anglophile

Last night I took the 6:45 from DCA to MSP. I was with my girlfriend and we were in 5B and 5C on the A320, I believe. We were among the last to board, and when we sat down we noticed that the bulkhead divider, floor, and part of the seats were covered with dog or other animal hair.

First, it was just sort of gross. Second, my girlfriend is mildly allergic to dogs and I was concerned that it would make her uncomfortable throughout the flight. Third, our under-seat bags would soon be covered in this hair.

I thought it was pretty reasonable to at least bring this to the attention of one of the flight attendants. When I did so she reacted as if I had insulted her firstborn - saying that it wasn't her job to clean the plane and that there was nothing she could do.

I am Delta Silver (Skyteam Elite) and absolutely know that I am not entitled to any upgrades on NWA. However, I noticed right in front of me that there were a few seats open in F (on an otherwise pretty packed flight). I asked if there were any seats up front and she looked at me as if I were trying to weasel into heaven and said that "dog hair is not a reason to get upgraded to first class."

The door had closed but she said she would call someone and see if they could come and clean it up (the door was closed - of course they wouldn't/couldn't without further delaying the flight). But she was kind enough to go up to the front galley and badmouth us to her fellow flight attendants (turns out that her voice carried rather easily back five rows to where we and others observing in disbelief were sitting).

Finally, after watching all of this ensue, I was frustrated and a little embarrassed that the FA had made such a big deal of it. She came back in a huff and said that my girlfriend could go to a seat by herself in the back of the plane if she wanted - which my gf declined because she wanted to stay with me. Maybe that was an appropriate offer - it was the manner in which it was handled that was so abrasive.

It was just such a bizarre situation - am I totally unjustified in seeing this as unacceptable? Would a request for some compensation be reasonable (for something more than the lint rollers that we used heavily when we got home)? What could be expected?

nwdc10

I for one whouldn't ask for anything on this, nor would I expect you to get anything in return. While I completely agree with you that "dog fur" is not acceptable to be left on the A/C, nor do I agree with the FA's attitude, I think that asking for a seat in FC is what set her off. Again, not making excuses for her attitude, but I am sure FA's are used to all kinds of reasons why a coach pax says they should be put in FC.

FWIW, I am VERY allergic to cats and have actually had cats removed from the FC cabin as a result on flights that I have been on. Either the cat was checked in to the hold or the PAX got off with their cat and took a later flight. Personally, and I am a dog lover, I don't think the cabin of an A/C is anyplace for a pet.

Bigpops

I see no reason to expect compensation. You could write to TTU and relay your story, but I would not expect much. It has been discussed many times here that NW FA's can get fired for upgrading passengers on thier own. I believe that the option for your GF to move to the back of the plane was fair. As for the FA's comments to her peers I would suggest that you could use the TTU feature at NWA.COM and provide specific feedback to the company.

tev9999

Wild guess, but being as it was a bulkhead there could have been a seeing-eye/service dog there on the previous inbound flight. If it was a pet it would have to be in a carrier and of pretty small size - and probably would not leave behind noticable fur.

Perhaps since I have two large dogs that shed I don't see this as a big deal. I would be much more bothered by crumbs in my seat or gum under the armrest. Nothing a lint roller or piece of duct tape could not take care of.

I agree you should not have gotten the upgrade. They did give her the option of moving if it really was an allergy issue. I am sure you could have found people in row six happy to switch with you for the bulkhead too.

notsosmart

I think that since there are people with allergies to pet hair, pet hair should be removed after each flight. Even if a full clean-up job can't be expected after each flight, the F/As on the previous flight *should* have notified ground staff that a more thorough cleaning job was needed because of the presence of a service dog/whatever.

As for the F/As attitude, it's par for the course these days, unfortunately. You'd be unhappy too if your boss kept reducing your pay and making your job more miserable.

JTMSP

Send an email to TTU. Tell your story, emphasize the complete lack of respect from the FA while talking about you to her coworkers, and don't ask for compensation. You will more than likely get some apology miles for the lack of respect from the FA, and nothing for the dog hair.

We need to be proactive with reporting the bad apples. The new FA contract is through 2011 and that's a long time to put up with this surly behavior.

That being said, I've had only good experiences with FA's so far this year. Maybe I'm just lucky, but hopefully it's a sign of the future.

peachfront

I don't know what to think. I actually do have an allergy to animal hair dander. So when offered the seat away from the doghair further back on the plane, I would have accepted it. By not accepting it, your girlfriend gives the appearance that she complained not because the hair bothered her but because she truly was trying to scam a first class seat. Lots of people have allergies. Most of us work very hard not to make our allergies everyone else's problem. When you cry allergy and then take an action that makes it apparent that the allergy is not bothering you, then you make it harder for the rest of us. Not cool.

anglophile

I guess I will have to work hard to be cooler. Again, she has a mild allergy and didn't know when we initially sat down how bad it would end up being. Maybe I should be happy that she chose sitting next to me despite the potential discomfort

Thanks for the other responses. The response of the FA was definitely the most offensive element here - and the idea that a seeing eye dog could have preceded us was enlightening - I hadn't thought of that and frankly, it just makes me realize how grateful I am for my sight.

climbermom

Were these cats on the plane without NW's knowledge? If not, I don't understand why they should be removed or their owners forced to take a different flight -- in essence, involuntarily denied boarding.

peachfront

It is just my opinion but I feel that the severely allergic person's right to fly in the cabin trumps the right of cats to fly in the cabin, since the cat does have the alternative of going in cargo. Especially if the allergic person is also asthmatic. If you fly with an animal, you need to be flexible. That said, I have never asked a cat to be removed from my flight, and if it were a service animal (a dog) and I was having a severe reaction, I would be happy to let the other pax take the current flight as long as I could be accommodated later or in another part of the aircraft. However, my allergies can be controlled by medications. I have known people with allergies that are so severe they cannot be fully controlled in the presence of the allergen. I think when you are talking about a human health issue, people of goodwill should be willing to work things out. A person who is willing to harm another person's health in order to get somewhere a little sooner...well..that is not a person of goodwill by any definition, so I guess that is why we have to have FAs or GAs or whoever to referee. Northwest never sends any warning in advance that an animal will be in the cabin. I find out when I board the plane. As I said, I take my allergy medicine with me, and it works. But if there is a person who boards with a severer reaction, then there needs to be a fair way to accommodate them so their health is not harmed.

peachfront

The FA was doing her job, and if I were the FA's supervisor, I would stand by her decision, which was the right decision. Bottom line: your girlfriend was not interested in getting away from the "allergen," she was trying to get something she wasn't entitled to. I don't see how an objective review of the story could lead to any other conclusion. Your girlfriend didn't even try to make it look good by moving to the rear or swapping with someone in another part of coach. Nope, nothing less than first class would do! What is anyone of intelligence supposed to think? All you are going to do by complaining about the FA is to make yourself look even more unreasonable than you already do.

How can it be fair to file a complaint with someone and try to make trouble with their job over something like this? Has your girlfriend ever seen a doctor for her "mild" allergy? Does she take and carry the needed medications? Because untreated allergies are not sources of "potential" discomfort that "might" happen, they are active causes of real ongoing distress. You do not get to say you have a "mild" allergy merely because you think it makes you sound more sensitive. It is a real medical issue. And I don't appreciate people faking medical issues to get their way. In younger days, I have had reactions so severe I could not open my eyes. I'm not interested in hearing about someone who thinks they may have a mild allergy that might cause them discomfort at some time in the future if they are not placed in first class...or, then again, it probably won't.

I support the FA's right to be firm with scammers and fully agree that "dog hair is not a reason to be upgraded to first class." No one is obligated to kiss the rear end of a con artist. If your girlfriend made a mistake, she made a mistake. Fine. It still doesn't mean that the FA was wrong to be firm.

rjque

A bit over the top, no? To me, it looks like the GF has a mild allergy and wanted to get away from the allergen and potentially get a better seat out of the deal. When that didn't work out, she decided to stay put and deal with the allergen. No big deal until the FA decided to be rude.

Definitely send something to TTU about the FA. People like that have no business in a service job.

rjque

This was added while I was typing the above post. All I can say is . . . wow. Asking for something to which one is not entitled in no way makes that person a "scammer" or a "con artist."

yogimax

I do believe the cat's owner had to pay a fee to NW to have the cat onboard. As such, the cat had a right to their space. If I were the FA, I would have moved you to the back of the plane

tev9999

At the risk of this degrading into an omni type debate, I have to disagree. If the cat is in a carrier, meeting all of the airlines regulations per the contract of carriage between the owner and airline, FAA regulations are followed, etc - I think it is the person with allergy issues to accommodate/take another flight. An airline does not have to transport a person that is not medically fit to travel, and I could easily see where this could be interpreted as a potential severe allergic reaction - be it to a cat/dog, someone's perfume, ragweed in MSP, the peanut butter sandwich brought onboard by the person in 5A, etc.