Dear Sir,
We recently arrived at the Guadalajara airport for our return flight to Toronto. We had purchased return tickets from United Airlines in December, which included a 220-dollar return airfare for our dog to travel with us in the cabin.
Upon arriving at the United check-in we were informed that we could travel but that the airline had just changed its policy and no longer allowed dogs in the cabin. We explained that we had tickets which included the dog but this was to no avail. When we asked what we were supposed to do, we were told that it was our problem not the airline’s.
After much complaining and demanding of help, one of the customer service agents contacted other airlines and found seats for us on Delta that allowed us to take out pet with us. United refused to refund the return portion of the dog’s airfare and we had to pay another 150 dollars to Delta for the dog.
This high-handed attitude on the part of United Airlines is inexcusable. They made no effort to inform us of the change in policy and left it to us to find out at the check-in counter. To have been denied passage at the last minute for a prepaid ticket is deplorable.
As air travelers who often travel with our beloved pets, we will definitely not be “Flying the Friendly Skies of United” in the future and would advise others to beware of a company that obviously does not honor its commitments.
Judy and Paul Hodgkinson