[nagdu] Airline Travel

Sun Nov 17 08:32:37 UTC 2013

I have always flown Delta, and sat in the coach seating. The Golden
Guy has a long body, and there is no way he can fit under any seat on
a plane and be confined to my foot space. That would make for an
incredibly uncomfortable flight for him, and me too. The people next
to me just deal with it.
I always take the harness off, especially since I have an offset
handle. Too, I just want the Golden Guy to be as comfortable as
possible.
I will be flying to North Carolina next month, so I'll be sure to
bring my experience to the list.

On 11/17/13, Shanna Stichler <slstich at gmail.com> wrote:
> The dog I have now is a German Shepherd weighing about 80 pounds. She's
> also a very long dog, if that makes sense, so she just takes up space
> everywhere. I got this dog at 8 months of age, so she's gotten quite a
> bit bigger. *smile*
>
> Airline staff has always been really nice about letting me have the
> floorspace for two seats, if, and only if, the flight isn't full, which
> is nice. If not, I make sure the person sitting next to me knows the dog
> will be kind of in their space. I try to keep her as close to me as I
> can, but sometimes a paw or something will spill over a little bit.
> Everyone I've flown next to has been quite gracious, thank heaven.
>
> Shanna and Diamond
> On 11/16/2013 11:36 PM, Nicole Torcolini wrote:
>> Oh, that's interesting and kind of surprising . If you don't mind me
>> asking,
>> what breed is your dog and how much does she weigh? Did she grow a lot
>> after
>> you got her?
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Shanna
>> Stichler
>> Sent: Saturday, November 16, 2013 9:31 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Airline Travel
>>
>> I pre-board always with a dog, but I usually fly Southwest, and if I
>> pre-board, I can claim a seat in the bulkhead. With my current dog, I
>> must
>> ffly bulkhead because she just won't fit under the seat in front of me.
>> My
>> previous dog was a lot smaller and really didn't care for the bulkhead
>> rows.
>>
>> If I'm flying on an airline other than Southwest, then I simply speak to
>> the
>> gate agent as soon as possible to be sure I get a bulkhead seat. I have
>> no
>> idea what I would do if I needed to fly in a puddlejumper. My dog will
>> not
>> fit in the very limited space provided.
>>
>> Everyone has covered security screening pretty thoroughly, so I won't do
>> so
>> again. Have a great trip, and let us know how your flights went!
>>
>> Best,
>> Shanna and Diamond
>> On 11/15/2013 10:33 PM, Craig Heaps wrote:
>>> Yes, my wife is fully sighted.  I am also partially sighted.  I cane
>>> traveled by myself to and from Chile.  My wife and I traveled (me with
>>> my cane) a couple years ago to the UK.
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brandydp" <brandydp at verizon.net>
>>> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
>>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Friday, November 15, 2013 4:40 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Airline Travel
>>>
>>>
>>>> Hi Craig,
>>>> This is what I usually do. You can call ahead as cheryl said. I
>>>> haven't tried that before. Is your wife sighted? When I fly alone I
>>>> ask for a sky cap to assist me through security. Even when I had my
>>>> boyfriend with me this last flight jfk asked if I would still like
>>>> assistance. I said yes and they took us to a shorter line through
>>>> security. Here you take off shoes and blah blah. Legally they can't
>>>> ask you to take off the harness. I usually do just because they are
>>>> going to pat my dog down and this way it won't be in harness and it
>>>> saves them searching the harness pouch with miss wriggles bouncing
>>>> around as she does. There are three ways to do this. This is the one
>>>> I do. Have someone take you up close enough to the detector, think
>>>> it's called a magdomitor, have your dog sit or down make a long leash
>>>> then you walk through making sure to keep the metal in your hand.
>>>> When they tell you call chase through. Then he only goes off and they
>>>> only search him. Or you can send the dog first, heard this somewhere
>>>> don't know if I would try it. Or you both can walk through and they
>>>> would have to pat down both of you. They will probably swab your
>>>> hands because people have apparently hidden explosives in animals...
>>>> Very sad. They ask you to not touch your dog after going through. I
>>>> accidently do this and haven't been yelled at yet. As for sitting
>>>> it's up to you. I prefer to not sit in bulkhead but my dogs have been
>>>> small. I always try to get the window seat so the dog lays parallel
>>>> to the wall under the seat in front of you. You may prefer bulkhead.
>>>> They have to lay perpendicular to you there but your wife will be
>>>> next to you so stealing her foot room won't be an issue. Lol. You can
>>>> always go to the desk at the gate to discuss seating and they will
>>>> contact passengers to see if they are ok switching. Hope this helps.
>>>>
>>>> brandy pinder
>>>> Alumni Council -  second vice Chairman Guide Dog Foundation for the
>>>> Blind, IncR and America's VetDogsR, The Veteran's K-9 Corps IncR
>>>> Providing "Second uSight"R since 1946
>>>>
>>>> 371 E. Jericho Turnpike smith town ny 11766
>>>> Cso: 866-282-8047
>>>> Email: brandydp at verizon.net
>>>> Cell: 304-685-4499
>>>>
>>>> On Nov 15, 2013, at 7:14 PM, cheryl echevarria
>>>> <cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Here is the link to the website for TSA Care Program.
>>>>> Maybe had NAGDU's webmaster put it on the website site.
>>>>> http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/travelers-disabilities-and-m
>>>>> edical-conditions
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 of NY StateLeading the Way in
>>>>> Independent Travel!
>>>>> Cheryl Echevarria,
>>>>> Ownerwww.echevarriatravel.com631-456-5394reservations at echevarriatrav
>>>>> el.com Your old car keys can be the keys to literacy for a blind
>>>>> child.
>>>>> Donate your unwanted vehicle to us by clicking
>>>>> www.nfb.org/vehicledonations or call 855-659-9314. Echevarria Travel
>>>>> has partnered with Braille Smith. www.braillesmith.com for all her
>>>>> braille needs.  Gail Smith is the Secretary of the NFB of Alabama
>>>>>
>>>>>> Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 16:42:16 -0500
>>>>>> From: Cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com
>>>>>> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
>>>>>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Airline Travel
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Go to the tsa cares website and call them 72 hours prior to flying
>>>>>> they can help you through it. I am not on the computer right now so
>>>>>> if anyone can post the website or the phone number.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Sent from my Samsung Galaxy SR4
>>>>>>
>>>>>> -------- Original message --------
>>>>>> From: craig.heaps at comcast.net
>>>>>> Date:11/15/2013  4:34 PM  (GMT-05:00)
>>>>>> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
>>>>>> Subject: [nagdu] Airline Travel
>>>>>>
>>>>>> My guide, Chase, and I will be flying Thanksgiving week with my
>>>>>> wife to Milwaukee to see our son and daughter-in-law.  It will be
>>>>>> the first flight Chase and I have taken together. He's very mellow.
>>>>>> He rides the BART train every day and has taken a few local bus
>>>>>> trips as well.
>>>>>> Please give me any advice you have on airline travel, including how
>>>>>> to navigate the TSA checkpoints..  The more detailed, the better.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> We will fly from San Francisco to Milwaukee on Southwest Airlines.
>>>>>> I have preboarded many times before on Southwest while cane
>>>>>> traveling.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Thanks for your help.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Craig Heaps and Chase
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>>
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>>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
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-- 
Raven