Imagine walking into an airline lounge and hearing, “I’m sorry, my cat is sitting there. You’ll need to stand.” Would you just laugh at the pathetic hilarity of the situation or react in a more aggressive way?
I frequently criticize the use of emotional support animals, but it is not out of vindictiveness. Rather, it is because I view them, on the whole, as an unreasonable threat to passengers and their proliferation in the USA (versus the rest of the world) a sign that ESAs are being abused simply to skirt in-cabin pet fees.
But I’ve never contemplated competing with dogs or cats for seats in an airport lounge. Until now…
My friend Ed Pizzarello over at Pizza in Motion shared of his recent experience in the Air France Lounge at Paris CDG. He noticed a couple traveling together brought their cats along. One was kept on a leash, sprawled out on the floor, and needed frequent walks around the lounge. The other just sprawled out in a chair. According to Ed, “With no seat left for her male companion, he alternated between taking the cats somewhere (bathroom break) and wandering around the lounge.”
Laughs aside, is this the future of airline lounges? Sharing space with dogs and cats who are treated like humans? It strikes me as a bed precedent, like putting your feet on furniture or taking your shoes and socks off.
I’m not in the business of confronting passengers over behavior and I don’t view blogging about it as passive aggressive. But I do hope that airlines are taking note and will not simply allow lounges to be overrun by four-legged animals…
CONCLUSION
No harm, no foul? The moment the dog bites a child or the cat starts shredding the furniture, it will already be too late. Pets belong in a cage in the cargo hold. That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it…
Anyone care to convince me otherwise?
“Imagine walking into an airline lounge and hearing, “I’m sorry, my cat is sitting there. You’ll need to stand.” Would you just laugh at the pathetic hilarity of the situation or react in a more aggressive way?”
Well actually, I’d ask if I could pet the cat…
“bed precedent”?
I love cats. But I do think they have to remain in a carrier whenever in a public place.
I have to agree with you. As someone with pet allergies, I find it rude and disrespectful to my rights as a paying customer to have to avoid places because someone believes they need to be emotionally enabled. I don’t think companies are helping humanity patronizing this behavior.
As a side note- I also wonder about the wellbeing of the pets, is there a study showing they don’t get stressed with air travel or the loud noise of the various public places their owners take them?
The airlines really need to crack down on this nonsense. People need to stop taking their pets on trips.
Why do so many people have cats
Why do so many people hate* cats?!
Nonsense! Do you have or even ever had a pet? You obviousely don’t know the subject well enough. Pets are family members and must be treated as such. Many people choose pets over children, at least at some point of their live.
While I do agree that pets should remain in their travel bags, while traveling, even that differ on case by case basis.
There are rules when pets can be taken on board and those must be respected.
It is not service for free, not at all, so stop talking about paying custumers. Sometimes pet fee is higher then ticket price for passenger itself!
That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it…
+1000000000000
The airlines really need to crackdown on this nonsense. Those dogs really make the fur on my back stand on end with all thier uncouth ways.
My Emotional Support Human really helps me deal with the stress those smelly dogs that only lick and smell certainly body parts. They really should bathe themselves daily like a civilized creature.
But then again they aren’t worshipped by the humans like we are, but we did domesticate the humans.
Totally agree, Matthew!
And Matthew dreams one day of being a grown up and accepting that you snooze you lose …. if it was a kid would you ask the parents to move it ?
It wasn’t a kid., it was a cat.
I would like every lounge to have a resident cat ( and/or a dog, so long as the dog was of the right temperament and didn’t stress easily).
I would be great to be able to pet them.
Birds would be good as well. So would fish.
Okay… Yeah… You’re right Matthew.
But seeing those sacked-out cats in the lounge would have brought a big smile to my face.
(And I’d have been tempted to slip them some smoked salmon…)
Wow! Your cat/dog looks delicious! Can I ask the chef to prepare it for us?
If the owner stand up and goes ballistic, you can sit at the owner’s previous seat and say “thank you”
i agree the sane for large dogs sitting on the furniture in sky clubs etc..on the floor PLEASE
Cats Rule! OK xxx