United Airlines Apologizes After Dog Dies in Overhead Compartment
Last edited Thu Oct 29, 2020, 01:45 PM - Edit history (3)
Source: New York Times
United Airlines apologized on Tuesday after a dog died on a flight during which it was stored in a passengers overhead compartment...The dog, a black French bulldog that was traveling in a pet carrier, was placed in the compartment shortly before United Flight 1284 left Houston for New York...(T)he owner was instructed to put her dog there shortly after she boarded with two children, one of whom was an infant.
The pet owner was very adamant that she did not want to put the pet carrier up above... (A) witness...said "She was saying verbally, My dog is in here, no, this is my dog." The flight attendant, in response, really just continued to ask her to put it above because it was a hazard where it was, it was a safety emergency, someone could trip.
Eventually, the pet owner, whom United declined to name, complied with the flight attendant...(the) witness...said the owner was preoccupied by her infant during the flight and did not check on the pet, which fell eerily silent after barking during takeoff and as the plane ascended to its cruising altitude...
Putting animals in the overhead compartment is against the airlines policies, which say pets are required to travel in carriers that must fit completely under the seat in front of the customer and remain there at all times. United said it was investigating who had put the dog in the overhead compartment and why.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/13/business/united-dead-dog.html
I guess breaking a guitar though it's in a hardshell case, providing special flights as a political favor, dragging doctors off planes, and replacing employee bonuses with a lottery wasn't just wasn't enough...
rocktivity
= new reply since forum marked as read
I have sued these fuckers twice.
That last time around was the end for me.
I hope UA rots in hell where they belong!
I don't think the one has anything to do with the other... so yeah, insanity indeed. 
Last edited Thu Mar 15, 2018, 05:38 PM - Edit history (1)
“'My dog is in here, no, this is my dog.' The flight attendant, in response, really just continued to ask her to put it above because it was a hazard where it was, it was a safety emergency, someone could trip.”
The most lucid explanation that I can come up with is that the United flight attendant either didn't see the dog in the carrier (because they were both the same color?) or thought the passengers were lying because they wanted to keep their bag within reach. But even so, one of the attendants should have taken action when the barking started, because they should have known that is is NOT airline policy for pets to fly overhead.
rocktivity
Source: Newsweek
United Airlines has started an investigation after workers accidentally flew a Kansas City-bound dog to Japan, the airline confirms.
Kara Swindel was supposed to pick up her German Shepard, Irgo, at a cargo facility in Kansas City, Missouri, Tuesday afternoon, she told ABC News. When she arrived, an employee told her a "beautiful Great Dane" was waiting...Apparently, the airline's crew had mixed up Swindel's German Shepard with a Great Dane bound for Japan and sent both dogs to the wrong location.
"An error occurred during connections in Denver for two pets sent to the wrong destinations," United said in a statement. "We apologize for this mistake and are following up with the vendor kennel where they were kept overnight to understand what happened." The airline said it's flying Irgo back to the U.S. in first class, according to Swindel.
This mix-up comes after a puppy died on a United flight Monday after a flight attendant ordered the owner to place the dog in the overhead bin.
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What's Japanese for "United Airlines: We're the incompetence beneath your wings"?
rocktivity
This makes me very angry. 
That poor little one. 
or the attendant didn't see the dog in the carrier (was it also black?) and thought the passengers were lying. I would hope that if the attendant did recognize the pet carrier and a pet inside, he or she would have instructed the passengers to put the carrier under the seat in front of them -- which is United Airlines policy -- and put either the pet or the passengers on a later flight if it didn't fit.
rocktivity
Last edited Wed May 27, 2020, 06:38 PM - Edit history (2)
Both the dog and the carrier were black. I think what happened is that the flight attendant didn't believe that there was a dog in the carrier because he or she didn't see or hear one -- it was probably asleep.
rocktivity
Last edited Tue Mar 27, 2018, 07:41 PM - Edit history (3)
United Airlines Plans to Change Pet Policy Following Dog's Death in Overhead BinSource: People.com
Catalina Robledo, along with her 11-year-old daughter and 2-month-old son, brought family dog, Kokito, onto a flight from Houston to New York in a pet carrier. The owner stored the canine under the seat in front of her but was later told by a flight attendant to move the carrier, with Kokito inside, to the overhead bin. Robledo resisted the direction, but ultimately followed the flight attendant’s instruction.
At the end of the flight, when Robledo went to retrieve her dog, who was heard barking at least 30 minutes into the flight, she discovered her pet had died during the trip...
“...We have learned that the customer did tell the flight attendant that there was a dog in the carrier. However, our flight attendant did not hear or understand her, and did not knowingly place the dog in the overhead bin,” United spokesperson Maggie Schmerin told PEOPLE in a statement. “As we stated, we take full responsibility and are deeply sorry for this tragic accident...”
“To prevent this from happening again, by April we will issue bright colored bag tags to customers traveling with in-cabin pets. This visual tag will further help our flight attendants identify pets in-cabin..."
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But an independent ear witness heard the words ‘My dog is in here, no, this is my dog.' Did the attendant think the passenger was lying?
And now we know it wasn't a matter of the passengers not knowing their responsibilities when traveling with a pet -- they did, even if the attendant didn't. And an attendant certainly should have heard the barking, realized that a mistake that violated company policy had been made, and moved the carrier. But mistakes are for learning from, right?
Since United flight attendants evidently aren't trained or required to recognize pet carriers (OR pets) when they see one, the obvious solution is to shift the responsibility to the passengers? Why not give the tags to the baggage check-in clerks or the TSA to tie to the carriers? Perhaps that's not possible because they already have enough to do. But the important thing is, a United Airlines flight attendant's job is now a little easier...
rocktivity
Last edited Fri Apr 6, 2018, 11:22 AM - Edit history (4)
TMZ: ...(T)he Queens (New York City) District Attorney's Office...(is) looking into the matter and currently reviewing the facts to determine if there is a prosecutable case in their jurisdiction. The United flight where Kokito died...took off from Houston and landed at LaGuardia Airport...
In addition, Illinois is home to United's headquarters...that state would have jurisdiction if and when Kokito's owners file a civil lawsuit....
None of which is necessary. This is simply a matter of flight attendants who weren't totally familiar with their job duties -- fire them, AND go through their training program like an overdose of Epsom salts!
rocktivity
