A French Bulldog dies on United Airlines flight after being forced into overhead bin

UPDATE: United Airline has apologized and took full responsibility after puppy perished when flight attendant insisted it be kept in overhead storage for three-and-a-half hours.

On United Flight 1284 from Houston to New York on Monday, a woman who was flying with children and a small dog was pressured by a flight attendant to put her dog in overhead storage during the three-and-a-half-hour flight.

According to fellow passenger Maggie Gremminger, the woman wanted to keep the dog, which was in a small carrying bag, under her seat, but the flight attendant insisted that she put the animal overhead.

“At the end of the flight, the woman found her dog, deceased. She sat in the airplane aisle on the floor crying, and all of surrounding passengers were utterly stunned,” Gremminger wrote in a series of tweets alongside a picture of the woman and her children.

Airline officials say it was a mistake. It turned out to be a deadly one.

When the plane landed at LaGuardia Airport Monday night, the dog was deceased.

In a statement, United called the dog's death a "tragic accident." A flight attendant should not have told the passenger to put the dog in the bin used for carry-on bags.

"We assume full responsibility for this tragedy and express our deepest condolences to the family and are committed to supporting them," the airline said "We are thoroughly investigating what occurred to prevent this from ever happening again."

Spokeswoman Maggie Schmerin said United has been in contact with the passenger who owned the dog and offered to pay for a necropsy, an autopsy for animals.

This is not the first time United has come under scrutiny for its treatment of animals. Last year, the carrier was sued by the owners of a giant rabbit that died on one of its flights.

In 2017, United had the highest number of animal deaths of any US carrier, according to a Department of Transportation (DOT) report, with 18 animals killed and 13 injured in transport.

Six animal deaths in total were reported from the other 16 carriers included in the DOT report.

1 Response

Angela Hughes

November 04, 2018

It truly is shocking that this event has occurred at all. Given the differences in cabin pressure & the fact that the over-head bins are ‘sealed’ shut – this poor little pup probably suffocated to death. Frenchie’s have their own difficulties with breathing due to having extended soft palates & bring bracycephalic – a challenge even in normal oxygenation saturation air. I find it completely implausible that having booked the dog to travel, it was not then considered a ‘passenger add’ but a piece of luggage! People’s pets are like children to them – a living, breathing, individual ‘somebody’ that they love! United Airlines really should review all its policies concerning travelling pets & re-educate it’s staff on the value of safety for ‘all’ – not to mention ‘customer care’ – if I’d been pressurrised to cram MY Little Frenchie into an overhead bin, I’m pretty sure that the air stewardess would’ve been the FIRST item to be crammed in there!

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