He fits! Azores Airlines claims the only way a service dog can fit is by having a disabled person sit alone next to an empty seat. Instead of making assumptions based on a dog’s weight, airlines should ask us how we’d like to fly with our dogs. Many disabled people have strategies for traveling with service dogs, even large dogs. Sometimes we’re traveling with family/friends who plan to share floor space, sometimes other passengers are delighted to sit next to these furry angels, and sometimes the space for a single seat is enough for the specific dog and person.
Azores Airlines told me I needed to buy a third ticket for my dog because of his weight. I canceled our flight and then resubmitted guide dog paperwork without his weight. (I honestly don’t know his weight! I don’t travel with a doggy scale.) The airline didn’t ask again, and his travel was finally confirmed.
Airlines need to end policies that automatically charge disabled people double for tickets or separate us from family and friends based on a dog’s weight.