TRAVEL

United Airlines spox to TCR: United “no longer restricts any breed as long as it’s a service animal and the customer has the proper documentation”
After January 11, reservations on all United flights will be permanently closed to all emotional support animals. Cabin access will be limited to service dogs that can meet the service animal requirements.
Asked if United was maintaining its ‘pitbull ban,’ United spokesman Charles Hobart told TCR in an email: “We no longer restrict any breed as long as it’s a service animal and the customer has the proper documentation.”

Delta lifts ban on pitbulls that meet service dog requirements, emotional support animals permanently grounded
There’s something unique about Delta’s announcement today. Delta — the airline which led the move to ban “pitbull-type dogs” following a series of violent incidents inflight involving pitbulls traveling as emotional support animals — also becomes the first major U.S. carrier to announce the removal of its pit-bull ban today. “Delta will lift its ban on pitbull-type dogs that meet documentation requirements for trained service animals,” the announcement says.

American Airlines: Full ban on emotional support animals to take effect Feb. 1, no ESA reservations past Jan. 11
One week after Alaska Airlines made its announcement, becoming the first U.S. airline to announce a full ban on emotional support animals, American Airlines announced a forthcoming full ban on emotional support animals on January 5th that will take effect on February 1, 2021.

First airline bans emotional support animals. Delta to unveil new policies next week.
Neither Delta nor United have issued policy changes since the DOT announcement on December 5….Changes now appear to be imminent, however. Delta spokeswoman Lisa Hanna told TCR this afternoon that Delta intends to announce its new policies on January 7. Last week, United Airlines spokesman Charles Hobart advised that TCR follow-up in early January.

U.S. airlines bid good riddance to emotional support animals
Airline industry stakeholders finally have something to celebrate in 2020. For emotional support pigs, miniature horses, snakes, and turkeys, it’s the end of an era of commercial air travel. Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a set of final rule revisions to the Air Carrier Access Act it proposed earlier this year – rules that major airline industry stakeholders like Delta Airlines have long called for.

The end of emotional support animals: U.S. air carriers to restrict cabin access to documented service dogs
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced its final revision of rules under the Air Carrier Access Act which had required air carriers to treat emotional support animals as service dogs. The revisions give airlines significantly more discretion:

Five COVID-19-friendly activities to do with your dog this fall
Like everything else in 2020, fall will be different this year because of COVID-19. Many of the activities that we look forward to and associate with the season — attending a high school football game or heading to a harvest festival — might now be canceled. Fortunately, there are plenty of activities we can continue to enjoy with our dogs while staying physically distanced from other people.
Here are five COVID-19-friendly activities to do with your dog this fall:

Dear Governor Cuomo, Please do not ruin my Georgia quail hunting trip.
How many more sacrifices must I make this year? Dear New York Governor Cuomo: Now that New York is free and clear of the virus, I ask that you not force me to cancel my quail hunting trip. Your quarantine interferes with what I believe is, in fact, “essential travel” for me. How do I […]

Exclusive – Delta Airlines Would Consider Repeal of Pit Bull Ban
In July of 2018, Delta Airlines took the unprecedented and bold step of announcing in a press release that it was “no longer accepting pit bull type dogs as service or support animals.” Delta’s pit bull ban generated what seemed to be an instinctively negative reaction from the public, including animal rights activists. But last month, the U.S. […]