Southwest claims it's surprised by protests about pets on planes

By allowing pets on their planes, the people at Southwest Airlines "are catering to the Paris Hiltons of the world," complains Pat Anderson. "When do we start paying attention to people and not the bottom line?" A baby's crying I'll put up with, but constant barking? No way. (Denver Post)

Comments

[Navy Chief]

Barking, dog fights, cat fights, dog/cat fights. Oh, right; they have to remain in their carrier. Never mind.

[stopeatingmysesamecake]

They should charge as much as a regular fare.

[USMerc]

My daughter is BADLY allergic to cats...She puffs up like a balloon, and it's really not a pretty sight...I can just see some schmuck with his kitty cat trying to tell me his cat has as much right to be there as my little girl....hehehe....AFTER he wakes up, he's probably see his cat being prepared for tennis racquets!!!!

[Paris Hilton]

When was the last time I flew on a commerical airline?

[joel]

I am a father of two and an owner of a pet, so where do you think I stand on this?...you're right...no kids or pets on planes. I am one of the rare breeds of parents who understands that my kids were f'ing annoying on a plane and, as their father, even I wanted them to drink a gallon of Benadryl and shut up. I can only imagine how annoying a dog on a plane would be, and USMerc is right, in close quarters, an animal allergy could be a big problem for someone.

If the airlines are so bent on servicing everyone, have a designated 'pet and/or kid flight' and a designated "only people over (insert age here)" flight. That way when you buy your ticket you know exactly what to expect.

[sometimesilie]

joel- Never happen, waaaay to sensible an idea...

[sometimesilie]

joel- Never happen, waaaay to sensible an idea...

[twerp]

heavy perfumes/lotions should be included on this list. And Eucalyptus...I have the worst allergies ever.

[MidtownCoog]

And don't forget the freaks allergic to nuts!

What a bunch of schmos!

[dobie]

I don't get why people are griping about Southwest now. A lot of airlines have been doing this for years.

[Phranqlin]

I thought airlines took care of the nut allergy issue by switching to pretzels.

Being seated next to a stinky, dirty, greasy-haired dude convinced me that airlines need to impose hygiene and cleanliness standards. Passengers who violate them must be hosed down on the tarmac before boarding.

[EV]

"And don't forget the freaks allergic to nuts!

What a bunch of schmos!"

Right. Because we all know they choose to be allergic.

Moron.

[MidtownCoog]

I secretly travel with nuts. You never know when my nuts are going to strike.

[zoom]

Southwest is just catching up with the rest of the big carriers. this isn't earth-shaking news.
I'd rather sit next to a barking dog than a screaming kid. Airlines need signs like at Disney World... You must be this tall to ride this ride.
Parents who think their little princess is "special" and it's "cute" for her to run amuck or stand on a seat and throw things should be jettisoned at 20,000 feet. Pop the kid a pill or leave it home. My cat is cleaner than their brat anyway.
Service animals are already allowed on the planes, are those magically hypoallergenic?

[openeyed]

This is just a public relations smoke screen trying to make up for the stupid security screenings we have now. Remember, we just had a five year old that was flagged as a possible terrorist.

[ChocolateDame]

I would rather fly with 100 cats & very over weight passengers than a whiny, crying, noise polluting baby any day.
Luckily I always travel with my well behaved dog top-side.
I would rather go in cargo instead of my dog.
BTW, I am severely allergic to pets & smoke...but thank gawd for allergy pills I have to take everyday.
I would happily pay a full fair ticket for my dog to travel on long distance flights :~)

[Soo]

Joel, I'm with you. Anyone who thinks their kid will be fine after waiting in lines, going through security, and then being trapped in a seat for however long the flight is, is too frickin' oblivious. I detest those parents on flights.

Each ticket holder is permitted one carry on, and I took advantage of that. One would be filled with snacks. One would be filled with small busy toys. One would be the diaper bag/spare clothing. When my kids were toddlers, I had a harness for them.

My kids' British pediatrician actually gave us a prescription for liquid Sudafed with a handwritten dosage chart for each of my 3 kids. The youngest was only 6 months old. Those were the best flights ever.

As for the pets, I get distressed when I think about my pet traveling cargo, but I also get distressed whenever the person sitting next to me bathed in cologne. Humans come first on commercial flights. Set up a secondary charter-style flight system which caters to pets. Granted, that'll last until "Snakes on a Plane" becomes reality, but at least I won't be on that flight.

[pnwgal]

I'm allergic to cats, but I'd rather be on a trans-Atlantic flight with a dozen of them sitting on my lap and my head than be on a flight with one screaming kid.

I thought only pets small enough to fit in a carrier that slides under the seat were allowed in the cabin of an aircraft - anything bigger had to fly in the cargo hold.

[Monique]

If any airline offered child-free flights, I'd pay double, I swear. I've never heard a peep from a pet flying in the cabin, but rotten kids screaming and whining are guaranteed, and can make a 3 hour flight seem like 24 hours. Ugh. Rotten brats should be kept in the house until they can behave in public. I'd love a plane full of dogs.

[EV]

MidtownCoog -- Touche. I fear your stealthy nuts.

[Soo]

Most "rotten brats" belong to parents who are convinced they have spawned Heaven's only angels.

[Sheila]

Soo, just out of curiosity, how would Sudafed put anyone to sleep? Pseudoephedrine keeps most people awake. Does it work differently on kids?

I hate having some little jerk kicking the back of my seat, not to mention screaming, smelling bad, and wanting to yammer at me. At least Spot and Puff aren't going to kick the back of my seat.

[kestrelmas]

This is why I drive. :)

I'd rather rent a car, take a nice, relaxing, however-long-it-takes-to-get-me-there drive than be on a flying aluminum tube packed in with other people. Last time I flew, I was sketching, seated next to a nosey "gentleman" who insisted I was going to hell for the subject matter of my drawing (it was a doodle of a friend's fantasy character, and I'd wanted to surprise her and pass the 5 hour flight). I put my headset on and proceeded to ignore him.

[Soo]

It was an allergy medication produced in England that the doc said was "like your Sudafed." Probably more like Benedryl if I have to think on it. I can't take either b/c of my kidneys, so I'm not up on the side effects.

But whatever it was, I gave the kids their dose an hour before the flight, and they were calm and nodding off by the time they were buckled in. I had also waited until take-off to feed the baby so she could pop her ears by drinking from a bottle. And then they were asleep for the next 6-7 hours.

[Soo]

@kestralmas: when people find out I play D&D, many feel they need to lecture me on how it's satanic and I'm going to go to hell for that. I usually counter with a point-of-order that one needs to believe in that crap first, which gives me time to move on while they splutter in horror. I'm probably not helping the RPG gamer image, but I really can't deal with wanton ignorance.

[nellagain]

"When do we start paying attention to people and not the bottom line?"

Ahem. Airlines are Businesses. MOre importantly they are in a weird category of business that essentially has not made a profit. EVER.

Which means that if you have ever been on a plane, part of your trip was being made on someone else's dime. Freeloader.

If airlines *had* been run on a bottom line basis from the get-go, they probably wouldn't be such premier examples of horse-assery.

[outofsalt]

I would be willing to buy tickets/seats for my animal companions just to keep them out of the cargo hold. There are too many bad stories about pet tragedies.

I don't like dogs. I really don't like dogs, except as an abstract concept. I really, really don't like being close to dogs at all, especially not their teeth. Still, I'd rather share a flight with a dog barking periodically (provided the dog is caged) than to listen to a child go into melt-down mode.

[Fat and retired]

I spent about 14 years with a small service animal dog - don't ask, really, don't ask - and took about five flights. My biggest problems were flight attendants and other passengers. I was constantly having to explain that she HAD to stay with me and could not be carried about the plane to show everyone they knew. Once, before 9/11, a pilot wanted to take her into the cockpit to 'show' the navigator. I really developed a fear of air travel when I found out how little the crew respects their own rules. Don't worry - a dog in the plane is the least of your problems.

[nb]

personally, I'd rather hear the dogs than the babies.

[Alex]

I'm allergic to dogs, and not in the 'allergy pills' or puffy face type of allergy. It causes an asthma attack, and if I spend too much time with them I end up in hospital.

So bring your dogs if you want to, but expect an unscheduled landing and all the delays that this will result in.

[lynn]

okay i am getting my morning sugar rush here:: a boni-fide talk on SWA...

dawggy: aaaahhhaaaa, are we dere yet??huhuhuhuh george?
george: no, go back to chewin' yore bone, dawg.
dawggy:okidoky. *3 seconds pass*. are we dere yet? huuhuhuhuhuhh.ahhhhhhhaahaha.
george: noooo. here, have a peanut.
dawggy: hhhhhaaaahaaaa i neeed to pppppeeeee nooooowwwww george.
george: *resists the urge to smack dawg with a rolled newspaper, :go!!!
**now back from tinkling on the steward.(franz is really an ass and deserved it, sayeth the other girls,muffin and jo-louise),----dawggy says: are we dere yet george???
george: NO NO NO>>BE QUIET!!!!!!
dawggy: i wuv you george...**dawggy proceeds to loudly clean and lick his privates in an annoying slurpy noise....

enjoy your flight on Canine Airlines....

[Sigh]

I wouldn't mind these pet carriers if they displaced the hellspawned crotchfruit, but they will be in addition to them. These carriers won't even take up a seat.

[Amy Alkon]

I'm sympathetic to people with allergies, and planned to travel with my dog, so I got a tiny dog that has hair instead of fur.

But, people with dogs and cats that shed will certainly have their hair on their clothes. How do people with allergies manage in such cases?

Regarding the comparison to children, my dog is trained to lie still for hours (like 10 hours straight), and I take her to restaurants all over Paris, where she is adored, and well-behaved. She never barks except if she perceives danger (loud sounds), and was with me at the Human Behavior and Evolution Society conference in Berlin, at all the presentations of research. (The Europeans don't have laws against bringing dogs around like we do.) She did bark once -- Richard Dawkins spoke, and there was thunderous applause afterward, and she'd never heard that sort of thing before, so you could hear tiny barks of a Yorkshire terrier amidst the clapping, which I, and a couple people seated near me, found hilarious.

PS My dog also goes in a litter box (when the outdoors isn't available), and has since she was four months old, and behaves upon command (ie, Sit! Lie down! No noise!) How many of your children can you say that about?

I'll fly next to a dog anyday.

[Carol Austad]

I will now take Southwest. I love the idea of bringing my dog onto the airplane. If small children are brought on, why not my dog? My dog is better behaved than most of the small children I have seen on planes.

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