[NAGDU] Flying with our dogs these days

Wed Apr 20 15:32:27 UTC 2022

This is a terrific narrative on how the different airlines handle the DOT attestation forms. Thank you Melissa for these important details.

Best,
Sarah Calhoun

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf of Melissa Allman via NAGDU
Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2022 8:38 AM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Melissa Allman <MAllman at seeingeye.org>
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Flying with our dogs these days

Good morning Tara. The DOT regulations allow airlines to require that the form be filled out up to 48 hours in advance of flight if in fact the reservation has been made 48 hours in advance. In other words, if you've been planning an awesome trip, like the one you just took, for quite a while and you made your reservation weeks ago, the airline can require that you fill out the form up to 48 hours before you get on the plane. The form needs to be dated after the reservation is made, not before, so there's a risk associated with using an old form that you used for a past flight, tempting as that is. Since airlines have some latitude under the regulations, they are not all doing things exactly the same way. American has created this great service animal ID as Liz pointed out in her email. Southwest, as I understand it, is not asking you to provide the form in advance and just wants you to bring it to the airport the day of flight. Some airlines are having a harder time than others coming up with a way to tie the form to the reservation and some are doing so but have a process that is not intuitive. I have no idea why the SW agent would have made you fill the form out on the spot instead of using the one you already completed as long as the date next to the signature was after the date you made your reservation. There are lots of airline employees who are not applying these confusing regs correctly so if you think they are not, ask to speak to a Complaint Resolution Official (CRO).

Concerning the PDF form, it does actually meet the federally required accessibility standards, annoying and unwieldy as it is,  and you can fill it out and sign it using Adobe. It should not take two hours, but everybody has different experiences and levels of comfort with technology. Some airlines have a confusing interface for uploading the form to their site so I can imagine that taking forever. The good thing though is that the actual DOT form is standard, so all airlines have to use that one.

I think DOT decided to implement new regs because so many more people with disabilities are relying on service animals and the previous regulations were not clear enough to deal with all of the nuances and people abusing the system. That's my take on why they did it. Has it cut down on people trying to pass their pets off as service animals? I think that's debatable and depends on which airline you ask. More can be said about that but I've already gone on enough. Here's a link to further info about the regs on our web site if you are interested in reviewing it. I hope this has been somewhat helpful, if a bit wordy.

https://www.seeingeye.org/knowledge-center/rights--legal-information/airlines-and-cruise-ships.html

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

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-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Tara Briggs via NAGDU
Sent: Tuesday, April 19, 2022 7:53 PM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Cc: Tara Briggs <thflute at gmail.com>
Subject: [NAGDU] Flying with our dogs these days

Hi all! First of all, I wrote back a couple of weeks ago seeking information on poodle service dogs. IFirst of all, I wrote back a couple of weeks ago seeking information on poodle service dogs. Thank you so much to those of you who answered my questions. This past weekend, I went to Las Vegas to watch my beloved flute teacher play Beethoven seventh Symphony. She is principal flute of  the Las Vegas philharmonic Orchestra. I have wanted to watch her perform with that orchestra for several years. It was a glorious experience!  I flew on to airlines. I flew into Las Vegas on Delta and I flew back home on Southwest. I’m curious what everyone’s experiences have been with the service dog form. Confession, I had my husband fill out the form. I had read on Facebook a complaint by a blind friend who said  it took two hours to fill out the form. I didn’t want to deal with it! Therefore, I cannot comment on the accessibility of filling out the form. I was told that I had to print it and bring the print copy to the airport. I printed out two forms one for each airline. Flying there went very smoothly. After I checked in, I was asked to hand them the form, they took a look at it and that was the end of it. On the flight home, things didn’t go quite as smoothly. After I checked in I was directed to another person who told me that I had to fill out the form. I said well here’s the form all printed  out for you. They kept arguing with me. Apparently you were supposed to fill the form out the day you fly. Is this correct? I have one more question. I have wondered if part of the reason for this form is simply to make it a little bit challenging for people to fly with a service dog. I think the  hope in doing this is so that people with pets will not bother. I’m not sure if this is correct but I am interested in what peoples experiences have been. Also, does anyone know if this whole service dog  form requirement has reduced the number of obnoxious pets flying and masquerading as legitimate service dogs? Thanks so much for your thoughts.

—
Tara Briggs
Check out my podcast, Crip Parenting on your podcast platform of choice.
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