Fear of Flying…..with Man’s Best Friend
Travel today is fraught with challenges, some more serious than others. You never know what you might encounter on your way to visit grandma, so it is best to be prepared. After a recent strange encounter on United Airlines, where I lost my seasoned traveler’s mojo, I wondered if any of my other friends had had similarly surprising experiences up in the air. Here’s what I learned.
Marguerite Thomas, longtime travel editor for The Wine News and other wine and food publications, recounted an incident which happened several years ago, a saga fueled by alcohol. “I boarded a lot of airplanes in my day, with almost every trip a pleasant experience. Unfortunately, the most unusual experience that popped into my mind when you asked me was a rare, unpleasant one.
Can I have another drink?
“If memory serves, this flight departed from either LA or San Francisco heading for Baltimore. The three middle-aged men sitting directly across the aisle from me had arrived noisily, at the very last minute, and they had clearly spent too much time in the airport bar before boarding. I, and I’m sure all nearby passengers, hoped the guys might quietly pass out, but instead they ordered more drinks as soon as possible. The crew on this flight were mostly young, mostly female, and clearly inexperienced. They kept bringing more drinks for these louts until, finally, they stopped serving them and then more or less disappeared.
“The men became belligerent and started harassing other passengers (for example vigorously and repeatedly shaking the seat of the older man sitting in front of them). I actually asked the one sitting across from me to reign his friends in but he laughed and said ‘Too late for that!’
“When we finally landed there was an announcement for all passengers to remain seated, then the doors opened and—ta da!—in marched two mem from the airport security force wearing Stetson hats like Mounties). They handcuffed the men and marched them off the plane. In the end, no one was hurt, though I believe most of us had been scared. As always, Shakespeare had it right: All’s Well That Ends Well.”
Is there a doctor on board?
Another friend, Joan Brower, spent many years touring the world during her illustrious career as a travel/lifestyle publicist. Thanks to her work and personal passion for discovering new places, Joan has many stories to tell. She described this on a recent train ride to Mohonk Mountain House in the Hudson Valley.
It all started with the dreaded announcement over the plane’s PA System, “Is there a doctor on board?” Joan has a front row seat for this incident which happened many years ago when her then two pre-teen sons and husband, a physician, were returning home from a holiday in Greece.
The flight was more than an hour from Athens, their outgoing airport, when a request for a doctor came over the PA system. As it happened, one of the passengers in coach had exhibited signs of a heart attack early in the flight before losing consciousness. Joan’s husband Mark responded immediately. Luckily, he had his black bag with him as he had visited a patient while in Greece. Upon examining the passenger Mark asked the flight attendant if someone in first class would give up their seat as the stricken individual needed to be in a reclined position. When no one volunteered, Mark resorted to laying out the passenger in the aisle. He enlisted the help of his sons as “orderlies” who immediately found blankets and pillows to make the sick passenger as comfortable as possible.
The captain has two options
Mark found heart pills in the passenger’s pockets and administered them. The situation was dire. He explained to the flight attendant that she urgently needed to request that the captain land the plane before setting out over the ocean. The flight attendant scurried to the cockpit and returned proclaiming that the captain had refused because “he had a schedule to meet.” Mark brusquely responded, “Tell the pilot he has two choices: Either he lands this plane in Brussels or he can carry off a dead passenger when he arrives at JFK.” Within a nano-second, the captain came back on over the PA system announcing their emergency landing in Brussels.
Several months later, Mark received a box of cookies compliments of TWA, an almost laughable corporate “thank-you” gesture for saving a fellow passenger’s life. A free roundtrip first class ticket would have been more appropriate given the severity of the situation. But then again, maybe this is yet another reason why TWA no longer exists.
Fasten your seat belt and hold on to your baby kangaroo
Over the past few years, we’ve all read stories about people traveling on planes with a menagerie of different animals many under the guise of emotional support. When things got out of hand—miniature ponies, turkeys, and baby kangaroos come to mind—the US Department of Transportation finally put its foot down. As of January 11th, 2021, airlines are no longer required to carry emotional support animals. However, it cannot discriminate against passengers with true disabilities traveling with service dogs or people with mental health issues accompanied by psychiatric service dogs (PSD).
Both categories of dogs are trained—some by professionals, others by their owners—to assist with a whole range of activities to ensure an individual’s safety. Coincidentally, both service dogs and PSDs fly for free. There are also specific things required in advance by the airlines before the animals are allowed on board such as complicated forms and an official letter from a physician.
Now here’s the real rub. What happens when another passenger doesn’t want to sit next to a PSD animal? (I am differentiating here between PSD and legitimate service animals whose presence no one would dispute). There are multiple reasons why a passenger might resist sitting next to an animal: having asthma, allergies, phobias, or other emotional reasons. However, it makes no difference what your red flag is as the ticket holder with the animal has more rights than the dissenting, non-dog passenger. I found this out the hard way on my trip to Orlando last month.
An encounter with a furry passenger
I was leisurely reading the New York Times comfortably ensconced in seat number 2B on the aisle. (I figured business class was safer for someone of my age to book during Covid.) Suddenly, a tall, handsome man appeared by my side and politely announced, “Excuse me, I’m your traveling companion.” I got up to allow him to access his seat, then spotted over his shoulder an enormous gold standard poodle, the size of a bear. I swear! All 50 plus pounds of the hairy beast!
“You can’t sit there with that dog!” I barked even surprising myself how emphatic I sounded. “But that’s his seat, he has 2A!” announced the flight attendant who had scurried over to the passenger’s rescue. I frantically retorted “But I’m deathly afraid of dogs having been bitten by one years ago.”
A stand-off
The flight attendant insisted. But I also held firm. Quietly she bent down and whispered in my ear, speaking very slowly as if to reprimand a naughty child. “Fine. Then YOU will have to get someone in the cabin to exchange seats with you.” To which I responded with total indignation, “But isn’t that YOUR job?”
I could see little hope of finding an easy compromise in this argument. “We’ll just have to wait until EVERYONE has boarded and then the gate agent will handle this situation,” the UA flight attendant snapped as she dashed off. At which point, I went back to reading my newspaper feeling miserably uncomfortable, as you can imagine. Finally, after an agonizing ten-minute wait for the last passenger to be seated, the agent appeared. Grey-haired, stocky, and casually attired in a colorful sweater his mother must have knitted for him, the agent swaggered down the aisle like an army drill sergeant ready to shout orders at his subordinates.
This agent meant business. Just as he was revving up his motors to take charge of the situation, the female passenger behind me cheerfully volunteered to exchange seats. I thanked her profusely explaining meekly my fear of dogs as I quickly settled into her 3B seat. Then, in a booming, authoritative voice so that everyone in the business class cabin could hear, the agent announced to the lady that he was giving her a $150 voucher for being so accommodating. Naturally, I was miffed as there was no offer made for my discomfort, embarrassment or what I considered passenger abuse. Not even a promise for a box of cookies!
Learning the rules the hard way
Later I found out that by law the airlines must accommodate the passenger with the animals first because of the American Disability Act. Both service dogs and PSDs are covered. In contrast, all the airlines are required to do for the dissenting passenger is find another seat away from the animal. And if that is not possible, they must provide a seat on the next flight to the original destination. I also learned that the airlines recommend that passengers not wanting to sit next to an animal let them know at check-in.
I still am leery about all those dogs flying free, except, of course, for the real service dogs. Why” Because let’s be honest. Americans can be cagy. In a recent New York Times’ article, Jon Methven—whose been asthmatic all his life—talks about people he knows who “without a hint of shame …. have cleverly registered their shaggy menaces as therapy animals, giving them access to restaurants, hotels and airplanes.” There’s always a way around the system and an accommodating doctor to write the prerequisite letter for PSDs can easily be found. However, at least now I know what action to take the next time I fly. But that doesn’t change the disquieting fact that dogs trump people in the air. Or would it be more accurate to say people with furry companions trump other passengers?