Here's the thing: There's a way they're supposed to do it, and then there's a way that some of them actually do it. I'll add a story here as I respond to this about a recent experience I had.
I was travelling from Calgary to Vancouver, L.A. and Toronto, and then back to Calgary, over a seven-day period. When you travel in Canada, the airline is supposed to give you an extra seat for your dog at no cost, and your dog is to sit on the floor at that seat. That is to give you extra space as the passenger, to give the dog space, and to not inconvenience the passenger who is beside you in a group of three seats, for example.
When you travel internationally, that second seat is not available, and you have to fit the dog under the seat that you're occupying. What sometimes happens with the airlines is, if you have some segments that are international and some that are not, the airline takes the position that, for the Canadian segments, you're not entitled to that extra seat even if the Canadian segment of your trip happens several days before the international segment.
That's what happened to me when I was on the big trip I told you about. I went to the airport after being in Toronto for two days, and after coming back from L.A., not knowing that the airline had given my second seat away. When I arrived at the airport, I had a bag at my feet and the dog beside me, expecting to have the other seat, and then this passenger shows up. There was no room in the bins, and there was no room elsewhere on the aircraft. Of course, my bag has batteries and stuff in it that I'm not supposed to check, so from Toronto to Calgary, I had a dog, a bag and me in the same space.
Welcome to travel in 2024 on Canadian airlines.