Pets can FINALLY fly on Southwest!
 

Just a month too late for me! I needed to fly with a cat recently and Southwest would have been the cheapest and most convenient flight.

http://www.southwest.com/travel_cent...2000PETS090529

Only $75 for a pet fee - cheaper than USAir's $100 and Delta's $150. Not bad.

FYI, I did email Southwest a nice, detailed message a few weeks back about how disappointed I was that I had to fly USAir instead of Southwest on my recent trip with the cat. All I got back was a polite non-committal response (with no hint that they would ever change their policy) - but maybe it got someone's attention??

Yikes, I guess a friend of mine who has a terrible allergy to cats will no longer be able to fly on Southwest.

Since most of the other airlines have allowed pets up until this time, how has your friend managed to fly til now - always on Southwest?

I know that air circulates through the planes, but at least on Southwest you have the option of not sitting next to a pet should you wish not to - very easy to move.

Yes Andrew, always on Southwest. The SW flights have worked for her and she has always taken SW flights from our local airport to where her family lives in another state. She has never flown out of the US. She is very as in VERY allergic to cats. She has ended up in the ER more then once due to being in a place such as a store for example that had a cat in it. An no, it it not in her head..the last time she ended up in the ER she was at a friend's house. That friend did not have a cat. But that friend's daughter was visiting and did have a cat unbeknownst to my friend. Said cat had been put in a bedroom with a closed door while my "allergic to cats" friend was there. After awhile, during the visit my friend got feeling ill, her fingernails went blue evidently. Long story short 911 was called and she again ended up in the ER.

Soooo, long story short I do not think she will ever again be able to fly with Southwest.

I love animals but it is interesting to me that airlines banish peanuts due to people with peanut allergies but people with animal allergies are not thought of evidently.

Seems like your friend would probably be sensitive even to cat hair. I have been babysitting my friend's cat for a while and have been holding her quite a lot. Even with a roller it's hard to get all the cat hair off of me. If I got on a plane sitting next to your friend, I wonder if she'd have an allergic reaction? It's impossible to keep people off a plane who have cat hair on them.

Southwest as an airline had to weigh how many of its customers would be allergic to cats vs how many would be served (like I would have been a month ago) by being able to carry one on board. I'm not sure, but I'll bet severe allergies to cats like your friends are quite rare. No doubt Southwest isn't exactly breaking new ground here in making this change since the other airlines have been taking pets on board forever. I imagine Southwest is aware of the potential problems the other airlines have dealt with and chose the trade-off.

(And is there no allergy medication your friend could take prior to a flight to avoid a severe reaction?)

I agree with <b>Andrew</b>. The airlines can't control every little issue, every airline that carries animals in the cabin already has the same procedure for dealing with the animal-allergic, and I am sure that SWA will follow it, too. The way that it normally works is that the question of one interest taking priority over the other is a matter of first-come, first-served. If you have already booked your flight and call to let the airline know that you are seriously allergic, one of two things will happen. If there are no pets already booked on the flight, they will note your severe allergy and block the flight; no one will be allowed to buy a ticket after yours that includes a pet fare. If you call to notify them and there is ALREADY a pet scheduled to be on board, they will offer you the chance to change to a different flight, and normally will waive the change fee (if there is one.)

In all cases, it is incumbent upon the allergy sufferer to notify the airline of the issue as soon as possible, and check back with them often to be sure that the information has not mysteriously disappeared.

Note that it is not possible to avoid trained service animals on flights. By law, the airlines must allow them on board any time they show up, and the disabled passenger does not have to pay a fee to take them.

Thank you AA. Yes I know that service animals are allowed on all flights. My friend does not have a problem with dogs. I will pass your good advice on to her when we next talk. And yes her situation is quite unusual, she is the only person I have ever known that gets such a violent allergic reaction to cats.

Hi Andrew, that is a good question regarding any medication. I am sure she has never been prescribed any medication but I will be sure to suggest she talk to her doctor about that possibility. Thank you. She is not flying anywhere this summer so she has time to follow through on the good suggestions posted here.

Andrew, I think YOUR e-mail did the trick!