an emotional-support dog. US Airways is very friendly about them."

So I researched what "emotional support animals" are; they are defined as an animal "which provides therapeutic benefit to its owner through companionship and affection."

OK, wait a second. Couldn't most pets be defined that way? Heck, couldn't most "significant others" be defined that way? How about a best (human) friend? It would seem to me that if people can skirt the $100 fee for bringing a pet on board by having a dog labeled "emotional support," then one could argue that a spouse/partner/friend should travel for free because, after all, those people provide emotional support, too.

To be clear, I love animals (I've fostered/owned ten dogs). But unless the dog is a true service dog, I just don't see how US allows "emotional support" animals to fly for free.

If someone is more knowledgeable about this subject, please educate me!
tommyleo is offline  
Old Dec 17, 2012, 3:53 pm
  #2  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Programs: US CP ; LH FTL ; *G
Posts: 1,630
Just call CS and ask what documentation they require for emotional support animal.
burlax is offline  
Old Dec 17, 2012, 3:56 pm
  #3  
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: AA EXP; 1W Emerald; HHonors Diamond; Marriott Gold; UA dirt
Posts: 7,779
Originally Posted by tommyleo
I'm presently on US 796, LAX-PHL. At the gate, one passenger was carrying a small dog. Another passenger asked, "How much does it cost to take your dog?" The dog's owner said, "There is no charge because she is an emotional-support dog. US Airways is very friendly about them."

So I researched what "emotional support animals" are; they are defined as an animal "which provides therapeutic benefit to its owner through companionship and affection."

OK, wait a second. Couldn't most pets be defined that way? Heck, couldn't most "significant others" be defined that way?
Depending on the stage of the relationship, they could be either an emotional support entity or an emotional distress entity.
IADCAflyer is offline  
Old Dec 17, 2012, 3:58 pm
  #4  
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: TYO
Programs: Tokyo Monorail Diamond-Encrusted-Platinum
Posts: 9,603
Originally Posted by tommyleo
"There is no charge because she is an emotional-support dog. US Airways is very friendly about them."

So I researched what "emotional support animals" are; they are defined as an animal "which provides therapeutic benefit to its owner through companionship and affection."

OK, wait a second. Couldn't most pets be defined that way? Heck, couldn't most "significant others" be defined that way?
"I'll be your dog!"
jib71 is offline  
Old Dec 17, 2012, 4:00 pm
  #5  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: PHL
Programs: Former long-time US GP; now AA dirt
Posts: 4,904
Originally Posted by ITRADE
Depending on the stage of the relationship, they could be either an emotional support entity or an emotional distress entity.
tommyleo is offline  
Old Dec 17, 2012, 4:24 pm
  #6  
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: The views I express here are not necessarily supported by any airline or codeshare partners, nor do I represent their views and/or opinions. They are my own OPINIONS dont like them dont read them.....
Posts: 1,462
The owner has to provide a doctors note. The airline can deny the animal under certain guidelines and the airline can require additional documentation as well as refusal of the support since it isnt a true "service" animal. The owner and doctor are liable for the animal in the event of an incident involving the animal. Emotional support animals are limited to those similar to service animals.
cwe84 is offline  
Old Dec 17, 2012, 6:01 pm
  #7  
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
Programs: US Chairman's Preferred
Posts: 237
Federal Law requires airlines to permit passengers with emotional support animals to fly with them free of charge. True emotional support animals are used as a form of therapy for people with disabilities. There are strict requirements. This is from the US Airways website:

Emotional support or psychiatric service animals

Please call 800-428-4322/TTY 800-245-2966 at least 48 hours before your scheduled departure if you're traveling with emotional support or psychiatric service animals.

To travel with an emotional support or psychiatric service animal in the cabin, you must provide documentation dated within one year from the date of the scheduled initial flight on the letterhead of a licensed mental health professional (psychiatrist, psychologist or licensed clinical social worker), or from a medical doctor specifically treating the passengers mental or emotional disability.

Documentation must state:

The passenger has a mental or emotional disability recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders -- Fourth Edition (DSM IV)

The passenger needs the emotional support or psychiatric service animal as an accommodation for air travel and/or for activity at the passenger's destination

The individual providing the assessment is a licensed mental health professional or medical doctor, and the passenger is under his or her professional care.

The date and type of the mental health professional or medical doctor's license and the state or other jurisdiction in which it was issued.

I can tell you that on the two occasions that I saw passengers in first class traveling with an emotional support animal, they were required to show the required documentation on the plane.

Last edited by finster869; Dec 17, 2012 at 6:10 pm
finster869 is offline  
Old Dec 17, 2012, 6:04 pm
  #8  
PHL
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: PHL, NYC
Programs: AA PLT, DL SLV, UA SLV, MR LTT, HH DIA
Posts: 10,035
I was on a UA flight a week ago where the passenger took his "emotional support animal" out of the small carrier (fit under seat). He was asked twice to put it back in because, while the animal can ride in the cabin, it cannot be removed from the carrier. He refused both times until the Captain came on the PA to let the whole cabin know that he was turning the plane back to Miami (we were over the Gulf enroute to Costa Rica) if the passenger did not comply. After a few scowling looks, he did it.
PHL is offline  
Old Dec 17, 2012, 6:41 pm
  #9  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: May 2001
Location: LAX; AA EXP, MM; HH Gold
Posts: 31,789
Originally Posted by PHL
I was on a UA flight a week ago where the passenger took his "emotional support animal" out of the small carrier (fit under seat). He was asked twice to put it back in because, while the animal can ride in the cabin, it cannot be removed from the carrier. He refused both times until the Captain came on the PA to let the whole cabin know that he was turning the plane back to Miami (we were over the Gulf enroute to Costa Rica) if the passenger did not comply. After a few scowling looks, he did it.
That wasn't an emotional support animal, because emotional support animals aren't carried in pet carriers. If it was an emotional support animal, then the passenger could hold the animal on his lap or the animal could sit on the floor. If the pet was in a carrier, then it was probably a cabin pet, and the rules prohibit removing a pet from its carrier.
FWAAA is offline  
Old Dec 17, 2012, 6:46 pm
  #10  
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: AVL
Programs: AA EXP ; Cunard Plat
Posts: 4,211
Originally Posted by tommyleo
...But unless the dog is a true service dog, I just don't see how US allows "emotional support" animals to fly for free. ...
If the Feds say "you gotta", what's US gonna do?

article link

(snip)
... Last November, ABC News reported that a 300-pound pot-bellied pig flew on a US Airways flight from Philadelphia to Seattle because the animal was deemed a therapeutic companion pet. ...
I can just imagine sitting next to a big pig for hours ... I'd probably be oink, oink, oinking by then too
kudzu is offline  
Old Dec 17, 2012, 7:11 pm
  #11  
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: PHL/EWR
Programs: AA, US, WN, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Plat
Posts: 1,528
Originally Posted by kudzu
If the Feds say "you gotta", what's US gonna do?

article link

(snip)


I can just imagine sitting next to a big pig for hours ... I'd probably be oink, oink, oinking by then too
For sure I would order a ham sammich.
BrlDsguise is offline  
Old Dec 17, 2012, 7:43 pm
  #12  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Sun Prairie, WI
Programs: AA Executive Platinum, HH Diamond, National Executive
Posts: 1,786
At least the dog wasn't lying in your feet in the bulkhead
WiscAZ is offline  
Old Dec 17, 2012, 7:57 pm
  #13  
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Washington, DC, USA
Programs: UA MM, MB LifeTit
Posts: 1,825
Note that the documentation requirements do not include anything about whether the animal has received any training, because it hasn't.

Last edited by EricH; Dec 18, 2012 at 6:14 am
EricH is offline  
Old Dec 17, 2012, 8:28 pm
  #14  
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Tampa, FL, USA
Programs: Former Dividend Miles Chairman's, Marriott Rewards
Posts: 1,122
Pigs can go...

Pigs can fly, so why not? http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=95...1#.UM_iLazBk0g
TPA us ff is offline  
Old Dec 17, 2012, 8:50 pm
  #15  
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: AA EXP; 1W Emerald; HHonors Diamond; Marriott Gold; UA dirt
Posts: 7,779
My wife worked at the Crystal Palace when this incident transpired.

Many lulz were exchanged amongst our circle of friends in the wake of this.

I actually think this article did the event more justice:

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/ar...d=2000_3253043

- "Mostly, everyone made jokes about what we were having for lunch - like BLT sandwiches," said the source.

- Squealing loudly, it madly ran loose through the aircraft and tried to enter the cockpit. It finally found refuge in the food galley, where it refused to budge.

- "It didn't smell, it was a clean pig," said a witness on board the flight. "It slept almost the whole time, like a pig in a blanket."
IADCAflyer is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.