American Airlines Sued for Treatment of American PTSD Veteran With Service Dog

Lawsuit: Airline tells veteran with PTSD, ‘You’re not flying with THAT!’
Sun Herald
Anita Lee
October 26, 2016

GULFPORT
An Army veteran who suffers from PTSD says in a federal lawsuit that American Airlines agents subjected her to two days of humiliation and stress when she tried to fly home from Kansas with her service dog, a Labrador retriever named Jake.

Service dog Jake was wearing his vest and had the credentials needed to fly with Army veteran Lisa McCombs, according to a lawsuit she filed against American Airlines and regional carrier Envoy for refusing to let her board a plane with Jake to Gulfport from Manhattan, Kansas. Courtesy of Lisa McCombs

Lisa McCombs says she flew without incident to Manhattan, Kansas, on Oct. 25, 2015, but was stuck there for two days because American regional carrier Envoy refused to let her board a return flight with Jake, even though he was wearing his service vest and met criteria to board the plane.

“Ms. McCombs was emotionally crushed and humiliated by the conduct of (Americans’) agents, who discriminated against her because of her disability and publicly shamed her,” says the lawsuit filed by Biloxi attorney Christopher Van Cleave of Corban Gunn Van Cleave in Biloxi.
read more here

Children of Fallen Hop on Snowball Express

Killeen: Snowball Express Honors Families Of Fallen Troops
KWTX News
Brandon Marshall
December 12, 2015

While in Dallas, the families will participate in several activities including a tour of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, a "knight" of jousting fun at Medieval Times and a private concert by Academy Award-nominated actor Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band.

KILLEEN
Some Central Texas children of military members received a special treat Saturday when they flew out of the Killeen-Fort Hood airport on a Snowball Express flight.

This was the 10th annual event put on by American Airlines and the nonprofit group.

Nearly 1,700 children and spouses of fallen U.S. military members headed out on an all-expense-paid journey to Dallas.

24 local family members will take part in the special holiday event during the next week.

Tiffanie Rodriguez of Fort Hood and her three children are among this year's group.

"They miss their father a lot and I think for them just to be able to talk about their dad and not feel so secluded, where as others do have their dad still, they can finally speak freely and not worry," Tiffanie said.

Tiffanie's husband, Army Staff Sgt. Daniel A. Rodriguez, died from his wounds after a roadside bomb exploded while he was serving in Afghanistan in July 2012.
read more here

Disabled American Veteran Stranded By American Airlines Over Service Dog?

Service Dog of the Year and retired Marine stranded in Los Angeles by American Airlines 
Free Beacon
Stephen Gutowski
September 22, 2015

The decision to deny the Haags and Axel service on the flight left them stranded in Los Angeles for the night.

A retired Marine and his service dog were denied a seat on an American Airlines flight the same day they had been honored with the Service Dog of the Year award.

Jason Haag, his wife, and his dog Axel were returning from the American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards where Axel had been honored as the Service Dog of the Year on Sunday when American Airlines employees at Los Angeles International Airport refused to allow them to board a plane to Reagan National Airport.

The airline employees did not believe that Axel was a service dog though Haag provided an animal identification card. Axel was also wearing a harness identifying him as a service dog.

The denial appears to be in violation of American Airlines policy, which requires only one of those forms of identification to allow a service dog on one of their flights.

The denial came as a complete surprise to Haag. “We got to LAX and everything was fine,” he told the Washington Free Beacon. “I checked into the ticket counter with Axel with no problems at all. They knew he was a service dog. Didn’t have any problems. We were issued our ticket. We got through security and checked our bags. We ate lunch and then went and sat down right at our gate.”

“We were there probably an hour and a half before we were supposed to board.”

Haag said he and Axel, who was wearing his service harness, were within full view of the employees at the ticket counter while they waited for their flight to arrive.

“Then about five minutes before we were supposed to board I got pulled out of line,” he said. “[The agent] called me up to the ticket counter and the first thing out of his mouth was, ‘Is that a real service dog?'”

Haag said the airline did not remove their luggage from the flight, so they were left with just the clothes on their back, which would constitute a significant security violation, as checked bags are typically matched with passengers as a preventative measure against terrorist attacks.

American Airlines did not offer to put them in a hotel for the night or provide any other support.

Haag said he hoped his ordeal might lead to action in forming a national registry for service dogs so no other veterans have to go through the same thing. “Service dogs are not going to go away,” he said.
read more here