Ladies, Gentlemen & Dog this is your Capt
 

Anyone else noticed that the UK Govt has given permission for partially sighted pax to take their guide (seeing eye) dogs with them in the cabin?

Virgin and BA appear to be willing to trial this new procedure. The dog has to have a pet passport, innocultion cert and entry papers to the destination country.

Questions about wether the a/c commander has to be informed, cabin crew training, animal welfare and most importantly evacuation procedures were not spelt out in the news I saw.

In practical terms where is it to sit? What about the delicate subject of toilets. 13 hours LHR - LAX is long enough for humans to sit with their legs crossed! And what about other pax with pet hair allergies?

The only perhaps flippant benefit is it might potentially bite any hijackers where it hurts most!

Sit!

Stay!

Discuss!


Sir George Cayley

I take it this is for longhaul international flights, as guide dogs regularly travel in the cabin on UK domestic sectors.

Usually the seat/seats next to the person with the guide dog are blocked to allow them some extra room. Assuming that is that the flight is not full. The guide dog also lies at the feet of the blind/partially sighted passenger.

As for informing the Captain, this should be done, both as a matter of courtesy and also via the loadsheet - showing as a Pet in the Cabin.

Some of these issues have been addressed previously:
_________________________________________

Swine flew: First-class pig's owner said pet had a right to fly

November 14, 2000
Web posted at: 10:47 PM EST (0347 GMT)

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (Reuters) -- You could call it "Flying Miss Piggy."

The owner of a 300-pound pig that flew first-class across the United States won't take any baloney about whether her pet porker, "Charlotte," belonged aboard a USAirways jetliner.

"I am a big animal rights person. My pig has the right to be with me on an airplane," Maria Tirotta Andrews said in her first public comments since she, her daughter and "Charlotte" gained international notoriety by boarding a six-hour nonstop flight from Philadelphia to Seattle, Washington, on October 17.

Andrews, who suffers from a heart condition, claims the pig's presence helps relieve stress, adding that she took the animal aboard the Boeing 757 on her doctor's recommendation.

"I love this pig. She's my best friend," she told the Philadelphia Daily News, which mounted a two-week campaign to find Andrews and published its interview with her on Tuesday under the banner headline, "The Pig and I."

USAirways allowed "Charlotte" on board the plane, along with 200 human passengers, after granting it the same "service animal" classification reserved for seeing-eye dogs.

According to the airline, "Charlotte" slept for most of the flight. But as the plane landed, the animal went hog-wild and started squealing, tried to get into the cockpit and charged through the cabin discharging feces as it went. The animal then squealed and fussed through the airport.

"She is one of the best-trained, best-behaved animals there is," Andrews said in her pet's defense.

USAirways has promised that no such thing will ever happen again aboard its flights.

The Federal Aviation Administration is still investigating to find out how the pig got to fly in the first place.

But whether "Charlotte" is better at relieving stress or causing it remains unclear.

The Daily News reported that Andrews moved from New Jersey to Everett, Washington, near Seattle, for health reasons but that her apartment managers are threatening eviction after catching sight of "Charlotte."

"They don't know if it's the high-flying pig or not. They just made the threat," Andrews told the newspaper. "They said they were animal lovers, and they're not!"

http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/11/14/airlines.pig.reut/

Firstly I very much doubt many Guide Dog owners would wish to take their dog on a long haul holiday.

As someone who has grown up surrounded by these amazing dogs, I know that they only work best when in their local environment. Taking a dog which has say worked all it's life in a UK town/village and then transport it to say LA would be a waste of time and effort.

Cars on the different side of the road, different pedestrian crossings, and the owner not having a clue where he/she is going, not to mention the unusual heat, the dog would be a shade of it's normal self and would much prefer to be on it's own holiday i.e. running around the local woods rolling in all sorts of mud/fox ****, and being looked after by some soft Guide Dog Groupie who gives out sasuages after each dow-eyed gaze!

But for those very very few owners who do decide to take their dog on a long haul trip, e.g. emigrating/long duration business trip, I know that they will probably be the best behaved thing in the cabin and will amaze cabin crew and passengers alike! People with Allergies can be relocated in the cabin, and toilet breaks can be managed in a discreet, suitable and hygenic manner I'm sure, with most blind people having a sighted helper with them on such a trip.

Better behaved than some pax...
 

Yes, indeed they are.
Have personally had a few in the cabin in years past, proper documentation provided of course.

And they don't try to pinch the a-- of the hostie, after having too many adult beverages.

Give these folks with a guide dog a break...they have enough problems already.:sad:

Three hundred pound pigs, on the other hand, should stay firmly on the ground.:mad:
This goes for the three hundred pound pax as well.:p

Ah but security considerations......

If we must ban nail clippers, just think what a maliciously trained retriver could do :}

We must ban this immediately.