Most airlines allow small pets into the cabin of the plane, provided they meet certain criteria, usually having to do with age and size.
As an example, here’s part of what Delta says about bringing pets on board:
Carry-On Pets
Small dogs, cats and household birds can travel in the cabin for a one-way fee that is collected at check-in. The pet must be able to fit in a soft-sided ventilated pet kennel that will go underneath the seat directly in front of you.
Please review the following requirements to ensure a safe and healthy flight with a small pet traveling as a carry-on:
- Your pet must be at least 8 weeks old for domestic travel.
- Your pet dog must be 6 months old if traveling to the U.S. from another country and a pet cat must be at least 16 weeks old.
- Your pet must be at least 15 weeks old when traveling to the European Union.
- 1 pet is permitted per kennel with the following exceptions:
- 1 female cat or dog may travel with her un-weaned litter if the litter is between 8 weeks and 6 months of age. There is no limit on the number of animals in the litter as long as they can fit safely in the kennel.
- 2 pets of the same breed and size between the ages of 8 weeks and 6 months may be allowed to travel in 1 kennel, as long as they are small enough to fit into a single kennel and are compatible. If the pets are allowed to travel in 1 kennel, they will be charged as 1 pet.
Pets in kennels will count as your 1 carry-on item. In addition to the kennel, you are permitted to bring 1 personal item on board the aircraft.
There are no rules about the pet’s behavior, and I’m quite sure there have been several times when a crated pet in the cabin has not been 100% quiet. A dog will bark or a cat will meow when they’re excited or are trying to get their persons’ attention, and both will whine when scared or upset. It’s just a natural part of dog/cathood.
So it was probably a little shocking when, according to a passenger, a Delta flight attendant told her to quiet her cat or else she would be asked to deplane.
Janelle Rupkalvis said that she and her partner were traveling on a Delta flight from Seattle to Jackson Hole, with a layover in Salt Lake City with her 4-year-old cat, Asparagus (nicknamed “Gus”). It wasn’t Gus’ first time on a plane.
Janelle & Gus / Instagram
They had a 5am flight and had just taken their seats in first class, when things veered off from the ordinary.
Rupkalvis said, “We sit down and within like 30 seconds, a minute, maybe two minutes, a flight attendant comes up to us … She goes, ‘If your cat doesn’t stop meowing, we’re going to have to ask you to get off the plane.”
“I was like, ‘What?’ Like, one, he’s a cat. Two, he’s not screaming. He’s meowing because there’s a lot of commotion.” She continued, “This is a scary thing for a little guy who’s sitting in a little carrier underneath the seat.”
Rupkalvis said she and her partner “panicked” and tried to make Gus “quiet down” while boarding was happening so they didn’t “get kicked off.”
She continued that she texted a Delta agent and asked them to “clarify” their pet policy, so she’s prepared, just in case “the situation escalates.”
“They said that the requirements are that the customer is responsible for keeping the pet passive and in the kennel for the duration of the flight, and two, the pet must be in a clean kennel that does not create discomfort for other customers,” she claimed.
Rupkalvis noted that the agent said “passive” and not “silent.” She added that was a “huge distinction.” It’s also noted that, as I said, there are no written rules about the pet’s behavior once onboard.
The flight attendant apparently calmed down after that and didn’t threaten to make Rupkalvis and her partner deplane. But Rupkalvis followed up with the Delta agent to see if they could get any sort of compensation because the flight attendant had given them incorrect information which, given to them, which, according to Rupkalvis, caused an “anxiety-induced situation.” She said Delta offered her and her partner either a $150 voucher or 15,000 miles each — which they took.
Rupkalvis did make a statement to the New York Post: “While the initial experience was frustrating, I really appreciated that level of customer service and the effort to acknowledge and address the situation.”
Here’s the video Rupkalvis made about the incident:
@janelleonajet I was seriously in shock 😳 what do you think about this travel mishap?
Rupkalvis mentioned in one of her replies that she submitted an official complaint with Delta about the situation and she hopes they speak with the flight attendant.
Our take on this
Well, I’m glad there was a happy ending.
I mean, if Rupkalvis and her partner were compensated $300 or 30,000 miles total, I will assume the story is true. My question is, why on earth did she ask to be compensated for that? I mean, crap happens. The flight attendant was wrong, it was clarified, and they weren’t asked to get off the plane so… assuming the FA said they were sorry, and especially since Rupkalvis submitted a complaint about the whole incident, shouldn’t that be good enough?
According to her, no. As another reply on her video: “incorrectly being threatened off of a flight deserves compensation IMO.”
Welp, someone’s making a mountain out of a molehill.
Feature Photo: Kymberly // flickr // CC BY-SA 2.0
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