Let me start this by saying that not ALL airlines are troublesome about flying with a service dog. When I flew on United, they could not have been more polite, and they were very helpful.
Continental was quite the opposite.
We flew cross country to visit my parents. This was my first flight with a service dog, so I’ll admit I was a little nervous. After all, Hudson highly disliked and feared trains; how would he react to something even bigger and noisier?
I was expecting some trouble with Hudson. I was not expecting trouble with the airline – after all, they are a major corporation in a field that regularly handles service animals. I thought they would be well educated on the rights of a service dog handler. My mistake.
Things started going wrong the day before our flight. I called Continental and told them that because of my disability, I required a seat in a bulkhead row, and needed one for my care assistant as well. I was told that they weren’t available, but under section 382.38 (A) (3-4), the airline is required to have such seats available to PWDs. ABs in those seats are to be moved if necessary. So, strike one.
When we arrived at the airport and went to check in, Hudson was wearing his harness – a large, bulky leather harness that bears some resemblance to a horse’s saddle, with a handle sticking up from it and patches on it that clearly lable him as a service dog. According to the law, this should have been enough evidence that he was a service dog. Instead, I was also asked for an identification card, and when I showed that, I was further asked for a letter from my doctor! Now, in the case of an emotional support dog, the airline does have a right to ask for a letter from the person’s doctor. HOWEVER, in the case of a dog who assists with a physical disability, the airline does not have any right to any medical information. The Air Carrier Access Act requires that personnel be trained to be able to “distinguish among the differing abilities of individuals with a disability.” Now, to me that sounds like they should be watching for signs of what the person’s disability is. A large supportive harness like that and a girl leaning on it most of the time suggests a physical disability, no?
Anyhow, I informed her that she had no right to such a letter, and she called over her supervisor who agreed that such letters were only needed in the case of emotional support dogs.
We went to our gate, and then I realized that I really ought to take Hudson somewhere to do his business before the flight. I had forgotten when we checked in. So I asked the gate agent if there was somewhere that I could take my service dog for that purpose. The gate agent told me I had to go back out to the entrance of the airport, let my dog do his business, and come back through security. This, too, may have been incorrect, though I did not know it at the time. The resources I’m seeing online seem to contradict each other on whether or not I had a right to a relief area nearer to the terminal.
A minor nuisance – Continental boards its frequent flyers before PWDs! The reason to board us the very first is that we often are slower and more awkward at getting our things put away and ourselves set up for the flight. Some of us need more space to maneuver. About 1/4 of the passengers were already on the flight when we got on. Quite counter to the purpose of having us on first!
So then we got on the plane. After the service cart went through, I went to the galley to ask if I could get some more to eat. I was starving. She gave me a sandwich, and went looking for the other item I asked for. When she came to my seat to give it to me, she informed me that my service dog had to remain at my seat if/when I got up and moved through the aisle. Um, NO. WRONG. An emotional support dog would have to, but I have a right to have a dog who is supposed to physically assist me with me at all times. It is for my safety, after all. To be completely honest, I was too shocked and upset to fight with her right then.
We get off the plane to make our connection in Houston. As we rushed across the airport to get on our second plane, we were stopped by the gate agent and once again asked for a letter from my doctor! When I explained that I did not have one and they had no right to ask for one, the gate agent called her superior and asked if they needed a letter for an emotional support dog. Now, why she decided Hudson was an emotional support dog, I do not know. She certainly didn’t ask me! Nor did she pay attention to the fact that my boyfriend was lugging all of both of our carry on luggage, and I was leaning on the dog. I of course corrected her, and her superior once again agreed with me, so we were let on to our flight.
Now, if only ONE of these incidents had occurred, I would have brushed it off as ’shit happens’. However, this cluster of things happening feels far too much like a problem with the corporate culture to me.
So I called to complain about the treatment. I was told by the customer service person that it was their standard operating procedure to ask for a doctor’s note. She said that because they had not, in the end, prevented me from boarding, they did not believe there was a breech in service. So sorry that I was upset by the whole thing, of course.
I do so hate when people tell me that they did nothing wrong and are sorry I was offended. No. Placation tends to make me furious. Which is to say, the chat with customer service is the point at which I ended up really mad.
The flight back was much better. We were on a different airline, United, which was ever so much better. Hudson’s harness was accepted as enough proof that he is a service dog, which is as it should be. They told us when we checked in that we ought to have told them we have a service dog…because we would have automatically been put in seats that have more room, like bulkheads, and they would be more ready to assist us. We were asked if there was anything they could do to make our flight better. The gate agent even changed our seats on the second flight to the bulkhead row! If it doesn’t have too much effect on the price of my flight, I will definitely choose to fly United from here on out!
As for Continental, well…I am considering filing a complaint with the proper authorities, and will do so if I am dissatisfied with their internal management of my complaint.
Sounds like a good reason to stay away from Continental!
Sorry your first flight was so difficult. I’ve never flown Continental, but I’ve found many other airlines to be just as bad. I have 2 airlines that I love and I’ll go out of my way to use them. I will add though, that the quality of the airline’s service depends very much on what airport you are in. Some airline staff will be great at one place, and horrible in another.
As far as relief areas go, the airport is not required to put them in any specific place, they are only required to have one available. Airports were supposed to consider the input of local service dog groups in deciding on their placement, but the majority of the relief areas I’ve seen that have been put in place under the changes to the ACAA have been outside the terminal. It’s inconvenient, but still an improvement on having none at all.
I would say go ahead and file a complaint. I don’t know if you’ll get much out of it, but if enough people complain, eventually things get done. If nothing else, you may find some personal satisfaction in filing the complaint. Remember that at the airport you can demand to speak to the Complaint Resolution Officer to resolve any disputes. Chances are they’ll try to keep you from doing this, but it is your right to do so. Also, during regular business hours, you can call the Toll-Free Hotline For Air Travelers With Disabilities at 1-800-778-4838. It’s basically like the DOJ hotline for the ACAA. Also, having a copy of the ACAA with you with the relevant parts highlighted to show airline employees never hurts. People tend to back down when they realize you know what you are doing.
Before I got Hudson, when I was just dealing with the disability, US Air was great. As I mentioned in my entry here, my experience with United was very good with Hudson along.
I’d've used the hotline, but I was able to make the people asking for doctor’s notes back down and I was halfway through my flight when I had to deal with the flight attendant.
I am definitely looking into filing a complaint. Fortunately for me, my service dog organization is very supportive through that process.
By the time you got to the part where you were talking to customer service, my own blood pressure was up! Myself, I’d file a complaint, just to vent. You should do whatever is best for your peace of mind. But oh, this stuff makes me mad. I’m actually most pissed out the policy of boarding the “important” passengers first. It’s totally irrational, and it totally shows the value system that prizes money over humanity.
I’m grateful for your blogging. My husband and I both live with relatively subtle disabilities. He has a paralyzed arm (noticeable in that the muscles are atrophied) and lots of invisible neuropathy from a rare autoimmune disorder, MADSAM – similar to Guillain-Barre, but normally progressive unto death. It’s a form of chronic peripheral nerve degeneration. His system got rebooted through chemotherapy for Hodgkins lymphoma, however, and he hasn’t had a relapse of the disease. I’m dealing with some oddball condition that was first pegged as probably MS, then as atypical Graves disease plus some mysterious undiagnosed X factor … I have fatigue, dizziness, some minor vision problems, muscle weakness, and sometimes mental fuzziness, which leaves me mostly functional as long as I can rest enough. That works in the summer – not so much during the school year, when I have teaching responsibilities.
These are relatively minor issues, compared to your situation, and so I can’t say I know at all what it’s like to walk in your shoes. But I do know how it feels to have a disability that requires explanation. Some people are great about it; others, not so much.
I’m glad that you’re writing and getting the word out about invisible and rare disabilities. You’re smart and articulate. I hope a lot of people will read you, and I just added you to my blog reader.
Do you know the blog Three Rivers Fog? It’s written by a woman your age who’s dealing with chronic pain. You may already know her work; if not, you might check it out. You share a lot of concerns even though you’re dealing with different disabilities, and you seem to have a similar sensibility – intelligent, reasonable, but also politically aware and assertive.
I think that what you’re dealing with sounds like the complications I had added in to my disability due to the secondary fibromyalgia. I tire easily, and losing far more function than ‘normal’ people do when I get tired. It’s been hard for me to balance the need to rest with actually getting things done, though I do better now than I did at first. I did in all seriousness attempt to go full time at law school during my 1L year. Anyone who’s been through 1L will tell you that it’s got a viciousness that far exceeds most other kinds of school.
Three Rivers’ Fog is new to me, thank you for pointing me her way!
~Kali
It’s terrible that things like this happen. I flew with my ex husband and his guide dog numerous times a year, and at least 2-3 we’d have issues like this. Complain, because most people don’t, or can’t and they need to know this isn’t right, it’s the only way things will change.
I’ve complained to Continental, and I’m still trying to decide whether I want to make a formal ADA & ACAA (Air Carriers Access Act) complaint.
I’ve flown Continental once since I started using a wheelchair (well twice if you count that it was a roundtrip thing). Based on my experience, I’m actually surprised by the problems you had. I was traveling with a friend who was also a wheelchair user (and in one direct her father as well) and Continental was very good about pre-boarding us and putting us in bulkhead. There was someone with a dog that I suspect was an emotional support dog (the woman said she had fibro, but the dog was so tiny that I can’t easily imagine it being a service dog) on our return flight and they didn’t seem to hassle her at all.
The rundown of airlines I’ve flown with since becoming a wheelchair user (I know not the same thing, but I suspect airlines that are good with wheelchair users are more likely to be good with service animals):
Southwest – many times, very good experiences. I know some wheelchair users who refuse to fly any other airline
United – wasn’t impressed. I think they pre-boarded me, but they were very insistent that I not push myself through the Philly airport during my connection
JetBlue – perfectly fine
NWA – generally good. I had some minor issues that weren’t strictly disability related when I flew them on my way over in June that I’m really firmly blaming on the Delta merger
KLM – generally good.
BMI Baby (UK discount airline) – fine
Continental – see above
EasyJet – Mixed. Still not sure if I can blame them or Charles de Gaulle for the problems I had there in 2008, but the one time I flew them solo (from Copenhagen to Stansted) I had no problems at all.
SwissAir – no problems from the airline
British Air – I like them UNLESS I’m flying through Heathrow. In Heathrow (at least in terminal 4) they have a “special assistance lounge” that they force even self-propelling chair users into and it’s a whole mess. (When I was there last it was relatively new and an incredibly mess and they nearly made me miss my flight home because people were so stupid about it when things went wrong)
Hmm, yeah, that is a bit odd that they do so well with ‘chairs and did so poorly with Hudson and I.
It really felt like there was a corporate culture problem specifically with the service dogs. The first person I spoke to on the phone said that it was standard procedure to ask ANYONE with a service dog for a doctor’s note. The fact that not only did 3 of their agents mishandle us, but that their customer service defended that action….that speaks to problems far deeper than an individual to me. Their procedure needs to be addressed. It should not be the standard assumption that any service dog is an emotional support dog.
I don’t remember for certain, but I think it was Continental that I had a problem with the flight attendants telling me they couldn’t assist me with putting my baggage in the overhead storage, I had to ask a fellow passenger. Chance it was another airline. Before now, my preference has been for US Airways, as they’ve been the best to me when it was just me.
~Kali
you should contact the folks at consumerist this http://consumerist.com/5030632/delta-makes-woman-with-muscular-dystrophy-crawl-off-plane got a lot of press
I’m just gonna post this here b/c I don’t think there’s another ‘good’ place to put it… Of course, if you already know these things, just disregard.
One of my relatives is getting the whole extended family into using nothing but non-toxic, nature-based products in our homes. It started when he docs thought she had MS, and once she got all her store-bought products out of the house her symptoms disappeared. She’s since done a ton of research and found that a lot of non-mainstream sources are saying that some conditions can be caused and/or exacerbated by toxic chemicals in the home and on/in the body. She’s found a complete line of products with prices comparable to the standard products, but without the nasty crap.
The stuff we’re getting into is a direct sale company, but don’t worry about that part. When you have time, just do some research on household chemicals and see if you think there’s anything that might relate to some (obviously not all) of the trouble you’re having. Some of it shocked the hell out of me, like the contends of Johnson’s baby washes.
I would draft a letter to Continental and point out the contrast between how you were treated on United, and tell them that while, as their cs reps said, ultimately it worked out, obviously you prefer to go with the airline that rolls out the red carpet. With the industry struggling for customers as a whole, the notion that they are losing future business because their reps don’t know what the difference between emotional and physical necessity is and also don’t think of the comfort of their disabled passengers may push them to change their ways and their training.
I just read about your experience with Continental, and I’m not the least bit surprised. I don’t have a service dog myself, but I have flown with my own personal dog under the seat in the cabin many many times. I almost always fly American because my dog is on the large side of the carry-on weight, and they fly the largest planes cross-country. One time we chose Continental and it was a horrible experience from start to finish. When we went to check in we were told the dog could not travel with us and as we contested it nicely the situation escalated. At the end we had a woman at the next checkout stand getting involved and she went so far as to accuse us of abusing our dog by flying with him. We called when we got to our destination and they refunded us our return ticket and we flew back on American. Never again will I fly Continental- I personally think they have issues with animals.
>There was someone with a dog that I suspect was an >emotional support dog (the woman said she had fibro, >but the dog was so tiny that I can’t easily imagine it >being a service dog) on our return flight and they didn’t >seem to hassle her at all.
FYI, a SERVICE dog can be any size or breed. I myself am paired with a Chihuahua. The definition of a Service Animal is one that is individually trained to perform a service that mitigates the handler’s disability. The key is training. Altho he’s tiny, my little guy can retrieve things for me. He gets my pills for me when I ask, or when he senses that I need them. DOWN WITH SIZE-ISM!
>It really felt like there was a corporate culture problem >specifically with the service dogs. The first person I spoke >to on the phone said that it was standard procedure to >ask ANYONE with a service dog for a doctor’s note. The >fact that not only did 3 of their agents mishandle us, but >that their customer service defended that action….that >speaks to problems far deeper than an individual to me. >Their procedure needs to be addressed. It should not be >the standard assumption that any service dog is an >emotional support dog.
I totally agree, Kali. I think a big part of the problem is the whole invisible disability thing. Very few people would go thru the trouble of dragging a wheelchair around just so they could bring their dog on a plane. But it wouldn’t be hard to carry a cane or some crutches to look disabled. I think people automatically feel sorry for anyone in a chair, but tend to look with suspicion on those of us who appear able bodied. After all, no one WANTS to be in a chair. But lots of people would like to bring their dog with them everywhere they go. It seems to be an unfortunate part of human nature to bristle at someone who’s getting “special” treatment. The old, “How come SHE gets to have her dog and I can’t?” thing. Goes all the way back to kindergarten.
PS–I’m pretty sure Continental doesn’t allow ANY dogs on flights, even in cargo.
Thank you for reminding me that service dogs come in all sizes. The reason I was suspicious of her dog being a service dog was that most (obviously not all) of the services I know of being done for people with fibromyalgia really require a bigger dog – things like assistance with walking and balance, which a dog needs to be able to counterbalance you. It’s comparatively rare for a small dog to be a service dog as opposed to an emotional support dog, but you’re right, it happens. Being as much of an exception as I am, I should know better than suspecting that an exception I see isn’t real!
Yeah, the invisible disability thing is terribly frustrating. Even a chair doesn’t ‘protect’ me, I’ve found. People assume that, since I’m healthy looking generally, I must be some kind of a malingerer. Worse, I think, since I began to put on weight. Especially when I’m in a ‘chair or an electric cart at an airport, I almost always get glares. Don’t get me started on the way people look at my handicapped placard, especially when I get out and seem okay until I get Hudson out.
I’m surprised that you had so many issues even after you showed them a service dog ID card. I don’t know what these guys want. You shouldn’t even have to have ID but I know for a fact that the airlines won’t just take a verbal assurance that your dog is a service dog any more. You better have some sort of proof and the more the better.
Sounds like a case of someone looking for things to complain about. What the poster describes is not that much of an issue. As someone with a severe disability myself, it is my responsibility to NOT act like others have to give me special treatment. Life is much more enjoyable when you do that. Having a challenging and threatening tone of entitlement like the person who posted this makes matters worse. You are upset they asked for a doctor’s note? Big deal. Leave being upset for the real transgressions.
Actually, what I was asking for was to NOT be given special treatment. To be treated like every other passenger on the flight who wasn’t asked for a doctor’s note. To not be hassled about my medical condition.
There were only a few instances where I expected ’special treatment’, and most of those were defined by law – a ‘rest area’ for my service dog, bulkhead seating, and access to my service dog at all times. The expectation of boarding first, as a person with a disability, is both logical (in that I need more time to get settled, particularly with Hudson) and common industry practice.
Now, about my tone. You know what tone arguments are, right? A way to shut people up when they complain about valid issues. Google ‘tone argument’ and you’ll see dozens of people discussing this issue.
Furthermore, I was perfectly polite to every employee I interacted with. I was firm about being given my rights, but polite. This is, however, my blog and place of personal expression.
Defining some transgressions as ‘real’ and others as ‘not real’ is likewise a way to shut people up. It may not be a ‘real’ transgression to you, and that’s nice, but I like my rights and I do view impinging upon them as being a ‘real’ transgression. Whether you choose to defend your rights or not is your issue, not mine. Historically, ignoring “small” infringements on rights just lets people know they can get away with bigger ones. I don’t care to give that impression to anyone.