Passenger blames airline for dog’s death after pooches were moved from first class to coach

An Alaska Airlines passenger was left heartbroken after his pet bulldog died after being moved from first class to coach just before taking off.

Michael Contillo filed a lawsuit on 16 October against the airline for negligence and emotional distress after he, his father and his two French bulldogs, Kora and Ash, were told to move seats away from first class to economy.

In a lawsuit seen by The Independent, Contillo argues that the airline breached a ticket agreement, with his dog Ash becoming anxious, which led to health issues during the flight and later, the dog’s death.

Contillo was flying from John F Kennedy International Airport in New York to his hometown of San Francisco on 1 February with his dogs, including four-year-old Ash who was a “very healthy and active dog with no history of illness or surgeries”.

The dog owner had previously flown with Alaska Airlines to New York in November 2023 without fault in the first-class cabin, the lawsuit said.

Before flying back to San Francisco in February, Contillo took both dogs to a vet for a wellness exam to make sure they were fit to take a cross-country flight, which they both passed.

Contillo stated in the lawsuit that intentionally purchased two first-class tickets to ensure that the dogs had more space and that they would be able to board the flight early.

He claimed that he reserved in-cabin dog spaces ahead of the flight, paid an additional $100 per dog at the airport, as well as purchased and used dog carriers that were compliant with the airlines’ size requirements.

Contillo, his father and the two dogs boarded the plane into first class on the fourth row, but just before the plane prepared for takeoff, the lawsuit claimed an Alaska Airlines flight attendant and another unknown employee asked them to move to aisle 11 “for safety purposes”.

Alaska Airlines says under its pet travel policies that the first-class cabin can accommodate a total of three pet carriers per flight, and the main cabin can accommodate a total of eight pet carriers per flight.

Contillo explained to the employees that his dog carriers complied with the airlines’ policy, and moving the dogs at this point would be “extremely dangerous”, the complaint said.

“He further explained that the dog was calm at the moment but would not be calm anymore now that the plane was…