Qantas wants clearer pet rules

[oz_mark]

Interesting bits about regulations that seem at odds with each other

QANTAS says it is getting an increasing number of requests from passengers who want to bring "comfort animals" on flights to help them cope with stress, but the airline fears it will fall foul of anti-discrimination laws if it refuses.

and

The airline also raised concerns over the rules for exit row seating: aviation laws require people there to be fully mobile, but preventing impaired people from sitting there could be a breach of equal opportunity laws

Qantas wants clearer pet rules

[sydbloke]

So QF is asking for some common sense.

Sounds fair to me.....

[harvyk]

I would like to start off by apologising to all disabled people prior to saying this. Causing you offence is not my intention...

That said, there are things that disabled people just can not physically do. Opening a hatch which weighs about 20 kg is probably not one of them. The last thing I want to see if I have to get off a plane quickly is the person beside the hatch unable to open it due to a physical disability.

That said, there are some able bodied people who wouldn't be able to lift 20kg in an emergency, and they too should not be permitted to sit in the emergency exit rows.

As I said, causing offence is not my intention, but we must also be realistic in what a persons abilities actually are.

[dede]

Now all we have to do is to train the pets to open the latches - that might work!

Would this change the airline food offered as well?

[v8Statesman]

Would this change the airline food offered as well?

"Tonght in Economy we are serving PAL or CHUM. In Business we have My Dog or DINE."

[Jeffrey O'Neill]

i can just imagine the next time a QF plane hits turbulence.

Imagine it's literally raining cats & dogs.

It's bad enough a lot of people don't buckle up even if the seat belt sign is off, let alone having their pets bouncing around the cabin too.

Then there's the question about people with allergies. If someone with their pet cat causes the person near them to flare up, who's legally responsible?? What if the little yappy dog starts whining or gets snappy.

Then there's the questions of toilet training. I mean, how long is the poor animal supposed to hold on???

I really can't see letting animals into the cabin being a smart idea. Take a valium / xanax or some other relaxant.

[samh004]

If you want to take your dog wherever you go in a handbag like Paris Hilton then you should save up and fly private jets. That's the only place for you.

If they allowed cats on board my allergies would go nuts and by the end of the flight I'd be very sick. I can't see how that'd be a good idea.

[medhead]

It us a bit disingenuous of qantas to raise anti discrimation laws with respect to exit row seating. All laws are still subject to some fundamental principles including being for the greater good. It has to be fairly easy to show that the safety of all pax on a plane outweighs the anti discrimination laws.

Of course the issue is a bit more murky now that qantas are issuing exit rows on the basis of being able to pay. If there is a problem they should have thought about that before becoming a LCC.

[Commuter]

It us a bit disingenuous of qantas to raise anti discrimation laws with respect to exit row seating. All laws are still subject to some fundamental principles including being for the greater good. It has to be fairly easy to show that the safety of all pax on a plane outweighs the anti discrimination laws.

Indeed, safety rules need to come before anti-discrimination laws.

As for pets - if people need 'comfort animals' to travel (as opposed to service animals such as guide dogs or hearing dogs), then I think people need to consider others before imposing it upon others.

[Dave Noble]

I really can't see letting animals into the cabin being a smart idea. Take a valium / xanax or some other relaxant.

They seem to have no problems in the land of litigation with allowing dogs in the cabin

Why should it be any more problematic in Australia?

Dave