Welcome @TE. It's good to have you here joining in the conversation. In the forums, the most recent discussion is animal dander on airplanes.  Hope to see you there with your ideas.

In an effort to best take care of me when purchasing a plane ticket is, I buy business class. This is obviously at a height cost to me and I feel it’s unfair. But, animals are not often in B/C.

It’s beyond sneezing and itchy eyes. My asthma kicks in. It becomes very hard to breathe.

I understand people have animals for various reasons (medical and otherwise). I do not however feel they should be allowed in the cabins sharing the same air quality as us human beings. Is it really worth the life of another…?

Thank you for your continued advocacy on this. It does seem like we need to keep working on even more accommodations as I'm worried this still won't change the fact that more and more people are bringing animals onto planes, allowing them to sit on seats etc.

Could we make any headway by looking at the root cause of the issue which is that the reason people want to bring their pets with them in the cabin is that they fear putting them in cargo? The main reasons they worry about the cargo hold seem to be: temperature fluctuations (and often colder air in cargo than the cabin), difficulty making sure pets have access to their food or water, the worry that they may be anxious and frightened, and that they are sometimes unloaded last, after the luggage is taken off. There are many many articles and blog posts online arguing that owners should do whatever they can to bring their pets on board in order to protect them.

I'm not sure what the FAA could do about this but it seems like an important part of the conversation.

Thanks again for your work on this!

Thank you so much from all of us who suffer and for this update !
I too have to worry about traveling with animals, where I can stay, hotel, rental home that a cat /dog has not stayed in. I get extremely sick for a long period of time.
Definitely ruins a vacation or going to see my kids in other States.  
Michelle Keen

Thank you for the update! It is very good and should lessen the amount if problems for many, but sadly does not quite allow me to travel yet.

At least it is acknowledged that the airlines do not accommodate individuals with dander allergies and asthma, and that the resulting risk to us can be life threatening asthma attacks, worsening of severe chronic conditions that involve multiple vital organs and are also life-threatening,  increased need for high-risk medication use with detrimental side effects and worsened medical prognoses.

The airlines do show preference to disabilities involving individuals with  service animals over those with allergic and asthmatic diseases, although I do not believe those people with service animals would have as detrimental effects if separated from their animals for a flight duration and the benefit to others would be very great.

I do admit that I do not know all the outcomes of a person having an alternate aid during a flight, but it certainly seems unfair to me that my disability is not accommodated at all and I cannot fly due to the risks caused by accommodating other disabilities that would not be there otherwise.

But I just will continue not to travel by plane and be discriminated against.

Hi Hillary H - AAFA has a meeting with the DOT Disability Advocacy Working group coming up at the end of June. We will share any updates after that meeting.

Thank you for bringing attention to this important issue! Is there anything we can do to help advocate? This is a constant stressor for me as I have severe asthma triggered by cat and dog dander and flying in the states (animals aren't allowed in planes in the same way in other countries) has become harrowing for me. 

Thanks!

I just want to thank the AAFA for their advocacy regarding the pet dander issue. I have allergic asthma and highly allergic to cat, dog, and horse dander. So much so, that my immunologist prescribed me an EpiPen after my allergy test results were revealed. Also, a few years ago, after being exposed in an airplane cabin to a dog that was shaking and being bounced around on someone's lap, I had to stop flying to the East Coast to avoid the dog dander allergen that triggers my asthma. 

Oh my gosh YES !!! Travelling with Asthma...

Animals checked onto planes have "bumped" me off intercontinental flights a number of times (even if I had reserved my ticket weeks or months before the animal owner!), as I don't want to have an acute asthma attack half-way across the Atlantic. I could easily die.  To add insult to injury, no compensation has ever been forthcoming from the airline for a hotel when the next flight was the next day.....

If airlines require animal owners to submit documentation minimum 48 hours before, then asthma and allergy sufferers should be able to submit their disability documentation when they reserve their airline ticket, and thus be able to make sure there will be no animals allowed on the flight, or be able to switch flights right away (if an animal is already registered) with no extra charge. 

There are lots of possible solutions, but all of these require airlines recognizing that asthma and allergy suffers have a REAL disability that can be life threatening, and that needs to be accommodated with the same rights as other disabilities. 

Hotels should also always guarantee permanently animal-free rooms. No matter how well a hotel cleans, it is not going to eliminate all animal dander. So not to have permanently animal-free rooms is discriminating against people with allergies to animal dander, just as not having a wheelchair accessible bathroom discriminates against people with mobility issues.

I also rent out two holiday homes on our farm in Tuscany, and have had to opt for a special rental/tax category that permits me to NOT accept animals, as normally vacation accommodations and hotels are obliged to be animal-friendly.

Please let me know if there is anything I can do to further the interests/rights of asthma and allergy sufferers on public transportation, planes and in hospitality structures.

SFMG

Debsie posted:

Thank you so much for advocating for asthma/allergy sufferers regarding animals on planes. People with pets do not seem to realize that it is a matter of life or death for an allergy sufferer, like me, to be exposed to pet dander. Please let me know how I may help with this effort.

Also, I had to cancel my plans to two family weddings this past year, sadly, because the hotels offering accommodations for the wedding guests, as well as other hotels in the same towns, had "pet friendly" policies, and could not guarantee that no pets would have recently been in my reserved room. Is your organization also advocating for asthma sufferers to hotels and VRBOs? If so, how may I help in that effort?

Thank you, Deborah Belonick

Hi Chinarider10! Welcome to the AAFA forums! 

Thank you for sharing your comments. We are carefully monitoring this and will have more information coming soon. 

Kathy P posted:

  @Chinarider10 - the public comment period is not open yet. We will keep everyone posted when that opens. Meanwhile, you can read the proposed rules (PDF).

It says directly at the top how the public can submit comments. What is the AAFA planning to do about this? I believe that the definition of service animal needs to be universal and that "emotional support animals" need to be eliminated. That said, if I can't have anything under my feat upon take off and landing, how is an animal, however well trained, going to react during a true flight emergency? 

Thanks for sharing your experience with hotels and other accommodations @Debsie. AAFA continues to educate and raise awareness about the seriousness of asthma and allergies and for advocates for access.

Thank you so much for advocating for asthma/allergy sufferers regarding animals on planes. People with pets do not seem to realize that it is a matter of life or death for an allergy sufferer, like me, to be exposed to pet dander. Please let me know how I may help with this effort.

Also, I had to cancel my plans to two family weddings this past year, sadly, because the hotels offering accommodations for the wedding guests, as well as other hotels in the same towns, had "pet friendly" policies, and could not guarantee that no pets would have recently been in my reserved room. Is your organization also advocating for asthma sufferers to hotels and VRBOs? If so, how may I help in that effort?

Thank you, Deborah Belonick

  @Chinarider10 - the public comment period is not open yet. We will keep everyone posted when that opens. Meanwhile, you can read the proposed rules (PDF).

Hi there

Can you please share a link to the DOT proposal so that the public can comment as well.

Sent from my iThingy