[nagdu] You are required to sit in the bulkhead.

Sun Nov 25 06:22:22 UTC 2012

I continue to be amazed at the number of airline personnel who think we MUST
sit in the bulkhead row.  THIS IS NOT TRUE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.  There
are no FAA regulations which require this, and the ACAA does not mandate it
either.

I also continue to be amazed at the number of schools that continue to tell
the airlines the best place for guide dogs in in the bulkhead row.

Very few dogs really take up so much room that they need to sit in these
front rows.  Most ALL of us can train our guides to go under the seats in
front of us.  The dogs really are comfortable there and they are MUCH safer
in non-bulkhead rows. 

Best,

Michael Hingson

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Cindy Ray
Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2012 5:23 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] You are required to sit in the bulkhead.

I don't understand what you are saying here. Do you mean you flew Southwest
and got a tray table in the bulkhead? 

Cindy Lou

On Nov 24, 2012, at 7:18 PM, rhonda cruz wrote:

> hello i have used to fly two times with mya. and i got a tray table.
> and mya can fit under the chair.
> vary well.
> she falls a sleep.
> 
> On Nov 24, 2012, at 4:44 PM, Cindy Ray wrote:
> 
>> I thought this was old news until I went to Houston Monday night. I flew
on Southwest Airlines. They have open seating. I got on early, but there
were a number of folks getting on then, so I elected the bulkhead row as
requested. Bear in mind that previously I had flown not less than four
flights where this was not an issue. When I boarded in Chicago, the crew
member said that I was required to sit in the bulkhead. I told him that I
was not required to sit there. (I wanted a tray table.) He said that I was,
and I asked him why. He responded that this was because of the dog. I told
him that I had done a lot of flying, and I knew for a fact that I was not
required to sit there. However, I was going to arrive in Houston late, so I
decided to get with it. I said I would, but I knew that I was not required
to. The service agent came on board and told me I was required to sit there.
(I had now fastened my seatbelt.) I said I was sitting there, but he would
have to show me that this was required, and he said I could find it on their
web site. Then he said that I was not to argue with a crew member and could
be removed from the flight if I persisted. I said that I was not arguing, I
was just stating that I am not required to sit there.
>> 
>> A little later, a woman came on board, and she verified that I was
correct in stating that I need not ride there, but their concern was that
the dog couldn't be made to fold small enough. Their seating areas aren't
ample, but I think it can be done. I would have been willing to try other
seats to see if we could work it out, but by then I was a little tired of
the whole thing.
>> 
>> Friday, I returned. When I boarded in Houston, armed with the knowledge
that I don't have to sit in the bulkhead, I began to head back farther in
the cabin. A crew member said that I was required to sit in the bulkhead
with the dog, and I said I wasn't required to do that, that just Monday a
woman at their airlines had agreed with me. But again, I did not want to
hasslwe with it too much, but I did want to sit elsewhere. He said he was
going to talk to his supervisor, and I suggested that he not bother with it.
I put my bag up above and sat in the required location. Chris came on board,
and she told me I was required to sit there. I said, fine, but I had done a
lot of flying and hadn't received this kind of treatment from an airlines in
years. She said that planes vary. Well, duyh. I told her just about the only
place he couldn't ride was the two and one planes where there is just one
seat down the aisle on the right as you go in. I don't even remember all she
said, but she said I needed to not be yelling at crew members. I said to her
that I had not been, and I hadn't. She it had been reported by other
passengers and passengers panic. I said I had not been, alhtough by then I
was tempted, and I told her I was so done with the topic right now and
pretty much done with Southwest. She told me I wasn't being cooperative. I'm
not sure where that came from because I was in the bulkhead with the
seatbelt fastened. I told her I really wouldn't mind being there, but I
really wanted to sit where I can have a tray table. Those planes don't have
any, not even in the arms of the seats. So she then said she was going to
talk with the captain. Nothing ever came of that, and I really felt that
intimidation tactics had been used. The rest of the flight was without
incident since I didn't have to change in Chicago to return to Des Moines.
>> 
>> The Southwest planes are small, as I said, and I suspect that really this
is the most comfortable place for my particular dog as he is rather large,
though not mamoth. Here is what I found at their web site concerning
bringing service dogs into the flight:
>> 
>> Trained Assistance Animals
>> 
>> Southwest Airlines welcomes trained assistance animals on all of our
flights. 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. 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.
>> 
>> Now, I get this, and if I had sat in another seat where it made it more
than inconvenient for the seats to be shared by other passengers, I would be
glad to consent to the bulkhead, but I believe it is not a requirement. 
>> 
>> Cindy Lou
>> \
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> 
> 
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