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Delta flight controversy over seating arrangement for plus-sized woman and service animal

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Delta flight controversy over seating arrangement for plus-sized woman and service animal
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View from the Wing | View from the Wing

A passenger at the gate area of a Delta flight captured a photo of a woman preparing to board for Detroit, accompanied by a large dog and four carry-on items.

The dog was not in a bag that fits underneath the seat, which is required for pets in the cabin. Although registered with the airline as a service animal, it clearly did not meet the criteria. Pets in cabins are treated as carry-ons, meaning she should have only had one personal item with her instead of four.

Upon boarding the Bombardier CR-9 regional jet, the woman found she did not fit in first class seat 2A along with her dog. The flight attendant on this Delta Connection trip allowed her to move across the aisle to sit in 2C and placed her dog in 2D. Both seats were assigned to other passengers.

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The passenger assigned to 2C was redirected to 2A upon boarding. Subsequently, the passenger with seat 2D was given seat 1C. When the passenger holding ticket for 1C boarded, he was informed there was no first-class seat available for him.

The first-class passenger in 1C was "involuntarily downgraded to a comfort-plus seat," which offers extra legroom but is still part of coach class.

Typically, passengers who purchase only one seat should be afforded just one seat. Other passengers should not be moved or downgraded to accommodate them. If more than one seat is needed, additional seats can be purchased; however, this does not increase the carry-on bag allowance.

Despite these issues, Delta Air Lines flight 4306 departed ten minutes early and arrived in Detroit twenty minutes ahead of schedule.

Passengers can bring service animals on planes without extra charges by filling out paperwork that largely involves attesting that it is indeed a service animal. Emotional support animals are no longer officially recognized on planes but enforcing this relies heavily on an honor system.

This situation highlights ongoing challenges with emotional support animals on flights and compliance with related regulations.

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