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Comment by powerset | Hacker News Reader

If we're being honest, many people would prefer not to be forced to share space with other humans, either

Yeah, and it's easier for me to deal with that as a result: I can pay extra and get a first class ticket to get (depending on the plane) either some more space or A LOT more space to myself.

Would be nice if airlines would make it just as easy to buy some more space for my pet. Pay more to buy the row out, pay more to get on a limited selection of "pet friendly" flights, probably other ideas could work too...

pet friendly flights seems like the best bet here... I was sort of assuming this was a pet friendly airline, not just a plane that you can put your pet on.

> Yeah, and it's easier for me to deal with that as a result: I can pay extra and get a first class ticket to get (depending on the plane) either some more space or A LOT more space to myself.

I see people bring crying babies into first class all the time. I would dispute that most people really have an option to avoid "nuisance" contact with other people. (Not an option for me either way, I have never had a first class seat.)

You’re not forced to go on an airplane. If you don’t want to be around other humans, stay home.

The comfort of other humans is more important than anyone’s selfish desire to drag their pet to each and every place they happen to go.

I think a similar argument could be applied to babies on planes

Babies are people. Dogs are not. We prioritize people over dogs. It’s really not that complicated.

Right, but if you just replace "pet" with "baby" in your comment, the argument is still relevant. I'm not saying either way is wrong, but I don't think you can immediately conclude that it's fair to bring a baby on a plane that disturbs the 30+ people in immediate proximity while obviously unfair to bring a small pet on board

It's not still relevant because a baby and a dog are not equivalent. A baby has rights a dog doesn't. A baby might disturb people, so might an adult, but both are humans and you have to take the risk of being disturbed by humans because society is made of humans. Society is not made of or for dogs. Dogs are optional.

The OP was not talking about small pets, which are already allowed. They're talking about buying a separate seat for a large dog. It is utterly insane to expect anyone to spend a cross-country flight with an 80lb Labrador next to them slobbering all over them.

Fair points! That said, I think I'd personally pay a small premium to sit next to someone's (well behaved) dog lol

There should be a known seating area on every plane for pets and babies. Other passengers can select their seats as appropriate.

Humans are not as unpredictable as most pets.

This is untrue of babies and small children, which are more common on flights than pets.

Hell, it's honestly untrue of entirely too many adult humans these days, too. Humans have just become plain unpredictable in general (unless you predict "crazy"). :(

Heh, the last flight to florida i was on someone had urinated on the seat.

if only.

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