cheap car rental el paso cheap car rental exeter scrap car buyers in abu dhabi cheap car rental heathrow udrive sharjah premium cars for rent rent a car deira cheap rental car vegas car rental michigan sixt rent a car dubai contact number budget rent a car dubai airport terminal 3 bravo rent a car dubai rent a car in hor al anz dubai cheap cars dubai rent car rental scotland dubai car rental lamborghini rent motor city rent a car dubai month rent in silicon oasis rpm rent a car dubai advantage rent a car dubai
  • Call-in Numbers: 917-633-8191 / 201-880-5508

  • Now Playing

    Title

    Artist

    Your support helps us to tell the story

    From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

    At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

    The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

    Your support makes all the difference.

    Delta passenger Janelle Rupkalvis was allegedly told to keep her cat quiet on a 5 a.m. flight from Seattle to Salt Lake City on February 19, or she’d be forced to deboard the plane.

    “I’m not kidding. We sit down and within like 30 seconds, a minute, maybe two minutes, a flight attendant comes up to us,” Rupkalvis recalled in a TikTok video posted the day after her disastrous trip. “She goes, ‘If your cat doesn’t stop meowing, we’re going to have to ask you to get off the plane.”

    Rupkalvis had been sitting with her four-year-old cat named Asparagus, otherwise known as Gus, and her partner in first class when the Delta Airlines employee approached them.

    “I was like, ‘What?’ Like, ‘One, he’s a cat. Two, he’s not screaming.’ He’s meowing because there’s a lot of commotion. This is a scary thing for a little guy who’s sitting in a little carrier underneath the seat,” she said.

    The first thought that crossed her mind was whether the attendant would have had the same reaction to a crying child.

    Janelle Rupkalvis was awarded 15,000 miles on Delta’s loyalty scheme for the mishap
    Janelle Rupkalvis was awarded 15,000 miles on Delta’s loyalty scheme for the mishap (TikTok/@janelleonajet)

    “I was like, ‘There’s no way this is a rule. I’ve never heard this before,’” she said.

    Rupkalvis and her partner attempted to quiet Gus while they contacted the airline via text to “clarify” their pet policy.

    According to the representative Rupkalvis spoke to online, Delta’s policy states that that owner must be “responsible for keeping the pet passive and in the kennel for the duration of the flight.”

    What’s more, the Delta agent said all pets “must be in a clean kennel that doesn’t create discomfort for other customers.”

    Rupkalvis thought the word “passive” didn’t necessarily mean “silent.”

    “That is a huge distinction,” she said before continuing to say she was “happy” to have received the policy details from her Delta text chat.

    Before letting the online agent go, Rupkalvis asked if they could receive any compensation for “the incorrect information” they were given on the plane and the anxiety and stress it induced.

    Fortunately for her, the Delta representative offered her and her partner each the choice between a $150 voucher or 15,000 miles.

    “We took the miles. So, we got 30,000 miles out of the situation,” Rupkalvis said, before asking her followers: “What do you think about this travel mishap?”

    One experienced flight attendant commented: “That makes me sad. I love all the animals.”

    “I’m so sorry this not okay. That FA was in the wrong 100 percent,” a second viewer wrote on her TikTok video.

    Meanwhile, another flight attendant said, “As a FA, I love my feline passengers! My cat meows a lot too when she’s going somewhere unfamiliar, I have wayyyy more issues with dog owners. Sorry you experienced that.”

    Rupkalvis told the Post: “While the initial experience was frustrating, I really appreciated that level of customer service and the effort to acknowledge and address the situation."

    In a statement sent to The Independent, a representative for Delta said: “We are aware of and are investigating the details of this event. Per Delta’s pet policy, pets must remain inside the kennel with the door secured while in a Delta boarding area, during boarding and deplaning, while in a Delta Sky Club® and while on board the aircraft.”

    Read More


    Reader's opinions

    Leave a Reply