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From the People Magazine Picture, the amount of carry-on's she had is way over the top. One wonders if she paid the $125 Pet Fee or was trying to avoid paying for it and just was "Sneaking" the dog on.
I would think the Pet Fee would be noted on the passenger manifest.
If the carrier was to big to fit under the seat infront of her or her kid (The 2nd kid was probably a Lap Kid) Due to other stuff already under them, then it blocking the emergency pathway. And Something need to be removed.
If the FA "knew" there was a dog in the carrier, and they could not arrange everything quickly they should have de/plained them, and let the Ground Staff handle it.
"... during their flight, an attendant insisted that the woman put her dog, which was held in a TSA-approved pet carrier, in an overhead bin for the rest of the flight."
That sounds like they were already in the air when the dog was put in the bin.
The owner did not willingly allow the dog to be put there. What could she have done? If she created a scene and refused, I suspect the news article would have been about the flight being diverted to the nearest airport and her being removed from the plane and arrested.
If she tried to "check on" the dog, what would the FA have done? If she did take the carrier down and open it, what would the FA have done? If she found the dog in distress, what could have been done? Ask if there was a vet on board?
This one is all on the FA, as United has stipulated.
Edited to add:
From the PEOPLE article apparently the bag was put in the bin before takeoff. The dog owner did tell the FA there was a dog in the bag, according to another passenger quoted in the article.
Last edited by suzy_q2010; 03-13-2018 at 07:37 PM..
How about a punching bag/emergency oxygen area for people whose blood pressure rises to the boiling point/stroke likelihood if anyone says they need an Emotional Support Animal? check
You could take your pick of Balto, Snoopy, Marmaduke, Scooby Doo, Beethoven, Lady or the Tramp, Pongo and Perdita, Old Yeller, etc... whatever soothes your nerves, otherwise you'd fly another airline or have a legitimate service dog fully trained and show authentication.
From the People Magazine Picture, the amount of carry-on's she had is way over the top. One wonders if she paid the $125 Pet Fee or was trying to avoid paying for it and just was "Sneaking" the dog on.
I would think the Pet Fee would be noted on the passenger manifest.
If the carrier was to big to fit under the seat infront of her or her kid (The 2nd kid was probably a Lap Kid) Due to other stuff already under them, then it blocking the emergency pathway. And Something need to be removed.
If the FA "knew" there was a dog in the carrier, and they could not arrange everything quickly they should have de/plained them, and let the Ground Staff handle it.
If there was just too much stuff, why not put one of the other items in the overhead bin, not the dog? I cannot tell from the photo how much there was. The stroller would have been checked at the gate.
The few times I've taken United, it has been an average or even pleasant time. I suppose for most of the millions of people United flies it’s the same.
United needs to get its employees under control. These horrible PR catastrophes will be the death of them.
Looks like a Frenchie or some kind of brachy dog. This is likely the reason it died. The bins are not airtight (they can’t be). It is well known that flying with a brachy breed is very risky, even in the cabin. If the passenger wasn’t aware if this basic fact, it is no surprise she was’t versed enough to know the rules and advocate for her dog. What a shame.
"... during their flight, an attendant insisted that the woman put her dog, which was held in a TSA-approved pet carrier, in an overhead bin for the rest of the flight."
That sounds like they were already in the air when the dog was put in the bin.
The owner did not willingly allow the dog to be put there. What could she have done? If she created a scene and refused, I suspect the news article would have been about the flight being diverted to the nearest airport and her being removed from the plane and arrested.
If she tried to "check on" the dog, what would the FA have done? If she did take the carrier down and open it, what would the FA have done? If she found the dog in distress, what could have been done? Ask if there was a vet on board?
This one is all on the FA, as United has stipulated.
Edited to add:
From the PEOPLE article apparently the bag was put in the bin before takeoff. The dog owner did tell the FA there was a dog in the bag, according to another passenger quoted in the article.
It would appear that we have conflicting news reports. Regardless, the overhead bins are not airtight. No dog should have suffocated from being put in an overhead. I would suspect that the stress, combined with the dog's breed (pug type, with breed breathing issues), created a "perfect storm" situation.
Personally, I think the F/A was doing their job. And they probably feel just as sick about the outcome as the neighboring passengers. As for the owner, blaming the owner is in bad taste, is illogical based on what we know, and is just plain flat-out mean spirited.
United has a habit of throwing its employees under the bus. They apologize, toss a few thousand Points or Dollars to shut the complainer up.
My "Guess" is the FA was doing the final pre-take off walk thru the cabin and saw the bag blocking the emergency pathway in front of the seats, and told her to move it to the overhead. By the time the passenger might have said something the FA was 3 or 4 rows further down the plane.
Unfortunately we only get one side of the story, UA will do it internal investigation, but we will never hear that part of it.
The few times I've taken United, it has been an average or even pleasant time. I suppose for most of the millions of people United flies it’s the same.
United needs to get its employees under control. These horrible PR catastrophes will be the death of them.
No friggin' kidding...THIS IS ABSOLUTELY DEPLORABLE!!!
YES, I am one of the people on the rampage about fake "emotional support animals" but incidents such as this just feed into that problem. People don't feel their pets are safe flying unless they are on their person and sadly they are often correct!!!
Absolutely no excuse for the lack of training and common sense on the part of the flight crew.
Wow...just wow.
My heart breaks for that little dog and it's family.
Who the hell lets a flight attendant put their dog in an overhead bin?
And what kind of idiot flight attendant thinks you can put a dog in an overhead bin?
At least United took full responsibility right off the bat.
Someone who assumes the flight attendant knows what they are doing and assumes they are taking appropriate action...that's who!
Such a shame and inappropriate to blame the owner for trusting the judgement of the flight crew.
Last edited by SoHoVe; 03-13-2018 at 09:20 PM..
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