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

Mon Nov 26 01:33:14 UTC 2012

Mike,
I do pretty well standing up for myself, where I also feel, if that is 
what they want me to do just to get home, I have done it.
My question would be, I remember sitting in the balk head seat where 
the foot room was so small there would be no way that I could put my 
dog im front of me, he had to lie across all three persons feet.
the folks where kind about it, where I didn't feel comfortable.
I was told it was better for my dog because he weighed 90 pounds and was huge.

Original message:
> 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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