[NAGDU] Questions regarding spirit Airlines required service animal paperwork

[Scott Wilson]

Since you’re flying on short notice I would recommend carrying a paper copy with you if possible. This will cover any problems they have with the upload of your documentation. The tasks requirement of your service animal is part of the DOT forms. And you can find those on the DOT website. Just search for ACAA Forms and it should pull it up in your web browser. I usually give a vague answer stating my dog guides me and keeps me safe from obstacles. I’m sorry to hear that you had difficulties uploading your information to spirit. There is a clause in there that if you have to Fly on short notice, within 48 hours of your flight you can show this documentation and paper form to the gate agents. Wishing you a safe and healthy trip, tails up!

> On Dec 16, 2021, at 6:59 AM, bgmusicmin--- via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hello all,
> 
> This is my first time flying with my guide dogs since the new regulations have taken affect. I do have some questions regarding the paperwork that Spirit Airlines is requiring. 
> 
> As part of the requirements, spirit airline is requiring that anyone flying with a service animal complete the DOT form. I know that they are permitted to require this. However, when submitting the completed DOT form two spirits online portal, in addition to asking for the flight date, flight confirmation code, and flight time, spirit is also requiring that you specifically list the tasks that your service animal has been trained to perform. You cannot upload the completed DOT form to their online portal without specifically answering the question about what specific tasks your service animal has been trained to perform. with the new regulations, I know that airlines are legally able to require the completed DOT form. But, are they permitted to also require you to specifically outline what tasks your dog has been trained to perform? This information is also listed in the DOT form that I have completed. Additionally, when making my reservation, I indicated that my dog is a service dog for vision. Just was not sure if spirits current practice of requiring you to specifically llist  what tasks your service dog has been trained to perform beyond what is included in the DOT form is permissible under the new regulations? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Due to a family emergency, I booked my ticket last night and submitted the completed DOT form this morning to spirit and I did go ahead and answer their specific question regarding the tasks that my service dog has been trained to perform. Since I am flying out very early Saturday morning, I don’t want any problems and just went ahead and filled everything out. Unfortunately, last night when I booked my ticket, there seems to be some technical issues going on with the spirit website last night  and I was not able to access their online portal to submit the service animal documentation until this morning. So, hopefully, they will not give me any trouble for submitting my documentation in just under the 48 hour mark.  If what spirit is requiring beyond the DOT form is not permitted under the new regulations, would this warrant a complaint to the DOT? If so, how does one go about filing a complaint to the DOT regarding this issue? 
> 
> Also, once I submitted all of my documentation to Spirit this morning, I received an email from spirit indicating that they have received it and will approve my documentation as soon as possible.  Do I need to receive their official approval before I can fly on Saturday morning? If I do not receive their approval and it is required that I do so  before I fly, how would I go about dealing with this? Since I am flying last minute due to a family emergency, I really don’t want there to be any unnecessary Problems regarding this issue once I arrive at the airport.  
> 
> Lastly, on a very surprising note, spirits online portal with the questions about your flight and service animal along with the process of uploading the completed DOT form is accessible using JAWS using windows with the fire fox browser. Unfortunately, I cannot speak to the accessibility of this online portal or uploading process with any other screen readers, on any other platforms, or with any other browsers.
> 
> Again, thank you for any info you are able to provide.
> 
> Melissa 
> 
> 
> 
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