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Dog dies on United flight after FA forces passenger to put carrier in overhead Login/Join 
A Grateful American
Picture of sigmonkey
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A few years ago, UAL could have gotten off for $500 or so, settlement.

But they have screwed the pooch and the sky's the limit, they won't beat this one.



And, I'm sort of sorry about all the bad puns.

(and the loss of the poor dog.)




"the meaning of life, is to give life meaning" Ani Yehudi אני יהודי Le'olam lo shuv לעולם לא שוב!
 
Posts: 43810 | Location: ...... I am thrice divorced, and I live in a van DOWN BY THE RIVER!!! (in Arkansas) | Registered: December 20, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
I Am The Walrus
posted Hide Post
Part of me wonders if they intentionally fuck up to get some bad publicity every few months to get the stock price to dip so they can do some insider buying. When the PR storm passes and stock prices go back to normal then they sell...


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Posts: 13047 | Registered: March 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Eye on the
Silver Lining
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Palm:
quote:
Originally posted by Otto Pilot:
quote:
Originally posted by ryan81986:
quote:
Originally posted by Palm:
Is there something specific about the overhead bin that would cause the dog to die? It's still a pressurized compartment. Or did it have a heart attack due to fear or something?


I'd guess that while the bins aren't sealed, the dog probably had limited airflow.

As guesses go, that probably a pretty solid one. The air volume would not be great just because of all the bags, and the doors would not allow in much fresh. Add in the fact that dog was probably agitated and breathing fast and heavy and it probably suffocated.

Sad. What a complete cock-up.


Yes that makes sense, I wasn't even thinking along those lines. How terrible.


This is a brachycephalic breed- it has trouble breathing to start with. It typically costs about $1500.00.

I’d completely lose my shit on that FA. I’m afraid I would’ve come completely unhinged. But, that said, there’s no way I’d put my dog up there. Especially without checking on it for three hours. No way. Something stinks here.. I’m surprised no other passengers questioned the strangeness of this request. I’ve never seen nor heard of anyone being asked to do this, and I’ve flown animals both in cabin and in cargo.
I’d be frickin devastated.


__________________________

"Trust, but verify."
 
Posts: 5284 | Registered: October 24, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Rumors of my death
are greatly exaggerated
Picture of coloradohunter44
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This is disgusting. Another reason to avoid United like the plague. How can they still be in business? I would have refused the order to stick my hound up there. My guess is I’d be driving instead.



"Someday I hope to be half the man my bird-dog thinks I am."

FBLM LGB!
 
Posts: 10895 | Location: Commirado | Registered: July 23, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Rail-less
and
Tail-less
posted Hide Post
I just read that animals die way more frequently on United compared to any other airlines.


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Use thumb-size bullets to create fist-size holes.
 
Posts: 13190 | Location: Charlotte, NC | Registered: May 07, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
10mm is The
Boom of Doom
Picture of Fenris
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quote:
Originally posted by Dusty78:
I just read that animals die way more frequently on United compared to any other airlines.

"We don't care. We don't have to. We're United Airlines.
Oh, and you're under arrest for being insufficiently deferential to a flight crew. But first, a beat down."




The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People again must learn to work, instead of living on public assistance. ~ Cicero 55 BC

The Dhimocrats love America like ticks love a hound.
 
Posts: 17459 | Location: Northern Virginia | Registered: November 08, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Grandiosity is a sign
of mental illness
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quote:
Originally posted by jhe888:
Terrible decisions were made by all.

I have doubts about whether pets should be allowed in the cabin at all, but why would the flight attendant think the overhead is an option?

And why wouldn't you just drive in the first place?

Or ship the dog in the hold, or by some other means.


Putting animals in the hold is a pretty good way to kill them.

That woman paid extra for her dog to ride in the cabin.
Yes, the dog Had A Ticket.
 
Posts: 2453 | Location: MO | Registered: March 07, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
thawed out,
thrown out
posted Hide Post
United needs to pay. It doesn't matter if the dog was worth $250 or $2,500. The only way these companies learn is when it affects their bottom line. Reimbursing the family for the cost of the dog doesn't make it right especially with the time, energy and money spent training and making it a part of the family not to mention the love and attachment they have to it. United can blow goats.
 
Posts: 124 | Registered: February 20, 2018Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by GregY:

Putting animals in the hold is a pretty good way to kill them.


No, it's not. Depending on the aircraft type, the lower cargo areas may have better temperature control or range, and animals are routinely carried in lower cargo.

Carriage in an overhead bin is another matter. It's a ridiculous idea. No ventilation.

If indeed the passenger bought a ticket for the pet and the pet could be accommodated that way, then there is no excuse whatsoever for putting the pet in an overhead luggage area.

The owner should never have agreed to place the animal up there, but the airline retains authority in the cabin and should never have used that authority to direct the animal be placed there. The fault is squarely on the airline.

United is one of the two largest carriers in the world and by virtue of the number of operations is statistically going to see more incidents per annum than a smaller firm simply by virtue of the number of operations. All the same, the airline seems to find itself in the news for abusing passengers and offending the public far more than it should.

I was less than impressed some years ago on a United code sharing partner to have a flight attendant bounce my laptop off the cabin wall when she tossed it at a locker. I was in full uniform at the time, and despite that, she showed more than indifference.

A FA who failed to adhere to company policy regarding the carriage of animals has little protection.
 
Posts: 6650 | Registered: September 13, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
אַרְיֵה
Picture of V-Tail
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by GregY:
Putting animals in the hold is a pretty good way to kill them.
Why do you say that?



הרחפת שלי מלאה בצלופחים
 
Posts: 30544 | Location: Central Florida, Orlando area | Registered: January 03, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
10mm is The
Boom of Doom
Picture of Fenris
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by V-Tail:
quote:
Originally posted by GregY:
Putting animals in the hold is a pretty good way to kill them.
Why do you say that?

Is it "safe" enough that you would you put your children there?

I have driven round trip from Virginia to California, Texas, and Florida with my three boys and my dog, an 80# Ridgeback. No cargo hold for my kids or hound.




The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People again must learn to work, instead of living on public assistance. ~ Cicero 55 BC

The Dhimocrats love America like ticks love a hound.
 
Posts: 17459 | Location: Northern Virginia | Registered: November 08, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Fenris:

Is it "safe" enough that you would you put your children there?



My kids would be required to possess a seat with a dedicated seat belt, so no.

I've transported and been involved with the transport of a number of different animals in lower cargo and cargo areas, from horses to dogs to llamas, camels, lions, goats, rhinos, cows, etc. Not all lower cargo is the same and not all aircraft are the same. At one operation, we transported a killer whale. We had a transport of 50,000 head of cattle by air to Kazakhstan.

Yes, animals routinely get carried in cargo areas, including lower cargo, and in some operations, it's a preferred area due to the range of temperature regulation.

The assertion that putting animals in a cargo "hold" is a good way to kill them, is false.
 
Posts: 6650 | Registered: September 13, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Administrator
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United: Batting 1000

Dog bound for Kansas flown from Oregon to Japan instead.

Probably no consolation for the GSD owners from Oregon that the Great Dane that was supposed to fly to Japan wound up with them in Kansas City instead.

United can change their name to United Against Passengers & Pets Airlines.

 
Posts: 17733 | Registered: August 12, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
His diet consists of black
coffee, and sarcasm.
Picture of egregore
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How could (if true) somebody not know there was a live animal in the carrier? Are they not required to be prominently labeled "live animal?" Or, failing that, the eyes and nose poking out might be a clue. Roll Eyes
 
Posts: 27834 | Location: Johnson City/Elizabethton, TN | Registered: April 28, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of Neel
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Sad that it happened. I'm not too sure the attendant is being honest. Looking at the carrier bag in the link, Its hard not to notice it's a pet carrier. I'm fairly sure the attendant glanced at it when she directed the passenger to put it in the overhead bin, the other thing is that she didn't notice a barking dog in the cabin.
Putting 2+2 together isn't that hard.


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Posts: 559 | Location: Idaho Panhandle | Registered: May 26, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Ice age heat wave,
cant complain.
Picture of MikeGLI
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by Neel:
Sad that it happened. I'm not too sure the attendant is being honest. Looking at the carrier bag in the link, Its hard not to notice it's a pet carrier. I'm fairly sure the attendant glanced at it when she directed the passenger to put it in the overhead bin, the other thing is that she didn't notice a barking dog in the cabin.
Putting 2+2 together isn't that hard.


Not to mention, unless they're in a bulkhead seat, they should have space under the seat in front of them to stow the dog. I can't imagine the woman had a diaper bag and a dog bag and opted to stow the dog overhead.




NRA Life Member
Steak: Rare. Coffee: Black. Bourbon: Neat.
 
Posts: 9676 | Location: Orlando, Florida | Registered: July 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Spectemur Agendo
Picture of brecaidra
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by BamaJeepster:
quote:
Originally posted by Black92LX:
quote:
Originally posted by comet24:
United f'cked up but who puts their dog in an overhead bin. I don't care what the FA told you to do. Get off the flight if that is the only option. Did she then not check on the dog during the flight. WTF


Yup.
4 hour flight. Rental car it is!


I agree that I would never have complied with such a stupid, ignorant order - but just for those who didn't go to the link for the story - it was a young mother traveling solo with an infant, an 8 year old girl and the dog...Not as easy to just give up an expensive flight and try to get a rental for a multi-hour drive...They may not have been able to afford to do that even if they had the time and ability to do it.


Also, according to the article she was concerned about the dog but was not allowed to get out of her seat to check on it.




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"It can't rain all the time." - Eric Draven
 
Posts: 16993 | Location: IA | Registered: May 28, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of 08 Cayenne
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Wow, just wow. In 2010 I had my Borzoi flown from Newark to Pittsburgh, the breeder flies them literally all over the world. She loved UA, said they had the best animal transport of any airlines. Dedicated holding section, (in cargo) obviously pressurized. Don't load them until the last minute and give them water and a potty break before loading. UA texted me pictures of him getting some attention from handlers prior to departure and when he was taken off the plane. Ticket was $375, considerably more than what passengers on the same flight would pay. Never again, I'll drive next time.
 
Posts: 1579 | Location: Ohio | Registered: May 27, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Too old to run,
too mean to quit!
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May have missed it, but as I understand it, UAL has a policy about such things. And the dumb-ass flight attendant appears to be unaware of the policy.

Not unusual in these days, either.

As for UAL, my last trip to Idaho was on UAL, and I will never fly on their airline again.

Arrogant and idiotic ground crews, same goes for flight crews. Not to mention that to change my return schedule, they required me to purchase a completely new ticket, which doubled the price for my trip.

Will probably never have to make another cross country trip but should it happen, I doubt I would fly. Last time we came cross country we drove, meaning me, and it took 5 days. Actual cost was about what it would have cost to fly.

And we had more fun, ate better and were a helluva lot more comfortable.


Elk

There has never been an occasion where a people gave up their weapons in the interest of peace that didn't end in their massacre. (Louis L'Amour)

"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical. "
-Thomas Jefferson

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FBHO!!!



The Idaho Elk Hunter
 
Posts: 25640 | Location: Virginia | Registered: December 16, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Equal Opportunity Mocker
Picture of slabsides45
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A cheap Frenchie is gonna run around $1,000.00. Some of the better bred ones, with breeding rights, will rock on up to near 5K. If United has any sense at all, they'll gladly pay whatever the customer asks on this one.

As has been stated, Frenchies have brachycephalic syndrome, with the stenotic nares, convoluted nasal turbinates, overlong soft palate, and hypoplastic airways. When they stress, the air flow can get so low as to cause them severe respiratory distress. So basically, this dog died alone in the dark scared sh-tless. Nice. Mad


________________________________________________

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving."
-Dr. Adrian Rogers
 
Posts: 6389 | Location: Mogadishu on the Mississippi | Registered: February 26, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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