narvik

I flew with our cat from AVP-ORD-PEK a few years ago, and then a few years later back on PEK-EWR.
She was under the seat in front of me ("kenneled"), and I am pretty sure most passengers didn't know she was there.

Never noticed anyone sneeze excessively

Pretty much impossible, as, like I mentioned, there was no way most passengers know where pets are located on the plane.

Aussienarelle

I agree that people should be washed and clean before boarding an aircraft - even if I have been working all day I will ensure I time a flight to ensure I have showered before joining a confined space with other people. I appreciate you are being over the top with some of these comments but people should be aware of overpowering perfume, cologne, body odor....

My question was how do I avoid sitting near an animal that may cause an allergic reaction.

Thank you. Sorry to hear that is the policy. I will now ensure I have an inhaler handy for all future flights - I just happened to have it with me due to a recent trip to very cold weather which can trigger an asthma attack and had not removed it from my handbag. I do not normally take it on domestic flights - lesson learned.

notquiteaff

Keep your eyes open and ask FA for reseating if you end up in the vicinity of the animal (pet or service). I don't have any known pet allergies, so as long as you have a reasonably similar seat, I would trade with you if it helped you.

narvik

Unless you asked the FA on EVERY flight: "Are there pets or service animals on this plane?", the allergy symptoms might not eventuate until well into the flight, where re-seating might not be so easy.
And asking only one FA the "Are there pets or service animals on this plane?" question might not give an accurate answer, which means you'd have to ask EVERY FA on each flight, just to be sure.

It really isn't practical, and the inhaler seems an easier solution.

JBord

No, UA chooses not to serve them. Feel free to bring your own on board. I don't personally know anyone with a peanut allergy, but I'm sure if they make an announcement not to eat them because of a passenger with a severe allergy, everyone would appreciate you honoring the request so the plane doesn't need to divert.

If they start handing out dogs at the gate or in flight, I'll be right there with you complaining.

But I agree, I'd much rather fly with peanuts than dogs!

notquiteaff

The OP asked how he/she could avoid sitting near an animal. I answered that. Doesn't mean it can't be combined with other measures (inhaler) that the OP may be familiar with (and didn't ask about).

AndyPatterson

Also, the problem OP had could have been caused by a pet on the previous flight sitting at or near his seat. Some dogs shed a lot and/or have a lot of dander.

After all, UA doesn't vacuum the seats/carpets that often!

nigos

Earlier this year I was seated in 1A on a PS flight. The person in 1B boarded with a small dog that was never in the carrier. The passenger across the isle in row 1 also had a pet that spent no time in the carrier - not even during takeoff and landing. Also the passenger across the isle took his pet to the "head" every 30 minutes - The dog with passenger 1B showed a constant interest in food on my tray and even took some of my meal when I was not guarding it carefully - the dog's owner was asleep at the time. Two other passengers in the front cabin had pets and I have no idea how many might have been present in the econ cabin. I wrote to the GS desk and included the official UA policy but UA said their hands were tied despite the following from UA's web site:

A customer traveling with an in-cabin pet cannot be seated in the bulkhead or an emergency exit row.
Two pets per flight are allowed in our premium cabins on select aircraft. Pets are not permitted in our premium cabins on Boeing 747, 757, 767, 777 or 787 aircraft due to limited storage space under the seat.
Four pets per flight are allowed in United Economy® on all United flights.
A customer traveling with an in-cabin pet in United Economy on Boeing 757-200 aircraft will need to be seated in a window seat due to limited storage space under aisle and middle seats.

The PS flight was on a 757, the animals were in row 1, there were at least 4 animals in the premium cabin - clearly UA does not follow their own rules.

blueman2

I was on a ps flight a couple weeks ago SFO-EWR with 4 animals in premium cabin. But I have no way of knowing which were pets vs service animals. These days, anything can be claimed as service animal, so who knows. I do not think this is any policy on number of service animals is there?

nigos

In the case I cited the animals did not have any indication of being service animals. Real service animals I understand i.e. guide dogs for the blind. Animals that provide "comfort" pose a more difficult problem. I think some people really need to travel with "comfort" animals but when the numbers approach 1 or 2 % of the population, I think we have a problem that needs to be addressed. Either our society is way too unstable or too many people are scamming the system. In any event the airlines need to set policy and follow that policy.

narvik

That's INSANE!!!

And completely different to my experience. I wasn't able to book business class (747 and 777) as per rules, seat was pretty much the best choice (for other passengers) as far as I could tell. Something like 25A or 43A on the 747 with no one in B or C.
The FA came to my seat pretty much as soon as I boarded and put me in my place about NOT letting the cat "out of the bag", so to speak. She was firm, yet appropriate. They all followed protocol perfectly and were VERY professional.

Goes to show, yet once again: United, consistently inconsistent!

nigos

I really understand how FAs can be inconsistent with their handling of UA policy issues. What really bothered me was the response from the GS desk where UA policy inconsistency should not be tolerated.

LarryJ

Here is the page on policies for travelers with special travel needs.

https://www.united.com/web/en-US/con...s/default.aspx

There is no specific policy on travelers with pet allergies. I would recommend calling the 24-hour accessibility desk at the number provided in the gray box near the bottom of the page. Passengers traveling with animals are required to notify United so they may be able to help you find flights that won't have animals on board, arrange for you to be seated away from any animals, or to change your flight if animals are present.

goalie

The only things I can think of are:

• If you spot the pet in the boarding are, you could explain your allergies to the gate agent agent and ask if they could tell you where the pet owner is seated so you can have an idea in relation to your seat and then if seated to close to you, as the gate agent if they could perhaps move you or the pet owner to a comparable seat a bit father/further away
  
• If you miss seeing the pet and its owner in the gate area and notice on-board, perhaps ask one of the flight attendants to see if they could re-seat you or the pet owner as noted above

Now as an aside, when I flew to DC to pick up my sister's cat and fly back to SF with HRH Courtney*, I was seated up front and I asked my seatmate if they were ok with Courtney as well as asking the F/A in first if she would check with the other pax in F as I would move to the back if need be

*the cat, not goalie-sis

Aussienarelle

Thank you for being willing to trade if needed.