Woman's First Class Seat Was Taken by an Emotional Support Animal
Katie Genter
I’ve certainly had some interesting experiences in the more than 200 flights I’ve flown since the start of 2018. But last week, something new happened when I boarded an American Airlines flight from Charlotte (CLT) to Atlanta (ATL): my first class seat had been taken by an emotional support animal. Here’s the full story, as well as each US carrier’s policy on emotional support animals sitting in passenger seats.
I’d been working in the Admiral’s Club prior to my flight, so I arrived at the gate about seven minutes after boarding was scheduled to begin. When I arrived, the gate area was empty and the screen displayed Group 9. So, I wasn’t surprised to see a full first class cabin and a flight attendant distributing pre-departure beverages when I boarded. But, I was surprised to see a small dog occupying my seat.
The passenger sitting next to the dog — the dog’s owner — was on his cellphone, so it took some time for me to catch his attention and convey that his dog was in my seat. He continued his cellphone conversation but slowly moved the dog to the ground and then into the aisle before turning his knees slightly so I could slide past him to 4F. Once I was in my seat, he relayed to the woman on the other end of his cellphone conversation that “Sully lost her window seat.”
Based on its harness, the dog seemed to be traveling as an emotional support animal. The dog laid on the floor between our seats for the first half of the flight, which meant I had to be careful when I moved my legs or got items from my bag. The man held the dog in his lap for the second half of the short flight.
We could debate the merits of emotional support animals (ESAs) and whether this animal should even be considered an ESA. But disregarding that aspect, the issue here is that American Airlines has behavior guidelines for ESAs — yet this passenger ignored many of the outlined rules.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/article/my-first-class-seat-was-taken-by-an-emotional-support-animal/ar-AAFKfji?li=BBnb7Kz
The last time I flew I was seated by a woman with a small dog but she kept it under in one of those kennel/ pet carriers. At one point the case was opened but the dog sat there and behaved itself.
= new reply since forum marked as read
I've had your experience and many others like it in 1st class where I paid double to avoid the cattle call in the rear only to have to put up w/ someone's animal they think is human.
Grrrr. 
