Delta Passenger 'Livid' After Airline Gives Their First Class Seat to Dog: 'What an Absolute Joke'

A Delta Air Lines passenger is furious after the airline allegedly forced him to give up his seat to a dog on a recent flight.

A passenger aired his grievances on the Delta subreddit on Saturday, Dec. 21, calling the company’s decision to downgrade them “an absolute joke” — prompting a barrage of criticism and support.

“I got an upgrade first thing this morning, only to be downgraded (to a.) 15 minutes later [worse] seat than I had before),” the passenger began a post titled “I just got downgraded because of the dog.”

Picture of a Delta plane.

Getty

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“I asked the desk agent what was going on and she said ‘Something has changed,'” they continued.

The passenger recalled that their initial reaction was, “Okay, fine, I’m unhappy, but whatever” — until they saw who had taken their previous seat on the plane.

“Then I boarded only to see this dog in my first class seat… And now I’m furious,” the passenger wrote.

They also shared a photo of the puppy that had been placed in their previous seat, revealing that it was a large dog that appeared to be a companion animal for the passenger next to them.

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The disgruntled passenger said they tried to speak to Delta support “immediately” but did not get the response they wanted. Support staff told them, “You might be moved because of pets,” or, in other words, “there’s nothing I can do.”

“There’s no way that dog spent as much with this airline as I did… What an absolute joke. 😅,” the passenger wrote before going on to ask why he supports the company.

“What’s the point of being loyal to this airline anymore, really,” they said. “I gave up when others complained that this airline has been treating customers badly and falling in service lately, but I’m also starting to question my loyalty. 😡.”

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A picture of a dog on a plane. Getty

Delta responded to the passenger experience in a statement to PEOPLE. “Delta teams are aware of the customer’s complaint and are investigating the details of what may have happened,” a company spokesperson said, adding that they “urge the customer to contact us directly.”

“Service animals are routinely accommodated on Delta without impacting customer seat assignments,” the statement concluded.

Reddit users, meanwhile, had mixed reactions to the passenger’s story, with some sympathizing and talking about the treatment they experienced, while others told them it was, simply put, absorbing.

“This stupid thing about bringing a dog wherever you go is getting out of hand,” read one of the most popular comments. “And don’t even go there with ‘it’s a service animal.’ Stay at home or drive if you need your pet that much.”

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“I’m not sure if you know this, but you can’t drive everywhere,” one user shot back in response to the comment, while another asked why “people with legitimate ADA disabilities” and their service “should be penalized for the behavior of others.”

And, drawing their attention to the original poster (OP), the responder added, “And no offense, OP, you expect Delta to risk violating the ADA and being sued for … checking notes … because you spent more money than a dog?”

Others responded by questioning the legitimacy of the service dog’s status based on the attached photo, while others simply said the pup “was a good boy.”

“I’d give him your seat too,” one comment simply read, while another person offered a humorous explanation: “A dog gets 7 miles for every human mile.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education