[nagdu] Service Animal Policies of Several Airlines

[Angie Matney]

The recent thread about Frontier (and my desire to procrastinate) led me to
compare the policies for several airlines as posted on their web sites. Some
appear not to have been updated since the new regulations went into effect
on May 13. Some are pages exclusively devoted to service animals; some
include information for people with disabilities generally. I find that
Frontier's policy sounds a little heavy-handed in comparison to some others.
What do you all think? I put *** at the beginning of the material for each
airline. (I apologize that some of the URLs are links while others are not.
I'm having formatting issues.)

*** Delta Airlines
http://www.delta.com/planning_reservations/special_travel_needs/services_tra
velers_disabilities/special_concerns/index.jsp

We offer special seating for passengers with certain types of disabilities.
Passengers who can have special seating include anyone:

Who uses an aisle chair to get on the aircraft and can't readily transfer
over a fixed aisle armrest. 
Traveling with an attendant helping them during the flight. 
Traveling with a service animal. 
With a fused leg. 
Return to top 

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Service Animals
We welcome service animals in the aircraft cabin, such as dogs and monkeys
trained to assist passengers with mobility, visual, or hearing disabilities.

A service animal must be in the floor space where the passenger sits and may
not get in the way of an aisle or any area that needs to remain clear for
emergencies. (That's why we can't seat you in the exit row.)

Some locations (Hawaii, Great Britain, etc.) have quarantine laws for
animals, or might not permit their entry at all. See Health Requirements for
more information.

We, or your travel agent, will be able to help you find out what the
requirements are for your destination. But remember, it's up to you to
follow the regulations.

Return to top 
*** Frontier Airlines
http://www.frontierairlines.com/frontier/customer-service/travel-support/pla
nning-your-trip.do

traveling with a service animal 
We accept service animals trained to assist passengers with disabilities in
the cabin of our aircraft at no charge. Here are a few things to know about
traveling with a service animal: 
A health certificate is not required for service animals. 
Identification of a service animal, including one or more of the following,
is required: 
Animal identification card 
Harnesses, vests, capes or backpack with appropriate identification 
Verbal assurance detailing what services the animal provides, as well as the
training received 
A written statement or completion of Frontier Medical Authorization Form
30905 (PDF) by a mental health care professional may be required for
passengers wishing to travel with a therapeutic/emotional support animal.

Your service animal must be properly harnessed for the duration of the
flight(s). A proper harness is considered a collar and leash or guide dog
harness. The animal may sit at your feet and may not sit in the aisle or
another seat. If the animal is small enough, it may sit on your lap. If you
are traveling with a service animal, you may not be seated in an emergency
exit row.

NOTE: We reserve the right to refuse to accommodate an animal in the cabin
if credible proof of service and training is not available, or if the animal
is considered aggressive or disruptive.


*** JetBlue
http://help.jetblue.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/webisapi.dll?New,Kb=askBlue,case=obj(10
95)


Guidelines/Requirements - Service Animals on JetBlue
JetBlue welcomes service animals in the cabin, at no additional charge.
JetBlue will accept one service animal per qualified individual with a
disability; JetBlue will make every reasonable effort to accommodate you in
the event that you require the assistance of two or more service animals.
You may purchase a second seat so that the animal can be accommodated in
accordance with FAA safety regulations or wait until a later flight (if the
animals cannot be accommodated together at a single passenger seat).

Please note the following when traveling with a service animal:

Service animal(s) may not obstruct an aisle or any other area used for an
emergency evacuation. Service animals typically should remain on the floor;
however if the animal is small and well-behaved, circumstances may permit
the animal to remain in your lap during all stages of flight. 
Certain unusual service animals (i.e. snakes, other reptiles, ferrets,
rodents and spiders) pose unavoidable safety and/or public health concerns
and will not be allowed to jet with us. The release of such an animal in the
aircraft could result in a direct threat to the health or safety of
customers and crewmembers. 
Service animals in training are not accepted. 
Service animals may not occupy a seat. 
JetBlue will provide assistance to and from Airport Animal Relief Areas for
Customers and their service animals. 
Currently there are no vaccination requirements for service animals on
domestic flights.

 


Types of Service Animals
Service Animals - A Service Animal has been through some type of training to
perform a specific active function, such as path finding, picking up
objects, carrying things, providing additional stability, responding to
sounds, etc.

Emotional Support/Psychiatric Service Animals - An Emotional Support or
Psychiatric Service Animal can only be used by persons with a diagnosed
mental or emotional disorder and need not have specific training for that
function but must be trained to behave appropriately in a public setting.

 


Documentation and Requirements for Traveling with a Service Animal
Service Animals 

Service Animals shall have identifiers such as identification cards, other
written documentation, presence of harnesses, tags or "the credible verbal
assurances of a qualified individual with a disability using the animal".

Please note: documentation is not required as a condition for permitting an
individual to travel with his or her service animal in the cabin unless a
Customer's verbal assurance is not credible.

Emotional Support/Psychiatric Service Animals 

Emotional Support/Psychiatric Service Animals require current documentation
(i.e., not more than one year old) on letterhead from a licensed mental
health professional stating:

that the Customer has a mental health-related disability 
that having the animal accompany the Customer is necessary to the Customer's
mental health or treatment 
that the individual providing the assessment of the Customer is a licensed
mental health professional and the Customer is under his or her professional
care 
the date and type of the mental health professional's license and the state
or other jurisdiction in which it was issued.
 


International Travel with a Service Animal
If you are traveling with a service animal on an international flight,
please read the additional health documentation requirements here.

 
*** Southwest Airlines
http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/disability.html

Assistance Animals
Trained Assistance Animals

Southwest Airlines welcomes trained assistance animals on all of our
flights. In accordance with federal Safety regulations, the animal must be
positioned so as not to obstruct Customers' expeditious evacuation in the
unlikely event of an emergency. Except when too large to be safely
accommodated, a trained assistance animal traveling with and providing
assistance to a Customer with a disability will be accommodated in the
aircraft cabin on the floor in front of or next to the Customer with a
disability.

Emotional Support Animals

Animals used for a Customer's emotional support are accepted in the cabin.
In order for a Customer to travel with an emotional support animal, the
Customer must provide to a Southwest Airlines Employee current documentation
(not more than one year old) on letterhead from a mental health professional
or medical doctor who is treating the Customer's mental health-related
disability stating: 
The passenger has a mental or emotional disability recognized in the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Fourth Edition (DSM
IV) 
The passenger needs the emotional support or psychiatric service animal as
an accommodation for air travel and/or for activity at the passenger's
destination 
The individual providing the assessment is a licensed mental health
professional, and the passenger is under his or her professional care AND 
The date and type of the mental health professional's or medical doctor's
license and the state or other jurisdiction in which it was issued. 
Customers traveling with an assistance animal or an emotional support animal
cannot sit in an emergency exit seat.

 

*** United airlines
http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,1045,00.html

United Airlines and United Express welcome service animals accompanying
persons with disabilities. There is no fee for service animals, and they may
travel in the aircraft cabin as long as they do not obstruct an aisle or any
other area used for emergency evacuations.

It may be helpful to outfit your service animal with a harness or vest to
make the animal's status obvious to airport personnel. If the animal's
status is questioned, you simply need to provide credible verbal assurance
that the animal is assisting a passenger with a disability.


Please note that quarantine restrictions may apply. Check with your travel
agent or a United reservations agent at least one month prior to departure
to find out if there are any regulations specific to your destination.


Emotional support animals
Emotional support animals are considered to be service animals. However, a
customer traveling with an emotional support animal will need to have
documentation on letterhead from a licensed mental health professional,
dated within the past 12 months, stating that the customer is under
professional care for a mental-health-related disability, and that the
animal's assistance is essential to his or her mental health.


Therapy animals
Therapy animals, which are pets that have been trained and registered by a
therapy organization in order to visit nursing homes, hospitals, schools and
other facilities, are not considered to be service animals. When traveling
with a therapy animal, standard pet-related regulations and restrictions
will apply.

Destination-specific information

Hawaii
There are restrictions regarding the entry of service animals into Hawaii.
Customers planning to travel to Hawaii should contact the Hawaii Animal
Quarantine Branch manager directly for quarantine requirements. The 24-hour
phone number is 808-837-8092. You may also view animal quarantine
information at the Hawaii Department of Agriculture web site.


United Kingdom
United Airlines is permitted to accept service animals on flights to the
United Kingdom. Because UK regulations for accepting service animals are
very strict, both United and our customers must carefully follow the
appropriate procedures.


As part of those procedures, any customer who intends to travel with a
service animal must obtain a preapproval letter from Defra (Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), a UK government agency. Please note
that the preapproval process for transporting service animals to the UK can
take up to two months.


Visit the Defra web site for more information about requirements and
procedures for taking animals into the UK, or contact Defra by phone at +44
870 241 1710, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. UK time. (Please note:
Before dialing the number above, you must first enter the international
direct dialing code. In the United States and Canada, this code is 011.)


Other international destinations
Many countries restrict the entry of animals. Restrictions vary by country,
and customers should contact the appropriate embassy or consulate at least
four weeks before departure to make sure that all necessary procedures are
followed.

     *** US Airways
http://www.usairways.com/awa/content/traveltools/specialneeds/animals.aspx

Service animals 
Service animals are welcome on all US Airways flights. There is no charge
for trained service animals. 
 	The number and type of service animals are not limited provided they
can fit on your lap or in the area directly in front of your seat. Aisles
may not be obstructed. 
 	If the service animal sits on the lap of the passenger, the animal
must be no larger than an infant child. 
 	.Additional restrictions apply for travel with service animals on
flights outside of the continental United States 
 	If you're traveling with a service animal and if you would like
special seating such as a bulkhead seat, please call US Airways Reservations
at 800-428-4322/TTY 800-245-2966 at least 24 hours before your departure. In
compliance with safety regulations, if you're traveling with a service
animal, you may not sit in an exit row.
To show that an animal is a service animal, please provide:
 	I.D. card for the animal 
 	Presence of harness or tags 
 	Other written documentation 
 	Credible verbal assurance of the passenger using the animal
Emotional support or psychiatric service animals 
Please call US Airways at 800-428-4322/TTY 800-245-2966 at least 48 hours
prior to your scheduled departure if you're traveling with emotional support
or psychiatric service animals.

To travel with an emotional support or psychiatric service animal in the
cabin, you must provide current documentation dated within one year from the
date of the scheduled initial flight on the letterhead of a licensed mental
health professional (psychiatrist, psychologist or licensed clinical social
worker). Documentation must state:
 	The passenger has a mental or emotional disability recognized in the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders -- Fourth Edition (DSM
IV) 
 	The passenger needs the emotional support or psychiatric service
animal as an accommodation for air travel and/or for activity at the
passenger's destination 
 	The individual providing the assessment is a licensed mental health
professional, and the passenger is under his or her professional care. 
 	The date and type of the mental health professional's license and
the state or other jurisdiction in which it was issued
________________________________________
Hawaii animal quarantine
Hawaii is a rabies-free state. If you're traveling to Hawaii with a service
animal, emotional support animal or psychiatric service animal, you must
have a health certificate issued within 14 days prior to travel. You must
also contact the Hawaii Department of Agriculture to get a Neighborhood
Island Permit before leaving the mainland if you're traveling to Maui, Kauai
or the Big Island. 

US Airways will only permit service animals, emotional support animals and
psychiatric animals in the cabin for travel to/from Hawaii. 

When the service animal or emotional support animal, or psychiatric service
animal is a bird or for information on requirements for allowing service
animals, emotional support animals and psychiatric service animals to enter
the state of Hawaii without quarantine, please contact the Hawaii Department
of Agriculture. 

Hawaii Department of Agriculture
Animal Quarantine Station
99-951 Halawa Valley Street
Aiea, HI 96701-5602
Phone: 808-483-7151
 	Visit the Hawaii Department of Agriculture's website
UK animal quarantine 
The United Kingdom is a rabies-free country and its rules governing the
entry of animals into the country, including service animals, are strictly
enforced. In the past, all animals traveling into the United Kingdom were
subject to quarantine for six months.

Now, if you meet certain requirements, it is possible to transport a service
dog or a service cat in the cabin on a flight into the UK, without a
six-month quarantine upon arrival.

When making a reservation, or no later than 72 hours before departure, you
must notify US Airways of your intention to transport a service dog or a
service cat in the cabin on a flight into the UK.

At the gate, prior to departure from the U.S., and upon landing in the
United Kingdom, you must present a date-stamped official veterinary
certificate, signed by a veterinarian licensed by an approved country or an
EU pet passport demonstrating that the animal has received:
 	A microchip implant readable by an ISO-compatible scanner or by
another scanner compatible with the implanted microchip provided by the
passenger. 
 	A vaccination against rabies. 
 	A rabies antibodies blood test. This test must be completed at least
six months before the animal's initial entry to the UK. 
 	Treatment for certain parasites.
________________________________________
The passenger is responsible for the costs and fees associated with the UK's
Pet Travel Scheme.

For detailed current information about compliance procedures, go to the UK's
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFFA) website. 
 	UK's Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFFA)