A while ago, I wrote a post about whether you can or cannot bring your dog’s carrier out from under the seat during flight and rest it on your lap. All airlines agree that your dog must stay completely in her carrier, but some appear to allow you to hold the carrier on your lap except during takeoff and landing.

It was a popular post, so I know that a bunch of you like having your dog’s carrier on your lap whenever it’s permitted. I do too. However, I’m having second thoughts about it, and here’s why. Chloe’s carrier is at the upper end — size-wise — of what’s acceptable. Putting her carrier on my lap is feasible, if I’m very, very careful to keep my arms out of my neighbors’ personal spaces, but it’s awkward and I suspect it discourages my inboard neighbors from asking to step out into the aisle.

That’s important, because I think when you’re traveling with an in-cabin pet you should be as low-impact as possible, but an even more important point is that a carrier in your lap may become a projectile in turbulence. I’ve just read a handful of stories about injuries suffered by flight attendants, and it occurred to me that Chloe’s carrier wouldn’t provide her much protection during a similar event.

Clinching the deal, for me, is my new belief that Chloe doesn’t really need my arm stuck in her carrier for comfort. I think she knows I’m nearby without the arm, and that what I’m really doing is comforting myself, at her possible expense and at the expense of my neighbors’ comfort. I’ll think twice about bringing her carrier out from under my legs, in future.