WineCountryUA

It had one but got off the UA topic into the generic ESA topic

Great topic for another forum.

BF263533

I was on an AA flight in December and with the new close up seating I could smell the breath of a surrounding passenger the entire flight. In some regards I may have preferred a smelly animal since many of their diseases do not spread to humans.

Does another human qualify as a service animal? We are animals. Bring the service animal child and let them sit on the floor in front of you.

I have done a lot of discrimination law and disability accommodation issues, one issue that did not end up in litigation was where the service animal conflicted with a long established psychological disability where the individual was disabled for 32 months and had not left the condo and the proposed service animal in the condo next door was contributing to a psychological relapse. So if that proposed lease went through, the local Federal court would have decided the issue. They backed off the service animal.

Before I had several years of allergy shots about 20 years ago, a nearby dog could have created a health crisis for me. Now with my age, I lived a long enough life I don't care about the dogs, so if I might get sick from a dog and died, that is something that I do not worry about because I received for more in life than I ever imagined and every day I wake up is just extra cream. But I do understand the concern others may have, and something that people with dogs should consider.

Disability accommodation law needs to be more practical. Many people on the plane have a disability that can only be accommodated if there is no dog on the plane. If I were not retired I might have taken up the case of competing disabilities.

naumank

How about someone who becomes emotionally distressed when there is a dog sitting next to him/her? How about those who are allergic to dogs and cats? It goes both ways. What about the rights of the passengers sitting next to those people who claim to need emotionally supportive animals?

laxmillenial

If you become emotionally distressed because there is a dog sitting next to you or if you are allergic, you have the RIGHT to depart the aircraft prior to takeoff. If the ESA is on board the plane, the crew will most likely assume it is valid, and they have their hands tied.

Bring it up with the crew and you'll be taken off the aircraft. No one wants a costly medical emergency mid-flight.

It doesn't go both ways, sorry. You do not have the rights you think you have.

JVPhoto

Plane-is-home

Exactly! If you are afraid of flying take the train, bus, ship, or car

COSPILOT

I have two dogs, both are sitting here in my home office while I work. Both bring down my stress level when I'm having a rough day. I guess I could claim ESA status for both of them, and my doctor wouldn't blink to sign off on it, but they belong here in my home, not on the airplane with me.

JVPhoto

mapleg

No offense. I love dogs, but I am not a dog's mother or father. Only a dog itself can do that.

COSPILOT

Boxer and English Bulldog for us. Best dogs we have ever had. My wife insists on purebreds with papers for whatever reason, but I don't care as they are both good with our kids, and keep me company on conference calls when I'm home.

Kevin AA

If ESA's can be banned from a grocery store, why are they allowed on airplanes? An airplane is common carrier transport, which means, like a bus or train or ship, no one passenger has authority over anyone else, only the crew. We all know that, but my point is that the ESA people seem to have this attitude that because they need an ESA, everyone else has to step aside and walk on eggshells. Meanwhile, this same person can't go to the grocery store. Huh??? I guess one could order everything to be delivered, but realistically I think most people with an ESA still manage to go to the grocery store by themselves. After all, humans need to eat every day. Humans do not need to fly on an airplane every day, or every week, or every year, or once in a lifetime, or ever, for that matter.

laxmillenial

The distinction you're asking United to make is the difference between a "Support Animal" and a "ESA". Grocery stores CAN ban ESA's but cannot ban "Service Animals".

This is murky waters and United (and other airlines) are scared of lawsuits. What if they deny an ESA and a passenger starts screaming discrimination. I guarantee you that'll happen. They're trying to be delicate and right now the pendulum is swinging toward them allowing anyone who says the magic words of "ESA" or "Service Animal" without scrutinizing too much. Now that people are taking advantage of this loophole, the pendulum is swinging back toward asking these questions and scrutinizing. But it will take time.

TBH, we have no one to blame but ourselves. We (our human way of thinking and exploiting things and probably greed) caused this problem, not the airlines. And yes, I include myself, even though I don't own any pets/animals.

beachmouse

Differences between the ADA laws, which cover grocery stores, and the Air Carrier Access Act, which covers commercial plane travel.

kale73

Can you suggest which forum? The Travel with Pets forum would seem appropriate, but all attempts to discuss ESAs there have been discouraged.

WineCountryUA

OMNI ? As it has to do with public policy / legislative action.

TravelBuzz -- The Definitive Discussion of Emotional Support Animals on Airlines but wandering into Public Policy / politics/ .... is better in OMNI.

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And with https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...ff-1mar18.html the premise for this thread has been answer and therefore will be closed.

WineCountryUA
UA coModerator