The dog reportedly sat on the passenger’s seat for ‘the whole flight’
A passenger on a United Airlines flight was left stunned and furious after being moved from their seat to accommodate a dog.
Sharing their experience on Reddit, the passenger detailed how they were forced to relocate because a service dog, described as being ‘too large to fit on the floor,’ was allowed to occupy their seat on a flight from San Diego to Denver.
The passenger said they had to move seats for a dog
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“I boarded a flight from SAN to DEN and an enormous ‘service’ dog was sitting on my seat,” the passenger wrote.
They further added: “He was way too big to fit on the floor. The flight attendant was a few rows away and when asked if she saw the dog, she just shrugged.”
“My husband and I tried to resolve it with the passenger but there was no way that dog could fit under his legs in his window seat. Since we were told that it was a completely full flight, and the dog was taking my seat, I thought I was going to get bumped off the flight by this dog.”
The situation escalated when the flight attendant eventually managed to find an alternative seat for the displaced passenger. However, the passenger expressed disbelief that the dog was allowed to remain on their original seat throughout the entire flight.
“A United staff member came onboard and spoke to the passenger but the dog remained,” they said.
“Finally, somehow they located another seat for me. The dog stayed on my seat for the whole flight. Totally absurd that an oversized dog can displace a paying passenger from their seat. United needs to crack down on passengers abusing the ‘service’ animal allowance.”
Many online were equally baffled by the incident, with one person questioning: “How can someone be allowed onboard with a dog that big without buying an extra seat?”
Another highlighted airline policies, noting: “United’s policy is that service dogs ‘can’t be in the aisle or the floor space of the travelers next to you’. Also it is nasty to have a dog outside of a carrier sitting on passengers’ seats with his butt on the armrests.”
Yet another commenter added: “The gate agents carefully check the size my carry-on, but apparently they don’t monitor the size of people’s ‘service’ dogs! WTH?!”
According to the airline, dogs must be in the floor space
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The incident quickly ignited a heated discussion online, with people debating whether the airline’s handling of the situation was appropriate.
One person pointed out: “Service dogs are required to sit on the floor at the passenger’s feet. Not on a seat. This is for the animal’s safety since it can’t wear a proper seatbelt.”
Another elaborated: “As a disability lawyer, you need to start making mass complaints to the airline. They know that an SD has to be either: in the floor space and or under the seat in front of its handler, or the handler has to purchase a second seat. If the dog encroaches on another passenger’s foot space (or seat), the handler has to buy a second seat, and the dog can be IN the FOOT space of the their seat, and the 2nd seat. A non-lap dog can NOT be in the seat for takeoff & landing.”
Others insisted that the dog should not have been allowed to remain in the seat, regardless of whether the passenger was relocated or not.
United Airlines, on their official website, states: “Your dog should sit in the floor space in front of your seat. They can’t be in the aisle or the floor space of the travelers next to you.”