Guidelines For Flying With Emotional Support Dog
- If your dog is a legal emotional Support Dog, you can bring a dog on a plane for all domestic flights and all flights flying into and out of the US.
- If you are flying with your dog, you cannot be seated in the exit row.
- Your ESA cannot pose any harm or disturbance to your fellow passengers.
- You need to contact your airline at least 48 hours prior to your flight to inform them that you are traveling with an emotional support dog.
- You need to make sure that your dog is at its best behavior when you are at the airport and onboard the aircraft. Your ESA should not endanger or cause any discomfort to your fellow passengers or airline staff.
What is an Emotional Support Dog?
An Emotional Support Dog (ESD) is a type of Assistance Animal that assists their owners with mental disabilities stress, PTSD, anxiety, etc. Any animal that provides their owners with assistance for their disabilities can qualify as an emotional support animal. Dogs are the most common animal that patients prefer to fly with on a plane. ESAs should not be confused with Service Dogs or Therapy Animals, as they have different rights and privileges. They are not service dog and do not need to perform any other tasks. Although an emotional support animal does not require special training, they still need to be well behaved and cannot be a harm to others. Airlines can deny privileges to ESAs that are not well behaved.
What do you need to experience flying with your dog?
All airline companies will require you to produce a letter from a licensed therapist or medical physician that prescribes an ESA for an emotional disability. Some airlines will also require your therapist or physician to complete a short form that verifies your emotional disability. At MyESADoctor, we make it our mission to help those in need and reduce their suffering by connecting them with our certified physicians. We can write you a legal emotional support animal letter. You can pre-qualify online easily here and speak to a doctor today.
Although it’s not required by law, airlines prefer that you carry identifying ESA patches, an ESA vest on your animal and a service-type leash. We make the process easy by offering a complete ESA package with an ESA vest, leash, and collar. We also an attached photo ID card identifying your animal as an emotional support animal. You can also find these items in our ESA Store.
Some airlines have limitations on the species of animals they allow in the cabin of their aircraft, but you can always fly with a dog on a plane.
What happens when I arrive at the airport?
All you need to do is present the emotional support animal letter to the ticketing agent, at the same time you present your photo ID and passports, etc.
As long as your letter is legitimate and current within 1 year, the airline must allow you to bring your dog on the plane unless it seriously pose risk to other passengers.
Can I fly with my dog in-cabin and what is the significance of an emotional support animal letter?
While we ultimately have no control over what a particular airline or ticket agent may do, the law requires the airline to accept any valid Emotional Support Animal letter and allow your pet to travel with you at no additional cost.
If any airline denies your request for flying with your dog that is a legitimate ESA, you can ask to speak to a Customer Resolution Official, also known as a CRO. Every airline has a CRO available to handle all disputes related to disabilities, which covers emotional support animals. In practice, they will resolve these disputes generally in the passenger’s favor unless the situation is extreme.
As a practical matter we recommends that you do not attempt travelling with a dog on the plane that does not easily fit under the seat in front of you without first advising the airline at least 48 hours in advance of your flight and making certain that a seating accommodation will be available for a larger ESA.
Where will my dog sit when I am flying with an emotional support dog?
- While we ultimately have no control over what a particular airline or ticket agent may do, the law requires the airline to accept any valid Emotional Support Animal letter and allow your pet to travel with you at no additional cost.
- If any airline denies your request for flying with your dog that is a legitimate ESA, you can ask to speak to a Customer Resolution Official, also known as a CRO. Every airline has a CRO available to handle all disputes related to disabilities, which covers emotional support animals. In practice, they will resolve these disputes generally in the passenger’s favor unless the situation is extreme.
- As a practical matter, we recommend that you do not attempt flying with a dog on the plane that does not easily fit under the seat in front of you without first advising the airline at least 48 hours in advance of your flight and making certain that a seating accommodation will be available for a larger ESA. When you are thinking of flying with a large dog in-cabin it is better that you contact the airlines prior to booking your ticket. Although flying with small dogs won’t be any hassle with respect to the airlines, as they require you to keep your ESA either on your lap or on the footprint of your seat. So book the ticket accordingly.
Can I fly with a large dog in cabin, even if it is a emotional support dog?
For large emotional support dogs that cannot fit under the eat, the airline still must make every reasonable effort to find a seat for the pet. If there is no seat available, they may work with you to find a later flight. They can also work with you to fly your pet in cargo but cannot charge fees.
