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

Mon Nov 26 01:42:13 UTC 2012

One time I flew south west, I managed somehow to pick a seet in the middle 
seet between 2 little kids. The kids did not need the leg room, so the dog 
was free to sprawl. lol

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "d m gina" <dmgina at samobile.net>
To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2012 8:33 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] You are required to sit in the bulkhead.

> 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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>
>
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>
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