Two United Airlines passengers—one who hadn’t seen his daughter in a year—were not allowed to get on their flight because of their dogs. At least one of them may not get a refund on their ticket.
With the holiday season here, people are eager to go home or on vacation. Sometimes, that means traveling with their dog if they don’t have anyone back home they trust to leave them with.
Well, these two passengers were traveling for the holidays to see family, and both ran into the same issue with the airline tey were flying on.
In Lin Marie’s (@teamlin2toxic) viral TikTok, she explains that a United Airlines worker denied her 6-lb toy poodle, whom she always flies with, from getting on the flight with her, as well as another man and his dog, whom Lin Marie later refers to as Mr. Boston.
“And now I’m sitting here waiting for a manager,” Lin Marie says in the clip.
Mr. Boston is heard in the background saying that he flew with United three days ago with his dog, so he finds it ridiculous that he’s now unable to fly back with him on the same airline.
“Oh yeah, that’s bullsh*t. She’s playin’,” Lin Marie responds. “I will never fly United again.”
Viewers then hear the flight attendant say that the dogs must be able to stand up and turn around in the carrier once under the seat. While the United site states pets “must be able to stand up and turn around while inside” the carrier, it doesn’t specify that they need to be able to stand while under the seat.
Mr. Boston, who’s heard raising his voice at several points, says, “No dog can stand under the seat. It’s six inches.” Based on United’s personal item size limits, the underneath part of their seats is about 9 inches tall. In general, small dogs typically have a shoulder height of 16 inches or less (that doesn’t include their heads), according to VetCare News.
The United website states that they have no weight or breed limitations for pets but require that they travel in a hard or soft-shelled carrier. The carrier must fit under the seat in front to fly with the pet. If the carrier does not fit, a person cannot fly with their animal companion. The only pets allowed without a carrier are service animals.
Having pets in-cabin is only allowed for cats and dogs when there’s space available. There is a $125 fee each way for traveling with a pet.
Mr. Boston insists he flew with his dog from Boston, but the flight attendant says she can’t “speak for them in Boston, I can speak for Texas.” Mr. Boston then points out, “But you’re one company.”
“The fact that he came with his dog and can’t go back with the dog on the same airline is very sad,” the top comment under the video read.
At the end of the video, Lin Marie shares that they ultimately couldn’t get on their flight and that she’s not sure she’ll get refunded for the flight because she had a basic economy ticket.
@teamlin2toxic I WILL NEVER FLY UNITED airlines @United Airlines ♬ original sound – LinMarieTooLit
However, a Southwest Airlines employee ultimately saved the day. An employee saw Lin Marie’s video and let her use her Buddy Pass to get on another flight for free.
“As soon as I walked in I swear everyone was so freakin’ nice at Southwest,” Lin Marie says. “…Huge shout out to Southwest.”
While Lin Marie put out a video looking for Mr. Boston, it’s unclear what happened with his trip.
The video has garnered more than 3 million views and well over 1,500 comments as of Tuesday morning.
“Chances are they’re OVERBOOKED & they want your seat,” a person speculated.
“They overbooked and looking for the best way to deny you !” another agreed.
“I am a human and can barely stand up and turn around the in seat area,” a commenter said.
The Daily Dot reached out to Lin Marie for comment via Instagram direct message and to United for comment via email.