[NAGDU] Questions regarding spirit Airlines required service animal paperwork

Melissa Allman MAllman at seeingeye.org
Thu Dec 16 14:45:14 UTC 2021


HI Melissa. I think it's great that you took the time to share your experience with Spirit on this list. It's good to know their online portal was accessible. So many things have been changing with how the airlines are implementing the new DOT regulations. I think Spirit can under the new regs ask you what tasks your dog performs although it is very annoying that you have to provide duplicative information. Others have experienced this with various airlines. It sounds like you got your information to them within the 48 hours, but even if there is a glitch with your form, you can technically ask for assistance with the form at the airport as a reasonable accommodation. Below is a link to The Seeing Eye web site with information about the new regs. It does include a link to the DOT complaint form should you feel you need to file a complaint. The form is very accessible.
https://www.seeingeye.org/knowledge-center/rights--legal-information/airlines-and-cruise-ships.html

Also, when you are at the airport, if you think the airline is discriminating against you, ask to speak to a Complaint Resolution Official (CRO). I'm sorry to hear about your family emergency and I hope this information is helpful, though there may be other resources others might wish to share with you. Safe travels.

Melissa

Melissa Allman
Senior Specialist, Advocacy and Government Relations 
The Seeing Eye 
P.O. Box 375, Morristown, NJ 07963-0375 (mail)
1 Seeing Eye Way, Morristown, NJ 07960-3378 (deliveries)
973-539-4425 ext. x1724 | mallman at seeingeye.org | www.SeeingEye.org

Your support helps us create extraordinary teams. Please help The Seeing Eye by making a donation today. 



-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of bgmusicmin--- via NAGDU
Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2021 6:57 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: bgmusicmin at gmail.com
Subject: [NAGDU] Questions regarding spirit Airlines required service animal paperwork

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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