Moved for a dog carrier
 

I am probably late on this but I flew before Christmas in paid F and was caught off guard in a unique situation.

After boarding the gate agent came down the jetway and came specifically to me, asking if I would move up to the bulkhead row because the person seated there had a dog carrier. Now I realize the answer should have been “thanks for asking but no” however I was glad not to be caught in the meltdown with Southwest for instance and Delta had let me move my family’s flight two times for free with the weather so I was feeling generous.

Unfortunately I had no idea how embarrassingly little space the A321neo has on the right side of the cabin row 1. And this was a long flight on the new SEA-FLL I specifically booked for nonstop on a nice new plane. By the time I moved the dog owner was already coming in the door. My mistake.

Now what bothers me is that when I moved to
this flight, and as long as I could see the seatmap seat 1C was vacant. I checked and the waitlist didn’t show anyone clearing into F (with a LONG list). So is there any chance I was asked to move from
a paid seat so a non-rev and their dog could sit in First? Otherwise someone changed flights or didn’t select a seat til they got to the gate even though traveling with a dog?

I guess just putting this out there for discussion, would you have said no? Would you expect compensation for agreeing to the move under the circumstances? Or would you just hope you paid it forward to help another traveler get where she needed to be for Christmas? Looking forward to the responses!

As this was an ask, not a demand, it is up to you. Same as if a pax asks you to switch.

As far as the seat you were moved to being vacant on the map, not sure what you think that means. Clearly somebody deserved to be in it, as there were upgrades available. For all you know the GA upgraded the last pax into F only to find out they had a dog. Then tried to fix that by asking if you would move. No reason to see "Sheena" here,.

I know nothing about the seats on this plane, so I have no opinion on if I would switch.

EDIT: I would not ask for nor expect compensation. You agreed to help somebody, that is good karma.

I have flown in bulkhead F seats on Delta's A220 and A321neo. Both have a pitiful amount of legroom.

There's always the possibility of shenanigans, but Christmas IROPS that displaced a paid passenger seem more likely.

Happened on another airline, employee with dog hadn't listed for first class, but got seated there anyway (I think GAs thought they were doing her a favor). She wasn't allowed to ask if she could switch seats with anyone and was about to have to get off the plane because she couldn't fly in the bulkhead. I heard what was going on and volunteered to switch. Was it as comfortable for me? No. But the discussions with her were delaying the departure and who knew how much longer we would be delayed if she had to get off the flight. So for the best of all of us, I volunteered.

SEA>PDX sure. SEA>FLL 2,717 miles no way.

Agree the A220 bulkhead is terrible, so is the 738 which I had the misfortune of being battlefield upgraded into recently. And I'm only 5'7".

Fair opinion!

I mentioned the seat being vacant on the chart because it wasn't someone who had booked the seat in advance with a pet.

Yea, I am 6'2" and seated upright my toes were pressed against the bulkhead, I would have had more space in economy (at least I got my first meal choice since pre-orders on the A321neo don't work). The left side of row 1 on the A321neo has more space & foot cutouts under the closet, which the right side lacks. I just didn't realize how bad a switch I agreed to until it was done.

Sounds like a similar situation, hopefully your flight wasn't as long! Thanks for sharing.


Yea, it is a long flight! One of the reasons I was glad to finally have Delta on it and not AS/AA with no IFE, and at least a bit of privacy in the new seat design.

I'm going to get flamed for this, but here goes:

This incident is another reminder of why dogs do NOT belong in the passenger cabin.

It's unfair of dog owners to expect passengers to change seats with them because of their dogs, just as it's unfair of passengers to have to endure poorly trained dogs barking, relieving themselves inflight, and / or biting other people.

With the exception of professionally trained seeing eye dogs and support animals, all dogs should either (1) be put in the cargo hold, or (2) left at home - NO EXCEPTIONS!

The real issue is that Delta, for some reason, decided to make 25% of the first class cabin on their brand new, flagship plane unusable by making the leg room in Row 1 worse than almost any other seat on the plane.

Most passengers are generous and would gladly move to an equivalent seat in this situation. The problem is that Delta effectively downgraded you without you knowing (most passengers assume, rightly, that all F seats are equal instead of what Delta has done on this plane).

If I were you, I would have tried to get an improved seat (either in F or in C+), and asked for compensation. Nothing against the dog owner here, the fault is with Delta

I'm starting to remove myself from upgrade lists in certain situations due to these bulkhead seats. I'd much rather sit in C+ sometimes (especially if I get an empty middle seat - rarer these days, but still possible). You still get free drinks and the snack basket. Delta's F meals aren't good enough to care about right now.

I’m not a plane guru so please forgive me but is A321 as bad in row 1 as the most recent comments have indicated? I have an upcoming flight of 3+ hours and got upgraded to FC row 1.

I tend to agree with you. We were on a flight on Christmas day and a pet owner thought it was a good idea to walk the dog up and down the aisle, mid flight - this is ridiculous. Also on a flight in FC where a dog owner sat next to a person who told the FA she was allergic to dogs. They asked the women who was allergic to move... she said no, make the dog owner move. They moved the dog owner to Y class and she left in a huff. In general, dog and cats out of carriers sitting on laps - not acceptable behavior. Get it under control Delta

You will survive a 3 hour flight. Bulkhead A321 or A220, while a little cramped on legroom, is not as bad as 1A/1D on 739.

Hopefully wasn't a service animal. (ESAs are no longer a thing on planes) Made wrong person move if was service animal.

Animals are not supposed to be out of carrier (except for service animals)

Though this happened on Delta, of course it is generic issue. I'm sorry for the OP.
First, having an airline agent ask is not equivalent to a passenger request. Passengers have equal power. There is coercive power when asked by an airline employee, both perceived and in fact.
Second, the agent should know that you were being asked to move to an inferior seat and offered something up-front for your trouble. Don't know Delta but an $X00 travel voucher would be appropriate.
Third, I agree with the prior comment that dogs do not belong in the passenger cabin unless they are performing essential service such as aiding a blind or visually impaired person and are officially trained for such service. Otherwise, into the cargo area.