BA Allows Service Dogs to Fly for Free

BRIAN HICKMAN, a former police officer, travelled on his first flight in 15 years thanks to his service dog, Lily. British Airways (BA) helped him bring his dream to life, with free cabin travel for all service dogs, so that flying can be accessible to everyone.

BA offers this service via its Accessibility team, and over 1,000 customers fly with their service dogs. Service dogs offer an invaluable service to their owners by signalling dangers and obstacles, retrieving items for owners with mobility issues, warning their owners of impending seizures mitigating symptoms of psychiatric disorders or serving as seeing eyes for the blind.

Brian suffered injuries to his spine 15 years ago whilst on duty as a police officer, and his life changed drastically. With the help of his service dog, Lily, he can regain his confidence and independence, and do many of the things he used to do, including taking his first flight in 15 years.

Following his successful flight to Newcastle, Brian has regained his confidence to fly again with Lily by his side. He is now looking forward to future holidays with his faithful companion.

Brian said, “Everyone from British Airways was so nice and helpful from start to end of our journey. It was a day to remember for all the good reasons. Lily and I had a great day out, and I now know we can fly whenever we want to.”

BA’s Chief Customer Officer, Calum Laming, said, “We believe our original British Airways service should be accessible to everyone, we know there is more to do, and we’re working hard to continuously improve to become the airline of choice for all customers with visible and non-visible disabilities. Seeing Brian gain the confidence to fly again after 15 years was heartening and his journey with Lily really sums up what we’re striving for at British Airways – to ensure that our customers who require additional assistance can travel safely, with dignity and in comfort.”

If you want to travel with BA with your service dog, official documents need to be provided to confirm that the service dog is trained, must wear an identifying jacket or harness during the flight, and always be under the control of its owner. Service dogs that do not comply with the above requirements, pet dogs and other service animals are not permitted to travel in the cabin and will need to fly as a pet.

More than half a million customers who require additional assistance fly with British Airways every year. BA has a dedicated Accessibility team that offers services for those with mobility issues, visual impairments, hearing impairments and other impairments. They can also help customers book flights, hotels, pre-book seating and cater for the specific requirements of customers who require special assistance.