New AlaskaAirlines Pet Policy: Cats & Dogs in Cabin to HI for $100 (buy, restaurant)
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Jaenenoa,
Just curious, why is it so important to you to have your dogs at the wedding? I love my dog and since I know that flying would cause a great deal of stress on him, there is no way I would take him with me unless I was making a permanent move.
Yes, Dthraco is right to bring up his opinion, and it is his right to notify the airlines he doesn't like the policy and it impacts his choices. I do agree with jaenenoa however, that his reaction is overblown (he had several unprompted posts about it before jaenenoa joined the conversation) in light of the actual evidence. So his attempt to protest this policy and encourage others to do so looks petty and selfish, given that it makes other people feel better and he hasn't shown any evidence of it really being a burden on himself, other than perhaps having to change seats. If asthmatics or allergy-sensitive people seated at the other side of a plane with a single pet under a seat have any uncomfortable reaction, that would change this argument.
WAIT WAIT WAIT. You are mis-quoting me. I stated a sarcastic comment about cat feces early in a flight as a joke. That was my first post in this thread. This post was just after jaenenoa's post.
I am not protesting the policy or the airline, I just don't think the policy will last. Not because of pets being in the cockpit, but because of what happens when the plane lands. SOMEONE is going to have to make sure the pet goes from the cabin to the processing facility. So either they have to take the animal from you when you deplane, or they physically escort you to the quarantine area. If they take it from you at the gate, this could work. If they have to escort you to the quarantine area, you have to walk outside the terminal and then between Hawaiian's terminal and the main terminal. Either way, it's added overhead that Alaska Airlines will have to incur with the time it takes for their staff member to ensure the animal is checked in. $100 is a bargain for what they will have to do.
And just for the record, I do sympathize with the idea, it's just not practical.
Listen all I want is for my pooches to make it to hawaii safely with me. I will be in hawaii for 3 months following my wedding and I dont have any relatives in Vegas to dog sit. This would be IDEAL for me .... seriously arrest me for wanting this to work out for my situation. I realized Whether you guys think it will work shouldnt phase me because the whole goal is to bring my dogs to Hawaii.
and NO pacificflights, i do not work for an airlines, how boring. Im a registered nurse, so calm it down.
I am not protesting the policy or the airline, I just don't think the policy will last. Not because of pets being in the cockpit, but because of what happens when the plane lands. SOMEONE is going to have to make sure the pet goes from the cabin to the processing facility. So either they have to take the animal from you when you deplane, or they physically escort you to the quarantine area. If they take it from you at the gate, this could work. If they have to escort you to the quarantine area, you have to walk outside the terminal and then between Hawaiian's terminal and the main terminal. Either way, it's added overhead that Alaska Airlines will have to incur with the time it takes for their staff member to ensure the animal is checked in. $100 is a bargain for what they will have to do.
The process is (excluding Service Animals) is upon arrival in Hawaii, all animals are to be in their crate and removed from their owners. Upon landing and before the door to the aircarft is open, they the air crew must accout for all animals on the aircraft and ensure they are in an area that prevents them from being removed. Ground crew will remove them and take them to quarantine where the owners can claim them. The exokainaton sounds simple but in practice, can be a headache for the airline.
Many airlines dound that during the final approach, thats when the cabin crew is doing the most work and have little time to deal with getting a crate from some passenger. Sometimes even if they do get the pet, all it takes is that cat or dog to start making noises or barking or crying and the owner comes a running wanting to comfort the animal. This means more work for the cabin crew as they not only have to deal with their normal duties but now a pasenger who is out of their seat during landing. If they forget to collect the animal before landing, they have to scramble through passengers who stand the second the plane stops to get to the passeneger and retreive the animal. They could so as some did which was to literally screen the departing passenegers for the pet until they get it.
All these thing are a headache but none so much as when the last passeneger departs and there is no animal. The procedures are failrly strcit on what happens next and fortunetely all have been accounted for or whereabout sooner or later found and the quarantine process followed, but its not a pleasant thing for the airline or cabin crew.
If Alaska is limiting this to only one animal, they probably can deal with that without problems since thay already have service anaimals in the cabin 9although their quarantine process is different). The biggest concern is that no matter what the airline has as a policy and their arrrival process, there will come a time when a passenger will try and get over and thats when the problems start to happen. One common thing is those with regular pets see those with Service Animals leaving the plane and think they should have the same rights.
Overall, there really isn't much that will cause heartaches or headaches for the airlines and the cost is minimal. But, make a mistake and thats when they discover how bad things can be.
One common thing is those with regular pets see those with Service Animals leaving the plane and think they should have the same rights.
Yes, and if you recall, there has also been a problem in the past where people falsely claimed their pets were service animals to try and skate past quarantine requirements and have them in the cabin. Fortunately they've clamped down hard on that scam.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PacificFlights
Overall, there really isn't much that will cause heartaches or headaches for the airlines and the cost is minimal. But, make a mistake and thats when they discover how bad things can be
Agreed. Hawai'i IS a special case, which is why in-cabin pets were disallowed before. I'm a long time high-miler on Alaska, so I can see I'm going to have to register my extreme displeasure with this change, and remind them of the health issues this creates for other passengers.
Aha, OpenD does have a dog in this fight (I know, bad pun and even worse metaphor): I was willing to bet you had loads of miles with Alaska. Otherwise, you'd just switch to Hawaiian if having absolutely no pets was that important to you. But you still haven't told us exactly what the problem is: is having one pet far away in the cabin a health risk to you? You talk about "health issues" this creates for "other passengers" and you have mostly "extreme displeasure" at the change.
There were others too (Dthraco and Pacific Flights) who were encouraging complaining to the carriers, but haven't responded to why it is not a problem for in-cabin pets that currently fly on mainland routes. That seems to be the hole in their argument.
Also, I'm surprised at Pacific Flights calling someone a shill. People get emotional over their pets, and this is obviously the case. My wife was like this for a week trying to get our cats in the cabin again, calling every airline until she realized their policies had changed over the years. I don't think you need to look any further than that, and it looks bad when you do just because you disagree with the person.
Otherwise, you'd just switch to Hawaiian if having absolutely no pets was that important to you.
There were others too (Dthraco and Pacific Flights) who were encouraging complaining to the carriers, but haven't responded to why it is not a problem for in-cabin pets that currently fly on mainland routes. That seems to be the hole in their argument.
Actually Hawaiian allows pets in cabin flying from Hawaii.
I've been flying with dogs in cabin and cargo to and from Hawaii since the new quarantine law. I have had DOA people meet me on the ramp to collect my dog and they have told me that they do not have a problem collecting the pets. IT IS NOT their rule about where pets fly. I have been escorted over to quarantine and driven over. They don't even care if pets fly together. One airline allows me to fly two pets together to Hawaii but NOT on the return flight. So much for aloha spirit. It is not that hard to check for animals as people are filing out. I would have no problem with restricting flights with pets to at least one a day if they'd do the same with children WHO don't pay extra for their travel even though they weigh more and take more space than a small dog/cat.
But you still haven't told us exactly what the problem is: is having one pet far away in the cabin a health risk to you?
Unfortunately there's no guarantee that there will only be one, nor that they will be far away. I learned that the hard way, on a very long trip. Once was more than enough.
There were others too (Dthraco and Pacific Flights) who were encouraging complaining to the carriers, but haven't responded to why it is not a problem for in-cabin pets that currently fly on mainland routes. That seems to be the hole in their argument.
WHEN EXACTLY DID I DO THIS?!
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. It is not that hard to check for animals as people are filing out. I would have no problem with restricting flights with pets to at least one a day if they'd do the same with children WHO don't pay extra for their travel even though they weigh more and take more space than a small dog/cat.
