[Travelandtourism] Large Passengers, Traveling With Guide Dogs, Flying Privately

[Santiago Velasquez]

HI to you all, thanks for the great resources.

Lynn, thanks for the hotline. I will have service in the USA, so I will save that number to my phone just incase of a rainy situation.

Peter Donahue, thanks for the informative email. I am afraid I don’t have any experiences with large passengers, so I am not able to comment about what the policies are for Australian airlines. However, a long time a go I did here that a larger gentleman did have to buy two sits for his trip. He was not vision impaired or anything though.

You are indeed correct. Australian Airlines require your guide dog to travel on top of an absorbent mat, but they provide the mat for you. And it is really up to your dog whether they want to travel on the mat. Mine before sitting down always likes to scratch it away. I don’t know if it is to make himself more comfortable, or just because dogs like to scratch a surface before they go to sleep if it looks like they can. Regardless of this, the mat is there just as a precaution.

Regarding taking service animals in an out of Australia without having your dog under go quarantine, you are correct. A bit of preparation is needed. However, it is a lot easier if you are leaving from Australia and coming back. If anybody is planning to come to Australia with your Guide Dog from the USA, I suggest preparing for the permit at least 6 Months in advance if you are coming from a country where rabies is present. The import and export permit are free if you are traveling with a service dog, and the quarantine waver only applies to service animals. They are very strict when it comes to this, so if you don’t have a permit they will not let your Guide Dog into the country. Just as a side note, emotional support animals are not as common here in Australia, and for an animal to be classified as an emotional support animal you need to show proof of training by an accredited organisation.

I did not considered private, or semi private airlines, so I will have a look to see what is available. I did look at boutique Airlines to travel from Boston to New York instead of Amtrak and their prices look very reasonable. However, from what I read on their website, you have to carry your checking luggage on your lap. If anybody has experience with them, or other similar airlines in the East coast, I am all ears.

Regards
Santi


> On 29 Apr 2019, at 10:48 am, Lynn Zelvin via TravelAndTourism <travelandtourism at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Another resource you should have - I don't think I saw anyone give this - the Department of Transportation has a hotline for air travelers with disabilities who encounter problems during travel. It's:
> 1 (800) 778-4838‬
> that doesn't help much if you don't have a cell phone that works here, but if you do, I have called it nseveral times and they are quite efficient. One time I called while on the ramp boarding a plane where they had already told me they were refusing me my assigned and desired seat and the problem was resolved by the time I entered the plane. 
> 
> 
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