Dog o' Day
Fansided

New survey reveals what pet owners and other travelers think about recent airline bans on Emotional Support Animals

By Kimberley Spinney

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 25: A dog stands near social distancing floor signage as holiday travelers pass through Los Angeles international Airport on Thanksgiving eve as the COVID-19 spike worsens and stay-at-home restrictions are increased on November 25, 2020 in West Hollywood, California. Starting today, travelers arriving to Los Angeles by airplane or train are required to sign a form acknowledging California's recommendation of a 14-day self-quarantine. Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti has warned that the virus is "threatening to spiral out of control" in the region, and that at the current rate of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, there will not be enough hospital beds by Christmastime. Despite pleas from health officials to not gather with people outside of ones household, more than 2 million Americans are projected to fly for Thanksgiving. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 25: A dog stands near social distancing floor signage as holiday travelers pass through Los Angeles international Airport on Thanksgiving eve as the COVID-19 spike worsens and stay-at-home restrictions are increased on November 25, 2020 in West Hollywood, California. Starting today, travelers arriving to Los Angeles by airplane or train are required to sign a form acknowledging California's recommendation of a 14-day self-quarantine. Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti has warned that the virus is "threatening to spiral out of control" in the region, and that at the current rate of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, there will not be enough hospital beds by Christmastime. Despite pleas from health officials to not gather with people outside of ones household, more than 2 million Americans are projected to fly for Thanksgiving. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

A new survey is doing a deep dive into how people are reacting to airlines banning Emotional Support Animals. And it’s not just pet owners chiming in.

When the news that airlines such as Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines were going to be banning Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) from their flights starting at the beginning of 2021, there were a lot of travelers upset by this decision. While there have been plenty of cases of people abusing the system in order to fly with a pet for free, it is not like everyone has been gaming the system.

So is it any wonder that a new survey from ValuePenguin has asked travelers how they feel about this ban and what they wouldn’t mind seeing when it comes to air travel with an ESA? From pet owners with ESAs to general travels, it seems like plenty of people have thoughts on the ban and what they think could or should happen.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the survey is the fact that a whopping 80 percent of pet owners who responded to ValuePenguin revealed that they would be willing to actually pay up for their pet to fly with them on the plane instead of relegating their animal to the cargo hold area. And not only that but one in five of those people were even willing to pay as much as $300 plus (which in some cases is even more than a standard seat on the airline).

Pet owners and other travels share their thoughts on the airlines banning Emotional Support Animals from flights

The survey also revealed that 56 percent of Americans would much rather share a flight with a pet over a baby or toddler (this is not as big of a surprise as some might think).

As I mentioned earlier we already know that there have been those who have abused the idea of ESAs in order to get their pet on a flight and it seems that this survey has a little insight on this as well. Apparently 90 percent of the people who tried to get their animals certified as Emotional Support Animals were able to make that happen.

But that was not the only interesting thing we learned from the survey results. In fact, the one statistic we were the most impressed with might be the fact that 48 percent of the people surveyed admitted that they “feel happy when they see an animal on their flight.” And not only that, but 10 percent say even though the animals may not be theirs, just the presence of that animal can help alleviate their stress when it comes to flying.

At the end of the day, 34 percent of people surveyed agree with the ban as a whole, although there are still people who wish that there was a way to allow people who really do need their ESAs to fly a chance to make that happen.

It’s always fascinating to learn more about what everyday people think after reforms such as the airline ban on ESAs are enacted. Often, the answers are not as clear cut as some might expect.

In this case, we are not actually surprised by the results of this survey. However, after years of people pushing the envelope when it comes to Emotional Support Animals, it is not that surprising that companies are pushing back when they can.

Related Story. INNSiDE by Meliá New York Nomad partners with Paw.com to enhance their current pet program. light

Are you surprised by these survey results? Do you support the airline ban of ESAs? Tell us in the comments below.

Home/Travel