WASHINGTON — American Airlines is making no bones about its concerns with emotional support animals.
The Fort Worth-based carrier this month again complained to the U.S. Transportation Department about a growing flock of comfort pets — which can fly in the cabin at no extra cost — and how existing federal regulations are "unnecessarily broad and easily abused."
American's solution? Stop requiring airlines to allow emotional support animals on board.
"This change would eliminate from protection the category of emotional support animal and thus, eliminate the need to work through all of the safety and hygiene issues associated with these animals," the company wrote in a 22-page filing.
That stand fortifies a position American took last month as the feds began a process to reconsider rules that have dogged the airline industry in recent years.
The company said in a preliminary submission to DOT that it supported Airlines for America, an industry group, in pushing the agency to narrow an open-ended definition for "service animals" to cover only "trained dogs that perform a task or work for an individual with a disability."
Such a change would end federal guarantees in the air for emotional support animals.
Many fliers would likely complain about losing what they — and some mental health advocates — consider a vital part of air travel. But American was blunt this month in a fuller submission to the Transportation Department, explaining that the "current environment is not sustainable."
"American has seen increases in passenger and crew complaints attributed to untrained animals — people have been bitten, licked, jumped on, and growled at; aisles have been blocked; and animals have urinated and defecated on our airplanes," the company wrote.
Here are five reasons behind American's approach:
1. Confusing rules
Airlines now operate under rules that lump emotional support animals with guide dogs for the blind and other service animals that the carriers have no qualms about accommodating.
That setup is different than how animals are treated in other public spaces like trains and buses, where comfort pets aren't given the same protections. Airports apparently even fall under tighter rules than airplanes — a fact that American said is "unnecessarily confusing and defies logic."
2. Crowded skies
More fliers appear to be taking advantage of the system, particularly since it's easy to get the documentation needed to take a comfort pet on board.
American last year flew more than 155,000 emotional support animals — a 48 percent increase from the year prior. "Meanwhile, the number of cabin pets and checked pets decreased during this same period," American wrote, referring to animals that fly for a fee.
3. Pet problems
Most American employees have encountered at least one disruption with an emotional support animal in the last two years, according to a company survey.
Many have had multiple incidents, which the airline attributes to the fact that many comfort pets are not trained. A need to re-seat passengers, "aggressive and threatening behavior" from the animals, and pets soiling the cabin were cited as the most common problems, the company said.
4. Flying zoo
More than 70 percent of the emotional support animals that take to the skies on American are dogs. The carrier and its U.S. counterparts have nevertheless also taken on board a wild assortment of animals in recent years, sometimes earning viral attention online.
American sought to mitigate that problem earlier this year by prohibiting many more species from qualifying as comfort pets. But federal rules currently limit how far it can go.
5. Service dogs
American stressed that it has no problem with trained service dogs.
Indeed, the carrier argued that the surging numbers of emotional support animals taking flight actually comes at the detriment of disabled fliers who need service dogs. That's because "working dogs can be threatened and distracted by these untrained animals," the company said.
