United Airlines: Puppy dies on flight after crew forces flier to stick it in overhead bin

[Arkain2K]

United Airlines: “Fly The Friendly Skies".

Dog dies on United flight after crew forces flier to stick it in overhead bin

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A family's French bulldog apparently suffocated during a flight from Houston to New York on Monday when a United Airlines flight attendant forced them to place the pet in an overhead compartment for the three-hour trip.

United confirmed the incident in an email to NJ Advance Media, saying the company is investigating.

"I witnessed a United flight attendant instruct a woman to put her dog carrier with live dog in an overhead bin," Maggie Gremminger of New York City, wrote on Facebook.

The dog's owners were a woman, her teenage daughter and an infant who were traveling from Texas to LaGuardia Airport, Gremminger told Buzzfeed.

They were on United 1284, which arrived at LaGuardia shortly before 11 p.m. Monday.

The passenger had the black French bulldog in a standard pet carrier, which she initially placed under the seat in front of her, according to Gremminger.

When the flight attendant came by, she told the woman needed to place the carrier in the overhead bin.

"It was clearly a dog and while the customer was adamant about leaving it under the seat, the attendant pushed her to do so," Gremminger said in a tweet.

"At the end of the flight, the woman found her dog deceased. She sat in the airplane aisle on the floor crying, and all of surrounding passengers were utterly stunned," Gremminger tweeted.

When the woman was forced to place the dog in the overhead bin, Gremminger exchanged glances with the man next to her.

"We both knew it didn't feel right," Gremminger said. "I wish I had followed my gut and done something. I am just broken right now. And sleep deprived. And so, so, so sad for those lovely people who never knew what was happening right above them."



Gremminger said on Twitter she wants to find out the name of the dog's owners so she can help them. She added that United offered her and another passenger who witnessed the incident a $75 voucher each but they turned it down.

Gremminger, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, wrote on Facebook the woman and those around her must have thought there was air flow in the overhead bins.

"I'm sure the owner is going through the worst guilt," Gremminger wrote. "She made sure the flight attendant understood there was her dog and when the flight attendant still pushed her. I think maybe she assumed it surely was safe. The rationality in that moment must have so confusing."

United released a statement Tuesday apologizing for the incident.

"This was a tragic accident that should never have occurred, as pets should never be placed in the overhead bin," United said. "We assume full responsibility for this tragedy and express our deepest condolences to the family and are committed to supporting them. We are thoroughly investigating what occurred to prevent this from ever happening again."

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/20...forces_flier_to_stick_it_in_overhead_bin.html

 

[Arkain2K]

Social media is blowing up thanks to another passenger on the plane:













I was in seat 24A, the woman (mother) was 23C, with her young teenage daughter in seat 23B. The mother had a young daughter and a newborn.

I was sitting in the row behind the woman with the dog, and the gentleman next to me witnessed it all as well. We both overheard/saw the interaction between the flight attendant and the passenger.

I witnessed a United flight attendant instruct a woman to put her dog carrier with live dog in an overhead bin. The passenger adamantly pushed back, sharing verbally that her dog was in the bag. The flight attendant continued to ask the passenger to do it, and she eventually complied. By the end of the flight, the dog was dead. The woman was crying in the airplane aisle on the floor. A fellow passenger offered to hold the newborn while the mother was crying on the floor aisle with the dog. it was this out of body experience of grief.

But holy **** I don’t know how the hell this happened. The flight attendant wouldn’t even NEED to hear there was a dog in the carrier. She was right there looking at the TSA approved bag. (The dog carrier is the black on the ground in the photo. It is clearly a carrier with mesh, which makes me question how the flight attendant could say she didn’t know there was a dog)

I feel angry and powerless and regretful. I know clearly this was not an intent of anyone and yet that flight attendant is responsible for this. How were we to know that maybe there wasn’t a new ventilation system in those bins? It’s not our job to know this information.

I understand emotional distress in a different way right now. I can’t get the image out of my head of the woman on the floor of the airplane aisle, crying and holding that sweet dog.

Immediately after the flight landed, myself and another witness stayed to speak with various United employees. The flight attendant denied knowing it was a dog, but the man seated next to me said he heard the flight attendant respond to the passenger “you need to put your dog up here” – therefore admitting that she knew an animal was in there. Additionally, I’ve been in touch with United via private message on Twitter.

They publicly replied asking me to message them – once private messaging them I shared my confirmation # and flight info. They replied:

“We appreciate you reaching out with more information. Please know that we are in contact with the passenger and thank you for bringing this to our attention.”

I also was offered $75 in credit (along with the gentleman witness) for staying and working with them to share our recollection of events. We both refused the credit.

http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2018/03/13/united-kills-dog/

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

United Airlines is basically the Thunderdome now

 

[Bald1]

What the fuck, over? Frenchies can barely breathe as is, then you stuff the poor thing into a compartment devoid of ventilation? In a bag? Lol. The sky waitress and the owner both need a swift kick in the mouth.

 

[HomerThompson]

Tragic, and insane.

 

[Social Distance Warrior]

Pretty beta cuck ass dog owner if you ask me.

You tell me to put my dog in the overhead compartment area, you can go fuck yourself.

What kind of pussy ass dog owner acquiesces to such a request?

 

[Steven_Universe]

Jesus Christ United Airlines.

What’s with their contempt for passengers?

 

[BJ@LW&WW]

that flight attendant should be put in an overhead bin.

 

[Wadtucket]

That is one cruel ass dog owner

Why would you do that

 

[Phr3121]

That was a 'brilliant' idea wasn't it. Let's put the United flight attendant on the overhead bin with the rest of the luggage for the duration of the flight to see if she was right. Actually, a flight from New York to Tokyo would do fine.

 

[Trotsky]

Pretty beta cuck ass dog owner if you ask me.

You tell me to put my dog in the overhead compartment area, you can go fuck yourself.

What kind of pussy ass dog owner acquiesces to such a request?

People that want to be cordial citizens and follow the rules like the all hardass anti-snowflake types say they should?


Seriously, though, this is tragic, and my heart breaks for this woman. Between this and the woman who had to flush her hamster so that she could make a flight for a cancer surgery, airlines need to seriously revamp their employee training.

 

[D3thr0n3d K1ng]

United Airlines: "Fvk you"

 

[Arkain2K]

What the fuck, over? Frenchies can barely breathe as is, then you stuff the poor thing into a compartment devoid of ventilation? In a bag? Lol. The sky waitress and the owner both need a swift kick in the mouth.

The "bag" is a standard TSA-approved pet carrier, and the owner paid the standard fee to bring it on the plane.



Pet carriers are meant to be placed under the seat, as they have always been. The carrier itself is well-ventilated, but there's only so much oxygen in an overhead bin, and it's a 3 hour flight from Houston to New York.

 

[Trotsky]

Jesus Christ United Airlines.

What’s with their contempt for passengers?

Not to get all communist, but overworked and underpaid employees who are kept under the employer thumb and not allowed to control the conditions of their labor tend to treat patrons with some level of disdain.

Flat wage service employees are not properly deterred against this type of stuff, except by at-will employment.

 

[Metusalemi]

Picture of said flight attendant.

 

[CWMMA]

Definitely worse than when they had that asian guy knocked the fuck out.

 

[Trotsky]

Definitely worse than when they had that asian guy knocked the fuck out.

Pretty sure I remember reading that guy was a dick, anyways.

Dogs can't be dicks.

 

[D3thr0n3d K1ng]

My question is:

After they beat the zhit out of a rich doctor on their plane why the fvk would anyone choose to fly with them?

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

My question is:

After they beat the zhit out of a rich doctor on their plane why the fvk would anyone choose to fly with them?

cost, flight times, layover avoidance

 

[trolololol]

Maybe if they didn't allow pets on flights this never would have happened.