A Bunny. In a Bowtie. In First Class.
FlyerTalk January 16, 2020
In very important news, an adorable rabbit in people clothes flew on a first class flight from San Francisco to Japan.
Coco the rabbit was accompanying her owner Takako Ogawa on her move to Japan. Ogawa was starting a new job and couldn’t bear to leave Coco behind. We say “was,” because this flight actually happened back in late 2018. Why it took over a year for photos of Coco’s adorable trip to go viral we’ll never know but we’ll be grateful that they did.
To bring Coco aboard, Ogawa registered the rabbit as an emotional support animal and paid $100 to have her in the cabin. While Coco does have her own seat, Ogawa didn’t purchase it for him. They were lucky enough to find no one sitting in the seat so Ogawa let Coco out to enjoy the high life alongside her owner.
Ogawa was sure to OK it with airline staff first. “I thought it was super nice of the flight attendants to let her use the unoccupied cubicle next to me, and for bringing her treats throughout the trip,” she told Insider. And, once they were free to move around the cabin, several staff members came by to say hello to the small, well-behaved passenger upfront.
And, it’s worth mentioning that Coco was a model passenger. His owner Ogawa brought pet sheets along in case of any accidents but Coco did not make a mess. It may be because Coco knows that that’s something that you don’t do while wearing a bowtie in first class. Coco has flown in Y seats before. When Ogawa moved from Japan to San Francisco in 2015 Coco rode along for that flight too.
She even stayed in her own space and refrained from hopping around the rest of the plane although she did explore the pillows but only in her own cubicle. She also enjoyed a few other first-class perks like a bite of a complimentary nut and a little croissant. She also brought her own pellets on board.
[Image Source: Kennedy News]
I'm glad they mentioned that the neighboring seat just HAPPENED to be open. Otherwise I would be thinking, "I lost out on my upgrade because of THIS??"
Nobody ever mentions toilet accidents by animal in stories. At least they did in this story. Super cute but the rorting of ESAs is so wrong.
As I read this, it sounds like the animal was not really an "Emotional Support Animal" required to travel with her, but a pet she wanted to have at her destination. But, if it's it cute, it is OK? That is WRONG, and it shows how much the ESA thing is abused. If we are going to permit ESAs to not be subject to the general rules on traveling with pets, then their should be strict guidelines as there are for Service Animals. If ServiceAnimals have to be trained on how to act in public, ESA's should also have required training, for health and safety reasons.
So, she cheated the pet fee and we are ok because rabbits are cute, and like everyone's dogs are no longer pets but family members. Got it.
My 6’ 5” husband is my emotional support animal! He isn’t free.... we go up front...