Questa cosa degli emotional support animals sta definitivamente sfuggendo di mano...
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Couple want refund after being sat next to 'snorting, farting' dog on Singapore Airlines flight
Siobhan Downes13:39, Sep 08 2023
A Wellington couple who booked premium economy seats for greater comfort on a long-haul
Singapore Airlines flight say they should be refunded after a dog in their row ruined their experience.
Gill and Warren Press were travelling back to New Zealand from Europe in June and had boarded the 13-hour flight from Paris to Singapore when they were surprised to discover a
dog was accompanying the passenger in the seat beside them.
“I heard this noise – a heavy snorting,” said Gill Press.
“I thought it was my husband’s phone, but we looked down and realised it was the dog breathing.
“I said, ‘I’m not having this sitting next to us the whole trip’.”
Press said she overheard the dog’s owner telling another passenger that he gets anxious, and that’s why the dog was with him in the cabin. But Press said it was the dog that appeared to be in a distressed state.
Press raised their discomfort with a flight attendant, who said the only other seats available were in the back row of economy.
The couple decided to stay put, but about halfway through the flight, the dog’s presence had become intolerable due to the smell – it was farting, Press said – as well as the space it was occupying in her husband’s legroom, as it was too large for its owner’s seat space.
“[The passenger] couldn’t have the dog out in the aisle because they couldn’t get the trolleys through, so it had to come in further, which meant his head was under my husband’s feet.
“My husband was in shorts, and was getting the dog’s saliva goo on his leg.”
Press said they again spoke to the flight attendant, who said he could now offer seats in the front of the economy cabin that had earlier been reserved for staff. As the couple moved seats, they were assured an incident report had been filed and they could expect to hear from the airline.
But after a week passed and they heard nothing, Press emailed the airline’s customer service team to complain.
Two weeks later, the airline emailed back and apologised for the incident, offering each of them a SG$100 (NZ$125) gift voucher for the airline’s KrisShop website.
Press responded saying that didn’t reflect the difference in value between their
premium economy seats and the economy seats they ended up sitting in.
Over three weeks later, the airline responded, this time offering a travel voucher of NZ$200 per person.
But Press said this was still unacceptable, and she was now seeking a full refund for that leg of the journey, which they had booked through Air New Zealand.
They were frustrated it had been more than two months and Singapore Airlines still hadn’t provided an adequate outcome.
Press said it wasn’t that she and her husband didn’t like dogs – in fact, they owned a dog. But they felt they should have been notified of the dog’s presence in advance, and had been
let down by the airline in its response to the matter.
“We didn’t receive the experience we paid for.”
A Singapore Airlines spokesperson reiterated their apology to the couple for “any inconvenience or distress caused by their experience onboard their flight from Paris to Singapore.”
The airline would continue to liaise directly with the customers in response to their feedback, the spokesperson said.
“Singapore Airlines endeavours to notify customers who may be seated next to an assistance dog prior to boarding the flight. We sincerely apologise that this did not occur in this case, and will work with our airport teams to ensure that this lapse does not occur in future.
“In circumstances where customers seated next to an assistance dog request to be moved, Singapore Airlines will assist to re-seat customers within the same cabin where space permits.”
As of April 1, Singapore Airlines no longer allows “emotional support dogs” onboard its flights, however, it was still honouring travel for customers and their dogs who had made a request and submitted the required documentation prior to this date.
The airline would continue to accept approved assistance dogs – dogs trained to assist passengers with disabilities, such as guide dogs – onboard its flights.
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