The power of social media might have helped a man who was initially denied boarding an American Airlines flight with his dog.
Lachlan Markay, a reporter who covers The White House for The Daily Beast, tweeted on Wednesday that he could not board his flight from Washington Reagan National to Miami because his French bulldog, Lou, was five pounds overweight.
In fact, that wasn't the case but the responses on social media might have been a factor in American relenting and allowing Markay to board.
It all began with this tweet:
"Super cool of @AmericanAir to destroy our holiday travel plans because Lou is five pounds over the weight limit. Never had a problem on AA or any other airline, so I sure know which one I'm never booking with again."
Markay followed it up with "Looking forward to flying with you @JetBlue."
The tweets prompted more than 600 replies and more than 3,400 retweets. The replies were a mixed bag that included people asking American to show compassion and others condemning Markay and asking why he should be the exception to the rule.
As it turns out, Lou wasn't overweight.
Markay had put the small dog into what appeared to be a gym bag, and his canine companion didn't have enough room to move.
American spokesman Ross Feinstein told Forbes magazine that "Pets must be able to stand up, turn around and lie down in a natural position in their kennel (without touching any side or the top of the container)."
American quickly relented in less than two hours and Markay and Lou were allowed to fly.
"Our team made a one-time exception in order to get Mr. Markay to his final destination Wednesday evening," Feinstein said. "We allowed him this one time to travel with the French bulldog, but it was reiterated that the French bull dog does not comply with our stated policy. He was told he must either purchase a larger kennel for his return flight or find an alternate way (that is not on American) to transport the dog."
Markay posted:
"PUPDATE: We made it! AA wisely decided to make an exception. A special thank you to Camille and Adrian on AA's DCA team for the help and to all of you. #LetLouFly."
They even met a new friend on the plane.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
