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JetBlue Complaint - Not Doggy Friendly - JetBlue Check-In = No Integrity - Fly with Dogs
Fly with Dogs - Complaint
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA -- On December 18, 2008 I was scheduled to depart San Diego to Seattle, WA with Spencer Evans and our two dogs on flight #276. We had purchased 2 rounds trip tickets for our dog the same day we ordered our tickets to assure our dogs would be able to fly. We have flown with ours dogs multiple times on American, Alaskan and United with tremendous service and kindness to our dogs. With our love of JetBlue and the new pet policy we figured this would be the ideal situation for both the dogs and us.
We arrived at the airport via taxi since we would be in Seattle for 10 days and did not want to leave out car – It was $45, but an expected expense. With close to 2 hours until our flight we are waiting in line to check in – dogs on leashes and ready to get into the bags. At Check-in we are addressed by Francis a customer service representative who tells us that one of our boston terriers is far to fat and has to be weighed. We pop adorable Dude on the scale and sure enough he is 26 lbs. We knew he was chubby, but it was never a problem with any other airlines. We were told we would not be able to fly since Dude was 6 lbs over weight- 6 POUNDS!!! Francis then tells us our other Boston Terrier is also to big- she weighed 20.5 lbs. We are both flabbergasted that we are being told we cannot take them on the plane. After Francis continues to tell us Dude is too fat and cannot fly due to TSA requirements, we point out TSA does not have a weight limit on Alaska, American or United. Instead, the dogs just have to fit comfortably in the TSA approved Sherpa bag that will slide under the seat in front of us. Francis continues to become ruder and ruder as shes speaks with us and says that she won't do anything and can't do anything since 6 lbs of dog is a safety concern.
Francis then proceeds to grab her manager- he comes out 15 minutes later and yells at us for not reading the legal information for JetBlue which requires a dog to be under 20 lbs which includes the weight of the bag. He is also extremely rude to each myself and Spencer.
I ask both Francis and the manager if we could pay an extra fee for Dude and Fiona- in turn paying for 2 additional dogs ($200 total for the one way ticket for each). Since Francis told us no other dogs were on the flight, we thought this was ok. Francis also told us the Pilot could approve the dogs flying, but refused to contact him or tells us how we could get approval else where.
Not 10 minutes later Francis steps away to help another customer leaving us waiting. The women checking in is bringing along her 3 year old daughter who weighed at least 30 lbs- but paid nothing for her daughter since she was riding on her lap. To me, this is a safety hazard for the child and extra weight to the plane that is not being paid for –
I must pay an extra $200 round trip per dog and pay additional dollars for extra bags and overweight bags, but a 3 year old is free. Not only is this ridiculous, but it is something I have alerted TSA to look into.
We talk with Francis for another 30 minutes to come up with other ideas how our dogs could fly. She suggests we call a psychologist and lie to get the doctor to sign that Dude is an emotional pet. Not only is she asking us to lie, but she is not helping the current situation. The manager leaves us and refuses to talk with Spencer and I again.
Francis’ only other idea is to try to get the dogs to ride in cargo on American. She suggests we go buy two $200 crates for each dog- we now have 40 minutes until our flight, and not enough time to even book the dogs, let alone pay and hop on our own flight. To make matters worse, Francis tells us this should be fine, even though America is not currently flying dogs in cargo since Seattle is below freezing. She says it should warm up soon and American can just keep the dogs in the crates until they can fly. Needless to say- the weatherman has predicted that Seattle will not warm up above freezing (or even 25 degrees) in 10 days. Francis tells us that is not her concern and that we should have paid attention to the details. She hands me the phone to try try to reach United or American to book and the dogs and tells us she would “try to get us on another flight.” Her trying consisted of walking away from the check-in counter and proceeding to help someone else.
After realizing we were going to miss out flight anyway, and dealing with extremely rude JetBlue service, that we would drive from San Diego to Seattle. Not only were we visiting for Christmas, we were also interviewing with several companies- all interviews had to be cancelled since we would not arrive on time. We took another $45 taxi home and packed the car and started to drive to Seattle.
Both Francis and her manager did not realize the danger, struggles and future JetBlue dollar losses of their actions - all because of an irrelevant 6 pounds. I would understand charging for additional weight, or if their was a weight requirement on the plane where each person could only take X additional pounds and each passenger could only weigh X amount for safety, but that is not the issue. I understand the more weight, the more fuel is used, but that is why we said we would pay additional dollars to cover the 6 lbs that would sooooo drastically affect the fuel consumption.
Never have a dealt with such rude customer service of any airlines, especially in a time when the airlines are struggling so much to get customers. We have already alerted family and friends who have pets to not fly JetBlue. In addition, I will continue to tell my company who flies from San Diego to New York and Boston monthly to fly with another company. We did receive a refund, but minus the $100 change fee per ticket, but it cost us nearly an additional $800 in gas, over 49 hours of traveling, 2600 miles to the car, 2 missed interviews and missed job opportunities.... all for 6 lbs!
Perhaps you will tell me that Francis was just doing her job and following rules, but it was her rudeness and telling us to lie that showed she did not have integrity, she was just trying to make some innocent travelers lives hell.
Needless to say- we drove to Seattle- it took over 26 hours due to the terrible snow and ice. We survived and told everyone our story.
We arrived at the airport via taxi since we would be in Seattle for 10 days and did not want to leave out car – It was $45, but an expected expense. With close to 2 hours until our flight we are waiting in line to check in – dogs on leashes and ready to get into the bags. At Check-in we are addressed by Francis a customer service representative who tells us that one of our boston terriers is far to fat and has to be weighed. We pop adorable Dude on the scale and sure enough he is 26 lbs. We knew he was chubby, but it was never a problem with any other airlines. We were told we would not be able to fly since Dude was 6 lbs over weight- 6 POUNDS!!! Francis then tells us our other Boston Terrier is also to big- she weighed 20.5 lbs. We are both flabbergasted that we are being told we cannot take them on the plane. After Francis continues to tell us Dude is too fat and cannot fly due to TSA requirements, we point out TSA does not have a weight limit on Alaska, American or United. Instead, the dogs just have to fit comfortably in the TSA approved Sherpa bag that will slide under the seat in front of us. Francis continues to become ruder and ruder as shes speaks with us and says that she won't do anything and can't do anything since 6 lbs of dog is a safety concern.
Francis then proceeds to grab her manager- he comes out 15 minutes later and yells at us for not reading the legal information for JetBlue which requires a dog to be under 20 lbs which includes the weight of the bag. He is also extremely rude to each myself and Spencer.
I ask both Francis and the manager if we could pay an extra fee for Dude and Fiona- in turn paying for 2 additional dogs ($200 total for the one way ticket for each). Since Francis told us no other dogs were on the flight, we thought this was ok. Francis also told us the Pilot could approve the dogs flying, but refused to contact him or tells us how we could get approval else where.
Not 10 minutes later Francis steps away to help another customer leaving us waiting. The women checking in is bringing along her 3 year old daughter who weighed at least 30 lbs- but paid nothing for her daughter since she was riding on her lap. To me, this is a safety hazard for the child and extra weight to the plane that is not being paid for –
I must pay an extra $200 round trip per dog and pay additional dollars for extra bags and overweight bags, but a 3 year old is free. Not only is this ridiculous, but it is something I have alerted TSA to look into.
We talk with Francis for another 30 minutes to come up with other ideas how our dogs could fly. She suggests we call a psychologist and lie to get the doctor to sign that Dude is an emotional pet. Not only is she asking us to lie, but she is not helping the current situation. The manager leaves us and refuses to talk with Spencer and I again.
Francis’ only other idea is to try to get the dogs to ride in cargo on American. She suggests we go buy two $200 crates for each dog- we now have 40 minutes until our flight, and not enough time to even book the dogs, let alone pay and hop on our own flight. To make matters worse, Francis tells us this should be fine, even though America is not currently flying dogs in cargo since Seattle is below freezing. She says it should warm up soon and American can just keep the dogs in the crates until they can fly. Needless to say- the weatherman has predicted that Seattle will not warm up above freezing (or even 25 degrees) in 10 days. Francis tells us that is not her concern and that we should have paid attention to the details. She hands me the phone to try try to reach United or American to book and the dogs and tells us she would “try to get us on another flight.” Her trying consisted of walking away from the check-in counter and proceeding to help someone else.
After realizing we were going to miss out flight anyway, and dealing with extremely rude JetBlue service, that we would drive from San Diego to Seattle. Not only were we visiting for Christmas, we were also interviewing with several companies- all interviews had to be cancelled since we would not arrive on time. We took another $45 taxi home and packed the car and started to drive to Seattle.
Both Francis and her manager did not realize the danger, struggles and future JetBlue dollar losses of their actions - all because of an irrelevant 6 pounds. I would understand charging for additional weight, or if their was a weight requirement on the plane where each person could only take X additional pounds and each passenger could only weigh X amount for safety, but that is not the issue. I understand the more weight, the more fuel is used, but that is why we said we would pay additional dollars to cover the 6 lbs that would sooooo drastically affect the fuel consumption.
Never have a dealt with such rude customer service of any airlines, especially in a time when the airlines are struggling so much to get customers. We have already alerted family and friends who have pets to not fly JetBlue. In addition, I will continue to tell my company who flies from San Diego to New York and Boston monthly to fly with another company. We did receive a refund, but minus the $100 change fee per ticket, but it cost us nearly an additional $800 in gas, over 49 hours of traveling, 2600 miles to the car, 2 missed interviews and missed job opportunities.... all for 6 lbs!
Perhaps you will tell me that Francis was just doing her job and following rules, but it was her rudeness and telling us to lie that showed she did not have integrity, she was just trying to make some innocent travelers lives hell.
Needless to say- we drove to Seattle- it took over 26 hours due to the terrible snow and ice. We survived and told everyone our story.
Comments:
Posted by Soaring Consumer on 2009-02-22:
What happened that day was wrong, despite the 20 pound policy. You should have been informed of it in the first place when you originally bought tickets for the animals.
Contact JetBlue's corporate office. You shouldn't have to be out the change fee after what happened and deserve compensation for the extra expenses.
If they refuse compensation, contact Christopher Eliott, the CNN Travel Troubleshooter and the ombudsman for the National Geographic Traveler magazine, at celliott@ngs.org.
Contact JetBlue's corporate office. You shouldn't have to be out the change fee after what happened and deserve compensation for the extra expenses.
If they refuse compensation, contact Christopher Eliott, the CNN Travel Troubleshooter and the ombudsman for the National Geographic Traveler magazine, at celliott@ngs.org.
Posted by BokiBean on 2009-02-22:
Francis just hates dogs.
Posted by financiallyfit on 2009-02-22:
While I sympathize with your situation and agree you were treated poorly, you should have checked the airline rules before buying tickets for your dogs. A dog is not a child, so you are completely wrong to compare your 26 pound dog to a 30 pound 3 year old. As far as I'm concerned, dogs should not be allowed on planes at all and you should be grateful that any airline even allows it anymore.
Posted by jktshff1 on 2009-02-22:
Soaring, gotta disagree this time. the op blew it, " not reading the legal information for JetBlue which requires a dog to be under 20 lbs which includes the weight of the bag." OP should have read the rules.
financial..agree dog ain't a kid, however, would you deny my assist dog a place?
OP...ya gotta learn the rules, read, and understand them.
financial..agree dog ain't a kid, however, would you deny my assist dog a place?
OP...ya gotta learn the rules, read, and understand them.
Posted by Ben There on 2009-02-22:
American Airlines also has the 20 lbs. restriction...
Posted by Nohandle on 2009-02-22:
I actually remember the days when a dog crated was considered an extra piece of luggage to be put in cargo. As long as they were under 125 pounds they were fine to go along with a health certificate from the veterinarian pasted on top of the crate. Those rules changed quickly due to the number of animals dying due to heat/cold while waiting on the tarmac. All anyone can do, if he is going to fly with an animal, is check until the last moment as to what's allowed. I think the rules change daily, just like anything else allowed on a plane.
Posted by yoke on 2009-02-22:
How do you know the child was 3 years old weighed 30 lbs and was sitting on her parents lap. I thought it was under 2 that got to fly for free if they sat on a parents lap. Did that one time and would never do it again.
Posted by financiallyfit on 2009-02-22:
Jktshff1, no, I wouldn't include an assist dog in my comment about dogs not flying. There is an exception to every rule, and an assist dog is one of them. I don't hate dogs, by the way, I just think they have a place and an airplane isn't one of them (again, "regular" dogs - for lack of a better term - not assist dogs). A person who is allergic or terrified of dogs shouldn't be forced to have an uncomfortable flight because someone wanted to take their pet with them.
Posted by jktshff1 on 2009-02-22:
Point taken, but a person who is allergic or terrified of dogs should stay away from places they are allowed and the private business owner should not be made to make an exception. People with legitimate disabilities excluded, a business owner should be able to allow or disallow behavior or actions as THEY decide, not the government. Allergies and fright are not reasonable. I'm allergic to bee's...am I going to sue a beehive owner in my area 'cause I got stung..heck no.
Kinda like I don't patronize businesses that don't allow legal handgun carry in my area, and encourage others to do the same.
I hope I made sense.
Kinda like I don't patronize businesses that don't allow legal handgun carry in my area, and encourage others to do the same.
I hope I made sense.
Posted by Soaring Consumer on 2009-02-22:
I love JetBlue, yet I feel that the main issue is not really the policy, but how it was handled by these specific employees.
Employees that treat customers like that don't deserve to work for the airline.
Employees that treat customers like that don't deserve to work for the airline.
Posted by Ben There on 2009-02-22:
Soaring, it seems that the OP is just upset that Francis enforced a rule that all airlines have. It sounds like she spent a lot of time with the OP trying to come up with other options like getting a doctor's note, sending the pets on American, etc... Some people confuse "rude" with "she didn't break a rule for me". She could have been written up by letting an overweight animal on the plane, and no one wants to risk a job in this economy because a customer didn't check the rules. What would you suggest she do?
Posted by justbcuz on 2009-02-22:
"We have flown with ours dogs multiple times on American, Alaskan and United."
But... you didn't read Jet Blue's pet guidelines first..had you done that, you would have been able to choose another airline, saved yourself all that gas money, mileage on your vehicle, lost job interviews...etc.
I think the Jet Blue employee went above and beyond to try to assist you by coming up with some alternatives...while helping her other customers too. It's a hard lesson to learn, but I think the accountability lies with you on this one.
But... you didn't read Jet Blue's pet guidelines first..had you done that, you would have been able to choose another airline, saved yourself all that gas money, mileage on your vehicle, lost job interviews...etc.
I think the Jet Blue employee went above and beyond to try to assist you by coming up with some alternatives...while helping her other customers too. It's a hard lesson to learn, but I think the accountability lies with you on this one.
Posted by lesaint on 2009-11-08:
Agree with commenters above faulting OP.
One should read the rules to understand precisely what limitations and fees apply. The "it was only 6 lbs of dog" and "but that other airline lets me" defenses are ridiculous for reasons too obvious to merit development here.
Additionally, helping an obviously difficult customer find a solution to her dog crisis, while still attending to her job (i.e., taking care of the rest of the customers) is not the same thing as being "rude."
One should read the rules to understand precisely what limitations and fees apply. The "it was only 6 lbs of dog" and "but that other airline lets me" defenses are ridiculous for reasons too obvious to merit development here.
Additionally, helping an obviously difficult customer find a solution to her dog crisis, while still attending to her job (i.e., taking care of the rest of the customers) is not the same thing as being "rude."
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