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Dog dies on IAH-LGA after FA supposedly insisted pax store dog overhead

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Dog dies on IAH-LGA after FA supposedly insisted pax store dog overhead

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Old Mar 13, 2018, 5:44 pm
  #136  
 
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Originally Posted by Xyzzy
Yea - I get that United accepted responsibility. United is clearly wrong in the FA insisting on this. But I can't understand the wners just going along with the dog in the overhead and leaving it there the whole flight. I would think most people bullied in such a manner would at least want to check on their pet.
One of the oldest psychological truisms is that people are sheep. We are all conditioned to social norms and follow other's behavior. Exacerbated by the "bystander effect".
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...llow-the-crowd
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect
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Old Mar 13, 2018, 5:44 pm
  #137  
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Not excusing UA or its FAs, but people need to stop bringing fido on every trip. Yes, there are some circumstances (i.e. moving long distance) when you don't have other options but there is no need to bring fluffy on your vacations - pet will be happier at home. Assuming this is not a fake ESA though you never know and if so then not much ES support from the overhead.

UA is lucky that the animal did not urinate or defacate - I don't think I would react well if a drip starts midflight over my aisle seat.
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Old Mar 13, 2018, 5:47 pm
  #138  
 
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Originally Posted by guv1976
UA's own policy requires that live animals in carrier bags be placed underneath the seat in front of the passenger. Period.

https://www.united.com/web/en-US/con.../in_cabin.aspx
i just cannot believe the FA would have said stow the bag up top if they knew there was a dog in it. But also another reason to stop letting pets in cabin.
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Old Mar 13, 2018, 5:49 pm
  #139  
 
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Originally Posted by Ber2dca
I like how some people basically say that the demand is so asinine and stupid that the owners are at fault for not refusing the demand. Now even if the owners' conduct wasn't ideal - and it clearly wasn't - the root problem here is a borderline criminal level of incompetence on part of the FA.
I'm no lawyer, but it wouldn't shock me if there's a pet equivalent of involuntary manslaughter on the books. If it were an infant, not a pet, I think there may well be a manslaughter case against the FA. So it may indeed be criminal. Certainly huge compensation from the airline, the FA loses her job, and the FA probably faces a large personal fine as well, assuming there isn't some mitigating factor we don't know about or something factually incorrect about the facts as we know them.

I said (and think) that there may be some criticism of the pet owner both for traveling with too large a bag and not fighting the FA's instruction. But no doubt this is overwhelmingly on United (certainly the FA, and the check-in and/or gate agents probably bear some responsibility as well); it's their job to catch passengers who are trying to fly with anything that shouldn't be on board. And certainly I'm not suggesting that the passengers have any legal or criminal liability, in case anyone misreads what I typed to suggest that!
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Old Mar 13, 2018, 5:49 pm
  #140  
 
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Originally Posted by mduell
If the pet carrier doesn't fit under the seat in a manner safe for both the humans and the pet, FA should have DB'd the pax?



Soft sided, may be hard to tell.
Not so hard to tell....the soft size limit is 11" high....bag looks that or less in the pictures...and they say it can be more than 11" if it will crush down to 11" which this one would clearly do..

And for those that say the dog should have been ok in the overhead anyway....there is probably some lack of O2 there, increased heat in a confined space, and what if the mesh side of the carrier was jammed against the side of the overhead or another bag blocking the flow of air.
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Old Mar 13, 2018, 5:50 pm
  #141  
 
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Originally Posted by ashill
Perhaps obvious but contradicted by witness descriptions of the incident.



I'm sure that no one who knew about the dog realized the overhead bin would be deadly. But it's shocking to me that the flight attendant, when told there was a dog, didn't know it was against policy and FAA regulations (even without getting to common sense).
i haven’t seen any evidence that the FA knew there was a dog in the crate, so I disagree with your characterization of the evidence.

Should have known, perhaps, which is prob why UA has taken responsibility. But I doubt we are dealing with a complete psycho as an FA
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Old Mar 13, 2018, 5:51 pm
  #142  
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Originally Posted by mduell
If the pet carrier doesn't fit under the seat in a manner safe for both the humans and the pet, FA should have DB'd the pax?



Soft sided, may be hard to tell.
Well, UA has different maximum dimensions for hard-sided and soft-sided pet carriers, so presumably UA thinks a ticket agent can take the necessary measurements. And if a particular carrier does not fit under a seat, I don't see any alternative to off-loading the animal and its owner, since it is against UA policy for an occupied carrier to be placed anywhere else.

https://www.united.com/web/en-US/con.../in_cabin.aspx
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Old Mar 13, 2018, 5:51 pm
  #143  
 
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Originally Posted by txaggiemiles
i haven’t seen any evidence that the FA knew there was a dog in the crate, so I disagree with your characterization of the evidence.
See the New York Times article I posted in #119.
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Old Mar 13, 2018, 5:51 pm
  #144  
 
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Originally Posted by Xyzzy
Yea - I get that United accepted responsibility. United is clearly wrong in the FA insisting on this. But I can't understand the wners just going along with the dog in the overhead and leaving it there the whole flight. I would think most people bullied in such a manner would at least want to check on their pet.
UA learned some lessons the hard way last year and immediately responded with an apology to defuse the situation in the (social) media, but didn't go as far as saying the FA made a mistake. Their statement says that they are investigating who had put the dog in the overhead compartment and why.

The NYT article further states that "the airline declined to comment on what role, if any, its personnel may have played in the decision to put the dog in the overhead compartment.".

Originally Posted by ashill
See the New York Times article I posted in #119.
I disagree that the article provides any evidence of this accusation. They clearly state that UA is investigating the case. The only "evidence" they provide is the (sole) witness who started this story on social media as well. The owner of the pet wasn't interviewed, nor was the FA.

Last edited by mozilla; Mar 13, 2018 at 5:57 pm
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Old Mar 13, 2018, 5:55 pm
  #145  
 
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Originally Posted by txaggiemiles


i haven’t seen any evidence that the FA knew there was a dog in the crate, so I disagree with your characterization of the evidence.

Should have known, perhaps, which is prob why UA has taken responsibility. But I doubt we are dealing with a complete psycho as an FA
How many witnesses does it take to convince you? More than three? Or will you only believe something with your own eyes?

Last edited by WineCountryUA; Mar 13, 2018 at 6:12 pm Reason: discuss the issue;not the poster(s)
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Old Mar 13, 2018, 5:55 pm
  #146  
 
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Originally Posted by ashill
See the New York Times article I posted in #119.
i missed the part of that article where they interviewed the FA and determined what was in his/her mind at the time of the incident in question. Can you point me to it?
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Old Mar 13, 2018, 5:56 pm
  #147  
 
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Originally Posted by Troopers
It's unreasonable to think mom's purse/bag is in overhead bin. Is there any lady that puts their purse in a bin?
Not if the choice is dog or handbag
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Old Mar 13, 2018, 5:59 pm
  #148  
 
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Originally Posted by txaggiemiles
i missed the part of that article where they interviewed the FA and determined what was in his/her mind at the time of the incident in question. Can you point me to it?
They didn't determine that, and one witness account clearly isn't definitive. But that is evidence that the flight attendant was told repeatedly that there was a dog in the bag.
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Old Mar 13, 2018, 6:00 pm
  #149  
 
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Originally Posted by pdxparse
How many witnesses does it take to convince you? More than three? Or will you only believe something with your own eyes?
I’m not defending UA. They are responsible. I’m defending the FA, as I choose not to believe that anyone in civilized society would want to kill a dog.

Last edited by WineCountryUA; Mar 13, 2018 at 6:14 pm Reason: quote updated to reflect Moderator edit
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Old Mar 13, 2018, 6:02 pm
  #150  
 
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Originally Posted by txaggiemiles


i missed the part of that article where they interviewed the FA and determined what was in his/her mind at the time of the incident in question. Can you point me to it?
HA HA HA! Of course - let's interview the person that caused this disaster and see what she has to say against a bunch of passengers that collaborate the story.

There is no backstory here. It's clearly documented, and a major PR .... up on an epic scale that United isn't going to be able to walk back.
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Last edited by WineCountryUA; Mar 13, 2018 at 6:15 pm Reason: Discuss the issue, not the poster(s)
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