Information necessary for in-cabin pet?
 

Hey all, I called AA reservations because a family member needs to transport a cat with them. It's an emotional support animal, but they intend to keep it in the carrier, which is airplane sized.

AA reservations made some notes in the PNR and said a special department would call me back to get more information. Any idea how far out they usually do this, and what information is necessary here?

About two weeks prior to the flights in my experience. They basically will tell you to have their Dr. complete this document and send it back to them: http://www.aa.com/content/images/generic/ESAN_Form.pdf .

So the emotional support it will be providing will be the sound of it screaming and meowing hysterically because it's locked in a crate? :confused:

When you said "pet" in the thread title, I think you got it right.

Sorry for the crass response, but bogus ESAs are a major "pet" peeve of mine.

I agree. While I'm not going to call the OP's animal bogus or not (we are in no place to know or judge), I will say that unfortunately the large majority of animals are probably bogus. The sad part is those that are abusing the system are messing it up for those that truly have legitimate needs.

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

I used to transport my cat cross country twice a year, in cabin, in a carrier. He never once yowled, cried out or anything else.

Whether you consider ESAs bogus isn't esp relevant to the OPs inquiry, the govt & AA recognize them - and that's really all that matters

wow, that's a BIG carrier. How do you put something that's airplane sized into an airplane ?

Fold it?

I didn't say I considered ESAs bogus. I said I had a problem with bogus ESAs. There is a Venn Diagram here. I fail to see how an animal locked in a crate can provide any support, and I also pointed out that the OP referred to the animal as a pet, so it made me suspicious.

IMO, if you have it documented, just tell AA it's an emotional support animal--they don't really need to know if you're putting it in a carrier or not.

Meow just give the Op the information they asked for without the side rebuttal. Ok meow?

isn't everyone's pet an "emotional support animal?"

I really wish they would put a stop to the fake emotional support animal nonsense... every time I see some idiot with a wildly misbehaving pet in the airport (with a supporting fake harness vest) it makes me sad... really really disappointed in the lengths some people will go to essentially commit fraud.

Anyhoo - I love this article on "support animals" from the New Yorker:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...0/pets-allowed

I'm getting myself an emotional support alpaca ASAP.

Great article in the link there.

I've always thought of this - and surprised nobody has brought it up in this thread or the others regarding animals on planes:
Do you really want someone who is so emotionally unstable that they can't live without <insert animal here> for a few hours on a plane at 35k feet? If they can't handle flying without the animal, perhaps they should not be flying.

Where's the TSA when we need them - they're sure to make up a rule about animals through the checkpoint and do what the airlines refuse to do. :D

TSA isn't tasked with deciding if animals can be on the plane.
Airlines charge fees to transport pets on planes
Airlines don't charge fees to transport support animals.
Are you suggesting TSA should care about whether or not someone paid to fly with the animal?

I am confused about why they would be keeping the ESA cat in a carrier under the seat, instead of holding it.

I consider ESA to be a specialized subcategory of pet; your classification may differ.

The person in question is travelling to stay with a relative for several weeks for the holidays, and did not wish to check the animal. She has procured a carrier which is sized to fit underneath an airplane seat.