Dave Barry posted this item on his blog:
Hey —
I’m a flight attendant with Northwest Airlines… You’re gonna love this one.
Recently, Northwest reprimanded a flight attendant because she made a passenger put her lap dog back in its carrier during the flight.Until last month, this was the required action when a pet was removed from their carrier. With our October FAA Manual Update “Emotional Support Animals” are no longer required to be in carriers during peoples travels and if they are the size of a lapchild they can be held in the passengers lap through out all phases of flight. This in itself has most flight attendants saying…. what? so now anyone can have their pet in their lap for emotional support through out the flight??? better yet… WHAT contstitutes an “Emotional Support Animal”… and what authorization does someone need to carry this “ESA” with them on flights. Remember we are not talking about Dogs for the Blind or Monkeys for the Paralized. Spefically noted in the Update Pigs and Small Horses are to be allowed on board planes…. YES … SMALL HORSES? As my co-workers and I read this we asked ourselves, Who is going to clean up after the Quadriplegics pig and pony as we travel from Detroit to Tokyo??? and better yet where are we going to put the cleaned up items.We are Union Workers you know, and I know there is nothing in that last contract that requiring us to clean up after dogs, cats, pigs, monkeys or horses. Our contract negotiations are scheduled to begin in the next few months while pay cuts seem to be on the top of the list for Management requests, I’m thinking first you put me in the middle of the passengers and the Terrorists, but now you tell me I have to live with barn animals on my flight too??? God, I need to rethink what I do for a living.I’ve enjoyed reading your column through the years…. thought you might enjoy that.
NWA Flight Attendant