[NAGDU] I ALSO FLEW SOUTHWEST

Wed Sep 20 19:13:21 UTC 2023

 Sorry, this got trapped in my drafts folder. 

 My husband and I recently flew Southwest as part of a day trip tour. I added our service animals to the reservation once we got our flight numbers, uploaded the forms for both dogs and had a copy of the DOT form with me for both of them. The Southwest staff was great and only glanced at the forms. 

I do agree though that all of this can be avoided by airline staff using the power they already have to prohibit animals that are not behaving or being controlled. This was a major point of contention during the rule making process. Airline reps did not want the responsibility of making decisions about poorly controlled animals. It makes no sense to me as they kept saying they didn’t want to have passengers angry with them. I’m pretty angry if there’s a poorly controlled animal on my flight. 

My sister noted that on her way home from Hawai recently, there were five dogs, including hers, on the flight. Sadly the other four dogs were cadaver dogs that had been working on Maui. All dogs were well behaved, quiet and calm. So yes, it can be done but even if one of those dogs was not well controlled, it would probably still fly because staff doesn’t want to tell someone they can’t fly with their animal. We were told during the rule making process that the trick many people use to avoid pet fees was to come up right before final boarding with their animal and claim service animal status. Too late for all the checks and such. This meant that the poorly behaved/controlled animal was then on the flight. Once the door is closed, it takes an act of God to open it. OK, it only takes the pilot deciding to do so but … 

Soooo, there we are. Once again, a form, an ID card, a magic wand, will not fix this issue. 

On Sep 13, 2023, at 8:19 PM, Susan Jones via NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote:

I went onto the DOT website and completed the form.  I think I had trouble
uploading it to connect to my reservation, but I printed a copy and took it
with me, and they just took a look and gave it right back to me, and I was
good to go.

Susan & Topher

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Elizabeth Campbell via
NAGDU
Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2023 3:08 PM
To: Melissa Allman <MAllman at seeingeye.org>
Cc: Elizabeth Campbell <batescampbell at gmail.com>; NAGDU Mailing List, the
National Association of Guide Dog Users <nagdu at nfbnet.org>; TXAGDU List
<txagdu at nfbtx.org>; jpare at nfb.org
Subject: Re: [NAGDU] My concerns regarding the DOT service animal forms

Hi Melissa, thanks for your note I am flying on Southwest airlines.
Also, Mike Evers I wanted to let you know that Nfb legal folks and our
national Association of nine dog users are working very closely on this
issue. I know that since the department of transportation first propose
these forms that we have been fighting hard against them.
However it is my understanding that the DOT has refused to budge on this
issue.

On Wed, Sep 13, 2023 at 11:50 AM Melissa Allman <MAllman at seeingeye.org>
wrote:

Hi Elizabeth. Yes, this remains frustrating to put it mildly. Would 
you be willing to share which airline you are dealing with, as they 
all handle this differently unfortunately?

-----Original Message-----
From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Elizabeth Campbell 
via NAGDU
Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2023 12:44 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users < 
nagdu at nfbnet.org>; TXAGDU List <txagdu at nfbtx.org>; jpare at nfb.org
Cc: Elizabeth Campbell <batescampbell at gmail.com>
Subject: [NAGDU] My concerns regarding the DOT service animal forms

Good morning all,
I am writing to let you know about a frustrating experience I'm having 
with a task that should be simple, which is to complete the required U.S.
Department of Transportation form for traveling with our service animals.
I am taking a couple of flights on a different airline as I usually 
fly American which allows us to complete a form once a year and simply 
enter a service animal ID number when booking our travel.
However, as has been said previously in town hall discussions and 
other meetings, we don't have that option when flying other airlines.
Today, I tried completing the form, but I kept getting a popup window, 
even with the latest version of Adobe and the latest version of JAWS 
for Windows which prevented me from finishing the task.
I even called Aira  and talked to an agent who tried to help me via 
the Microsoft Quick Assist app, but she ran into the same roadblocks.

I believe we have accessibility issues on two fronts including 
completing the DOT form using software that is preventing us from 
completing tasks because of a popup that won't go away unless one reboots
the computer.
Then, we seem to have an issue with Adobe itself.
It's my understanding that we should be able to complete the 
accessible PDF without jumping through hoops.
Now, I will need to email the form to one of my work colleagues who 
has Adobe in hopes that he can help me finish the form.

Thanks all for reading. I know that I am preaching to the choir so to 
speak, but this convoluted and unjust requirement for us who have 
already paid for our airline travel must stop. We should not be 
penalized just because we choose to utilize our service animals to 
further our independence.
--
Elizabeth Campbell
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