A loyal Delta Airlines passenger has been left furious after allegedly being forced to give up his first class seat for a dog.
The seasoned traveler, who goes by @ben_bob on Reddit, posted a photo of the pet in question with its owner and shockingly revealed what happened on board on the r/delta forum.
‘I was upgraded to first place this morning but was demoted (to a worst seat than I had before) 15 minutes later (sic).
“I asked the desk clerk what was going on and she said, ‘Something has changed,’” he wrote.
That’s when he noticed a somber-looking dog sitting on what was meant to be his bulkhead seat with extra leg room.
“Okay, fine, I’m unhappy, but whatever, I’ll get in just to see this dog in my first class seat. And now I’m livid,” he shared.
The annoyed passenger further claimed that they contacted Delta customer support and were told by an agent that people “may be moved for service animals” and “there is nothing they can do.”
“There’s no way that dog spent as much on this airline as I did. What an absolute joke.
A loyal Delta Airlines passenger has been left fuming after allegedly having to give up his first class seat for a dog
‘What’s the point of being loyal to this airline, anyway. I’ve sat back as others complained that this airline has been mistreating customers lately and service levels have declined, but I’m also starting to question my loyalty.”
According to the airline websiteService animals may not “occupy a seat or invade the space of another customer in any way.”
The specially trained animals may only sit on the owner’s lap, in the footwell or in an adjacent footwell if an additional ticket has been purchased for the animal.
Those with service animals are also not allowed to sit in the exit rows.
Since the jilted jetsetter’s angry revelation, scores of Delta travelers have come together to offer support and joke about the situation.
“The dog is probably a 2 million mile diamond medallion,” exasperated one Redditor, while another joked, “It’s a world that eats dogs.”
‘Does a real service dog get its own seat? If so, does the traveler have to pay for the 2nd seat?
‘And is there a disability hierarchy? What if one passenger has a terrible dander allergy and another has a service dog? If people have a peanut allergy, I’ve had the FA ask the entire plane not to bring peanuts.
The aggravated passenger further claimed that they contacted Delta customer support and were told by an agent that people “may be moved for service animals” and “there is nothing they can do.”
‘Last year I had an upgrade, but then the GA called me and said I would be sitting next to a dog (I’m not sure if they meant a dog having its own seat, or a human with a dog at his feet ), and so I chose to stay in my exit seat,” another wondered.
However, one Redditor pushed back against the passenger’s complaints, saying, “If you paid for your seat, then I think this is a legitimate complaint.”
‘Free upgrades can be withdrawn for a variety of reasons, not just service dogs, without compensation.
“There’s no harm in trying with a complaint email or a phone call to your medallion line, but be prepared for a second rejection just in case.”
But another countered: ‘Losing the upgrade is no big deal, but being relegated to a seat that is worse than the one you originally had is ridiculous and an absolute failure of customer service.
“That’s why redcoats exist, and if they’re not willing to help, a complaint better get a lot of mileage and/or some other compensation.”
But while some, including an alleged Delta employee, argued the decision was fair, travel expert Gary Leff instead sided with the irate traveler.
“I really don’t see Delta’s logic in stopping a first class passenger from accommodating a dog in the bulkhead.”
“To be fair, airlines are generally required to provide reasonable accommodations under the Air Carrier Access Act, and one way they can do that is with bulkhead seats. But a last-minute seat change certainly wouldn’t be necessary,” he wrote View From The Wing.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Delta for comment.