“…such as bulkhead seating where the animal can sit or lay on the floor.”
This is never going to happen because
of basic safety: all objects on the floor must be tucked under the seat in front to prevent them from becoming projectiles in case the airplane experiences problems on takeoff or landing. People with cabin pets will not be allowed to seat in bulkhead rows or emergency exit rows because a pet cannot be stowed in the overhead bin for takeoff/landing. 
It’s just so curious to me that this ESA accommodation became a rule that applied only to housing and airline travel. What about rail or boat travel? What’s so special about air travel?
It does seem that the ESA rights have been trumping the rights of people with medical issues involving the animals. That makes no sense to me but there it is.
In other news, there was a kerfuffle between UA and a woman carrying on a valuable antique violin. From that I have learned that there is a specific federal law that protects musicians who need to carry on their instruments. Like many other “rights” you have while flying, it seems wise to print out a copy of that federal law and bring it with you, just in case.
I’m going to guess that it’s because a)air travel is utilized much more often by the general public than rail or boat, and b)there is much more anxiety associated with flying than with the others (particularly among those with true debilitating anxiety), rational or not. That’s probably what got the whole thing going, then the “poseurs” jumped on the band wagon when they saw the other benefits of this law.
You can tell me all day that driving is safer than flying, and I’ll believe you, yet I’m still terrified every time I get on a plane and don’t bat an eyelash when I get in a car.
When people say flying is safer than driving, they are just quoting stats. For careful drivers, the stats may not apply. Driving may as well be safer if you have a good driving record.
My kid and her housemate is dying to have a cat in their rental. The rental does not allow pets but if they had an ESA letter… 
Any confirmation that the passenger with the support dog is in fact a veteran? People will make a lot of claims to get their dog approved. This animal did not seem to have the training a veteran support organization might provide.
Or you could, you know, maybe pay up like the rest of us honest rule-following drones.
The vet may have truly need the animal, I just question whether the animal was a certified ESA. A certified dog given by those groups who train dogs specifically for PTSD would’ve never attacked someone.
@MomofJandL and @partyof5,
It’s my understanding that ESA animals need no training (vs. service dogs), just some kind of vague assurance from the owner that they will behave.
The more I learn about this, the more I think ESA animals being protected by law is not a good idea, at least as it stands presently.
Thanks @Nrdsb4! I probably used the wrong terminology because I imagine the dogs trained to specifically deal with PTSD are probably considered service dogs. Those dogs would never attack anyone unless I imagine the owner was being attacked. I would be pissed if I ow ed a true service dog because those ESA or the owners that just plain feel entitled are making it hard for true service animals. There should be one governing body for service animals and it you can’t get that certification, oh well.
A service dog is a dog that is specifically trained to perform one or more tasks to help the owner with disability. An ESA is just a pet - no special training is needed, just general behavioral training expected from a pet. The certification an ESA gets is not that the animal is “special” - it is that the owner must have the pet with him all the time for emotional support.
From this link, http://airport.blog.ajc.com/2017/06/05/emotional-support-dog-bites-passenger-on-delta-flight/
The dog was issued to him, he said. By whom?
“Issued to him?” Since when does the military “issue” dogs to veterans?
One of the earlier posts quoted a passenger saying the dog looked more like a pit bull. There’s a huge difference in looks between those types of dogs…I wonder what the truth is.
I loved that the article showed a picture of a Golden Retriever lying in the grass!
The TMZ story on this incident shows what looks suspiciously like a chocolate lab/pit bull mix.
http://www.tmz.com/2017/06/06/dog-attack-delta-lab-u-s-marine/
Another story said the dog is to help his veteran owner deal with PTSD.
There’s a fine line between genuine need for a support animal and the kind of frivolous “my dog make me feel happier” (doesn’t every pet do this for their owner?) use many of us object to. There are vets with traumatic brain injuries and resultant panic disorders who do much better with the companionship of an animal to calm them. One of my kids has told me about a student at their school with an emotional support animal; this kid’s back story is so horrific I can’t imagine how they can function at all, and if a companion animal makes that possible I’m all for it.
The problem is that whereas the original intent of laws allowing ESA’s was to make it possible for people like the above with a severe psychic injury to find housing and travel those laws have been hijacked for the convenience of people who just like to have their pets with them in places where they wouldn’t otherwise be allowed.
@BunsenBurner when I mentioned up thread I was on a flight with a dog we were sitting in the first row, the bulkhead. The owners path and probably mine in the middle seat would have been obstructed in an emergency.
I have sat in a bulkhead row with someone with a dog, and in first class, also in the front row. There was a reasonable amount of space and the dogs were trained service dogs, calm and never moved, didn’t alarm me at all. But I can’t imagine an untrained dog of such a size in coach. How can there possibly be enough room? Is it supposed to lay over everyone else’s feet? I would be terrified if someone brought a large dog looking like that, who didn’t have a service dog vest (or whatever they wear). I am alarmed by large, scary looking dogs. Love gentle small dogs, but I would have also been bitten by this dog, if it was reacting to fear. I also wonder if this dog was trained to fear black people, if there is some racist undertone to this, not accusing, but the police need to get the details. It seems unfathomable that you have to cram into coach, plus have a vicious untrained dog squished right up to you. That is so wrong.
Hmmmm…I wonder if I can get a doc to write me an ESA for a good old lizard friend named Godzilla. I’m sure he won’t be a bother to fellow airline passengers or crew even if he’s a bit on the larger side despite his best efforts to disguise himself with a baseball cap, t-shirt, and jeans…
I can’t believe they let that dog on without a muzzle if they let it on at all. It’s got pit bull in it and they probably didn’t write that in the account because it opens another can of worms. The owner knew it too.
Pit bulls (and all snub nosed dogs which this one certainly is) are a restricted breed according to Delta and must be shipped separately according to their own policy.
I suspect that we’ll soon see ESAs in K-12 classes, if not already.
I can’t see why they wouldn’t be allowed if they’re allowed everywhere else. Imagine the crazy.
@mom2collegekids I think K-12 is where there could be a problem due to allergies.
We have been involved in elementary school presentation with the guide dog puppies we’ve raised. Usually, they are done in gym where there isn’t close contact. When we were invited into an actual classroom for a special event day, provisions had to be made for kids with allergies. Maybe they joined another class for their special activities?
I wouldn’t be too surprised if a certain school in a district became a designated ESA school. Maybe the schools would provide the ESA to avoid the behavior issues of kids bringing their own and ensure safety.
Maybe, when I’m done homeschooling this last kid of mine, I’ll open an ESA-friendly cottage school.
That’s a joke, but imagine the liability.
So I go through security to make sure I don’t have a nail file that might cause someone harm…and some random big dude waltzes on with an unmuzzled, non-crated dog with no problem?
One that obviously doesn’t fit under the seat in front of you no way-no how? Which looks like a pit bull despite whatever the dude says. Which by every published Delta policy shouldn’t be there? Where was anybody with any sense?
" Sorry–you cause a potential horrible hazard holding your book in your lap during takeoff and you need to put up your tray table and make sure the seat is not an inch back… but the 50 lb dog sitting in someone’s lap is “just fine”.
Maybe my “emotional support” should be my stuffed cat attached to my 50 inch luggage. I feel better when I can take everything with me and it doesn’t disappear into the baggage hold never to be seen again. It certainly wouldn’t take any more room than a small pony, big dog or alpaca.
Your right to “emotional support” ends where my “emotional turmoil” begins. I don’t like dogs much in any public places unless they are super trained (like service dogs) or are obviously well behaved pets under good control by their owners . I feel the same about little kids also–but I know how to handle them at least when they get loose…
Heaven forbid --any emergency, turbulent weather etc. is bad enough without adding free roaming animals to the mix.
We are talking a very enclosed space.
If someone has a peanut allergy–nobody gets peanuts in the cabin. But if you are allergic to dogs/cats then you are toast?