Autism Service Dogs

It's important for Glindy and I to know the configuration of the airplane that we'll be flying on. For example, some airplanes have bulkhead seats, and some have designed their cabins so that the forward-most seats are now technically an exit row where disabled individuals may not sit.

SkyWest Airlines is the Delta partner that I'm flying on most frequently these days, and I've learned the hard way that regional jets require different tactics than I'm used to using on the larger carriers. Most of the flights operated by SkyWest are on small commuter jets such as the CRJ-100 or CRJ-200. The important things to note about these two aircraft models are:

• The bulkhead seats actually have less legroom than the regular seats. This pretty much ensures that there will be no room for a service animal unless the airline blocks the seat next to you, which they won't do on a completely-full flight.
• The regular seats are configured with two seats on either side of the aisle, and each set of seats are bolted only under the aisle and window armrests. Since the seats don't have a center stanchion between the seats, the entire area (around 35 inches wide) under the seats in front of you is available. This means that a moderately-sized service animal can fit at least partially under the seats in front of you, and that sharing foot-space with a fellow passenger is at least possible.

Most of the time, reservations agents have been taught to steer disabled passengers to bulkhead seats. This is definitely sub-optimal on these particular planes, though, so I now request forward non-bulkhead seats on segments using the CRJ-100/CRJ-200. However, I still request bulkhead seats on segments using the 737-800, which have three seats and two center stanchions on each side of the aisle.