# Is there any airline that will let me fly with a 30lb dog in the main cabin?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 30, 2016, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446 "2016-11-30T05:41:23Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2016, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446/61 "2016-11-30T20:06:13Z")
> [@Telemark](#):
>
> I was told I couldn’t stash my misbehaving child in the cargo hold. The flight crew said I had to carry on my wayward son.
I was told that regulation is only for flights to Kansas.
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### Author:  [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2016, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446/62 "2016-11-30T20:14:31Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#):
>
> We looked into flying our two Danes cross-country when we moved. It was basically, “Ya can’t get there from here!” but both I and the United cargo agent were in hysterics by the time we worked through the nonfeasible options.
>
> (Punch line, after constructing a very complicated and expensive possibility: “…and that’s for \*one \*of them, because two would exceed the live cargo oxygen limit.”)
>
> But the thought of my crazy Harlequin boy in the main cabin was fun.
I had the same issue trying to figure out how to move my Newfie and his crew across the country. I could get everyone up to the Swissie on a domestic carrier. The Newfie was only going to go on a certain private carrier that specialized in animal transport. By the time I worked the logistics of that out, I ended up just driving the whole bunch of them out myself. They move horses by air, they’ve got to be able to move a dog. Yeesh.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2016, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446/63 "2016-11-30T20:51:35Z")
Horses get moved by air on the main deck of cargo aircraft operated by dedicated cargo lines. Which moves cost serious money. You certainly could move your entire menagerie that way. It’d be much cheaper to sell those dogs and get new ones at your destination.
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### Author:  [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2016, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446/64 "2016-11-30T20:53:00Z")
What if I showed up at a plane with 25 service-snakes?
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2016, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446/65 "2016-11-30T20:56:14Z")
I think you’d have lots of **-** ’ elbow room on that **-** ’ plane. Like several rows to yourself. 🙂
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### Author:  [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446/66 "2016-11-30T21:25:30Z")
**Moderator Note**
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#):
>
> **Omar** clearly understands, but sloppy wording continues to perpetuate wrong understanding.
Changing the text in quote boxes is forbidden here, even if you do it in such a way as to clearly indicate that you changed it (as you did). Do not alter text in quote boxes.
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> [@](#):
>
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### Author:  [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2016, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446/67 "2016-11-30T21:34:10Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> There \*are \*legitimate emotional support animals. IME on the airlines the number of pets that are falsely labeled emotional support animals outnumber actual emotional support animals probably 50 to 1.
As a pilot, what stops you from challenging those animals? The regulations allow you to ask for paperwork and deny boarding to anyone who doesn’t have it.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2016, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446/68 "2016-11-30T21:45:15Z")
What stops me is that it’s not my job. My boss doesn’t want me poking in there unnecessarily. The gate agents and FAs are experts in those regs, have all the details of the company policy in their manuals, have had training on the topic, etc.
If the passenger becomes a compliance problem that’s when I get involved. They are obligated, by law and by the conditions of carriage incorporated in their ticket purchase, to comply with crew member instructions. If that becomes in doubt then the buck stops with me to determine if the non-compliance results in their travel being disrupted. Not over their pet or their offensive t-shirt or their overpowering personal stench. But over their noncompliance.
Even then our management prefers that I contact a passenger service special expert person, drop the problem in their lap and heed their advice. Which I generally do unless it’s obvious to me the passenger is a hopeless case or I find the special expert on duty is useless.
One of the keys to using absolute power is to use it sparingly and only with good justification.
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### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2016, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446/69 "2016-11-30T22:00:49Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> As a point of information. …
>
> Cargo compartments are not much noisier than in the cabin. It’s not much cooler. It’s exactly as well ventilated. It is however absolutely, positively dark.
… provided the cargo heater is working. I posted this wonderful story before, but dammit, I’m going to post it again …
> **[Air Canada pilot diverts Toronto flight to save dog](https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/air-canada-pilot-diverts-toronto-flight-to-save-dog/article_7a126b86-5325-5ba4-8731-604daab85c24.html)**
>
> The pilot diverted a Tel Aviv-Toronto flight after a heater in the cargo hold malfunctioned and the dog was at risk for freezing
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### Author:  [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2016, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446/70 "2016-11-30T22:37:46Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> I bet if we offered that service for a reasonable fee and sold kid carriers at the gate many customers would gladly chip in to pay for it.
Right - but it’s when your airline figures out how to offer this service in flight that the serious money starts to be made.
(I was once on a flight from Auckland to LAX that included a kid around a year old who spent a solid 2 hours emitting truly blood-curdling screams. Think of the noise a child might make if you repeatedly poked red-hot needles into its eyes.)
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### Author:  [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2016, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446/71 "2016-11-30T22:53:47Z")
> [@Zsofia](#):
>
> I’m sure they don’t want to put it in as cargo because of the bazillion horror stories bout lost/misdirected/maltreated/ended up dead dogs in cargo.
[Like this one.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/17/AR2008071702720.html)
My wife joined the volunteer search parties looking for Jeddah, but the dog was never found. If you read the article, what’s only touched on is that the airline would not allow the sturdy crate on the plane, but forced the customer to use an airline-provided crate, no doubt because it was flimsier (lighter). The inadequate airline crate broke open on the tarmac and their loved one was never seen again.
It’s easy to blame the airline for this. It’s also factually accurate and should carry far heavier consequences – the sort that would deter a major corporation from risking and killing family members for a few bucks worth of kerosene.
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### Author:  [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)
#### Post date: [November 30, 2016, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446/72 "2016-11-30T23:35:45Z")
I’ve tried to come up with a scenario where someone lying to get their doggie a good seat would impact me in any way at all, and came up well short.
One does what seems best at the time.
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### Author:  [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2016, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446/73 "2016-12-01T00:19:56Z")
I am raising a Service Dog (I’m his puppy-raider). If I fly with him, I have to provide documentation on his school, he has to wear his vest, and he has to sit at my feet. He is a very large puppy (10 months) his Dad tops out around 98lbs.
It would not be a comfy trip for him.
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### Author:  [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2016, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446/74 "2016-12-01T00:38:16Z")
> [@BeeGee](#):
>
> Don’t be an asshole: the new golden rule as far as I’m concerned. I might stitch it into a sampler. Next to it I’ll add “Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should.”
> .
There is a corollary: Just because you can’t do it, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.
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### Author:  [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2016, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446/75 "2016-12-01T00:49:37Z")
I vote complainers go in cargo & dogs get to be in the cabin.
_( putting on my green metal fire proof undies )_
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### Author:  [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2016, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446/76 "2016-12-01T01:19:22Z")
Thread reported, using the service dog exemption is really hurting people who really need them. It perhaps is illegal to do as is suggested here, and definitely harmful to people who depend on service dogs.
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### Author:  [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2016, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446/77 "2016-12-01T01:19:42Z")
> [@Zsofia](#):
>
> I’m sure they don’t want to put it in as cargo because of the bazillion horror stories about lost/misdirected/maltreated/ended up dead dogs in cargo.
Or, as my vet said, “If you’re worried about your pet in air-cargo, you take the sedative. The dogs get treated better than you do.”
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### Author:  [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2016, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446/78 "2016-12-01T01:27:03Z")
> [@Evan\_Drake](#):
>
> I’ve tried to come up with a scenario where someone lying to get their doggie a good seat would impact me in any way at all, and came up well short.
>
> One does what seems best at the time.
Animals who are not trained as service animals can and do go to the bathroom where they like, when they like. They don’t sit quietly under a seat or between the owner’s feet; they can jump up on fellow travellers, whine, cry, bark, and in extremely stressful situations can bite. They are not trained to ignore other animals, so if there is an actual service animal on the flight (or an appropriately-sized and stowed pet) they can distract the service animal from its medical purpose or, in some cases, attack the service animal- potentially resulting in the loss of a $40,000 piece of medical equipment. If you’re sitting between it and the animal it wants to get at, guess who runs the risk of being bitten, scratched, or otherwise injured?
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### Author:  [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2016, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446/79 "2016-12-01T02:04:19Z")
> [@bobkitty](#):
>
> Animals who are not trained as service animals can and do go to the bathroom where they like, when they like. They don’t sit quietly under a seat or between the owner’s feet; they can jump up on fellow travellers, whine, cry, bark, and in extremely stressful situations can bite. They are not trained to ignore other animals, so if there is an actual service animal on the flight (or an appropriately-sized and stowed pet) they can distract the service animal from its medical purpose or, in some cases, attack the service animal- potentially resulting in the loss of a $40,000 piece of medical equipment. If you’re sitting between it and the animal it wants to get at, guess who runs the risk of being bitten, scratched, or otherwise injured?
LOL, you haven’t met many good dogs, have you? Mine would sit quietly where she was told to sit, and would never think of relieving herself in an inappropriate place. She would be a much more reliably quiet passenger than most kids. I’m not saying every dog is so well behaved, but they don’t require 40k in training to be good citizens.
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### Author:  [@CatandMouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatandMouse)
#### Post date: [December 1, 2016, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-airline-that-will-let-me-fly-with-a-30lb-dog-in-the-main-cabin/773446/80 "2016-12-01T02:15:28Z")
> [@Renee](#):
>
> LOL, you haven’t met many good dogs, have you? Mine would sit quietly where she was told to sit, and would never think of relieving herself in an inappropriate place. She would be a much more reliably quiet passenger than most kids. I’m not saying every dog is so well behaved, but they don’t require 40k in training to be good citizens.
Yep, my dogs behave better than most children. I’ve worked from home for the past 5 yrs and my 4 pugs sit quietly by my feet for 8 hrs, minus breaks and lunch when they go outside.
I have a sign on my front door, telling people what hours they are allowed to knock. As long as there’s no knock, they are quiet as can be.
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