Friendly Skies? Not for Pet Owners By MICHELLE HIGGINS and Pets Onboard: Growls and Purrs By MICHELLE HIGGINS

July 19, 2009
Practical Traveler
Friendly Skies? Not for Pet Owners By MICHELLE HIGGINS

IT'S getting more expensive to take Fifi on vacation. Airlines may be raising the price of in-flight food and checked luggage, but pet owners say the fees for flying with their furry friends are getting out of control.

A number of airlines — including Alaska, American, JetBlue, US Airways and Virgin America — raised their pet fees by about $20 or more in the last year or so, and now charge $100 each way to take a pet on a flight. Continental, Midwest and United now charge $125 to bring a pet onboard, up from $100 previously.

Expect to pay even more to check in larger pets as luggage. Those fees now range from $300 round trip on American to $500 on United. It goes even higher for international flights.

These days, with airfares so low, a pet's fee can be more than a human's ticket.

James Garahan, an international tax lawyer from San Francisco, paid $299 for a round-trip flight from San Francisco to New York in December on United. But to take his 13-pound pug, Sophie, with him, United wanted an extra $350. (United has since lowered the cost to $125 each way, from $175, but that is still higher than the $100 it charged last spring.)

Mr. Garahan views the fee as "discriminatory against pet owners." Sophie, he points out, rides under the seat in front of him — "space I have already paid for."

But for airlines, it's another way to eke out more revenue. American, for example, raised its pet charges in May 2008 — the same time it began charging for things like a second checked bag. "The bottom line is that our fares and our fees together must cover our operating costs if we are to remain viable for the long term," said Andrea Huguely, an American spokeswoman.

Pet owners say they simply have no choice but to pay whatever the airlines charge.

"People that want to travel with pets are pretty much at their mercy," said Jerry Hatfield, a spokesman for Pet Travel Inc., which offers an online guide at www.pettravel.com. "If it's $100, that's what it is. There are no other options. Amtrak isn't accepting any pets."

Actually, there is a new option: Pet Airways (www.petairways.com), a pet-only airline based in Delray Beach, Fla., is beginning service this month. It plans to fly to smaller regional airports near New York City (Republic on Long Island), Washington (Baltimore/Washington International), Chicago (Midway), Denver (Rocky Mountain Metro) and Los Angeles (Hawthorne Municipal).

Aimed at pet owners frustrated with the high cost and poor service associated with most airlines, Pet Airways promises to fly animals in a climate-controlled cabin outfitted with individual crates instead of seats, and staffed with a flight attendant who will check on animals every 15 minutes. The company uses Beech 1900C turbo-props, some versions of which are 19-seat commuter planes.

Tickets for the flights, operated once a week by Suburban Air Freight based in Omaha, Neb., start at $149 each way. There is already a waiting list for the first month, according to Alysa Binder, a founder of the company.

"Size doesn't matter, snout noses don't matter," Ms. Binder said. "It's all about the pets."

Commercial airlines typically will not accept snub-nosed dogs like pugs or cats like Persians as cargo as they tend to be sensitive to heat. Also, many airlines will not accept pets as checked baggage or cargo when the ground temperature exceeds 85 degrees or is below 20 degrees.

Frontier Airlines has barred pets from cabins. "It's a customer service issue," said Steve Snyder, an airline spokesman, noting that customers can still transport pets on Frontier as luggage for $100 or $200 each way depending on size. "There are a lot of folks that may have allergies to pets, or may have a fear of dogs or cats or may not want to be bothered by somebody else's pets."

But some airlines are trying to be more pet friendly. Delta, which had some of the highest fees, lowered its rates this month to $100 each way, from $150, for carry-on pets on domestic flights, and to $175 from $275 for pets checked as luggage.

JetBlue, which transports more than 80,000 pets a year, created a frequent flier program for pets, JetPaws, which allows customers to earn double miles when bringing along their furry friends. Continental and Midwest have similar programs.

Perhaps sensing a competitive niche, Southwest last month began charging $75 to take small dogs and cats onboard, undercutting most other airlines. And on July 1, Air Canada began charging 50 Canadian dollars (about $42 at 1.19 Canadian dollars to the U.S. dollar) each way for pets.

Other tips to keep to mind:

• Airlines limit the number of pets on each flight, so book early if you plan to bring your pet.

• To avoid delays and reduce the stress on your pet, book a nonstop flight whenever possible.

• If checking your pet as luggage, avoid booking a mid-day flight in summer, when the cargo hold can be dangerously warm.

• "I recommend feeding them about four hours before the flight, if possible," said Melissa Halliburton, founder of BringFido.com, a travel site for dog owners. "They can and should continue to drink water right up to the time of travel, though."

• After purchasing an appropriate pet carrier, write your pet's name on it, including identification tags with your home address and phone number as well as the address and phone number of your destination, Ms. Halliburton suggests. If two or more pets are traveling together in cargo, put a sign on their crates indicating that they be placed near one another during the flight.

But if your pet is an anxious flier, consider leaving it home. Sitters can be found online at Petsit.com and Petsitters.org.

Mr. Garahan, the tax lawyer, ended up hiring a pet sitter for $25 a day for his pug. But next time, Mr. Garahan may have to spring for Sophie's flight since his wife, Pam Dickson, often travels to New York City for business.

"When I show up in New York, she's happy to see me," Mr. Garahan said of his wife. "But if I'm bringing Sophie, she's really happy to see me."
Practical Traveler - Flying With Pets Can Be Costly - NYTimes.com (2 August 2009)
http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/travel/19pracpets.html?fta=y&pagewanted=print
http://snipurl.com/oj9wg

FEEDBACK / COMMENTS FROM READERS

August 2, 2009
Practical Traveler
Pets Onboard: Growls and Purrs By MICHELLE HIGGINS

MEOW! Do people feel strongly about pets on planes.

In response to the July 19 Practical Traveler column, “Friendly Skies? Not For Pet Owners,” more than 100 readers weighed in on the subject. Many of the comments expressed outrage at the high fees airlines charge to transport pets, especially on international flights. A number of readers also described nightmarish travel experiences involving pets that arrived severely dehydrated or even near death after flying as checked luggage.

But a surprising majority of comments debated whether pets should be allowed on planes in the first place — a discussion worth summarizing here.

Allergy sufferers cited pet dander as a major health issue. “I have no desire to drug myself up with antihistamines and/or sneeze/wheeze endlessly because of another passenger’s selfish decision to bring their pet on the flight,” said a reader who identified herself as Eve from Portland. “It seems inconsistent for airlines to phase out peanuts as snacks but nonetheless allow animals in the cabin, when their mere presence causes severe discomfort for others.”

Allergy sufferers have little recourse if they find themselves seated near a pet. It’s possible to switch seats with another passenger to avoid sneezing through the entire flight, but that isn’t an ideal solution. “When I complained about a cat under my aisle seat in the front of the plane — I was moved to a rear, middle seat,” wrote Catherine from California. “Meds kept me alive but I was sick for a week from the resulting sinus infection.”

Pet owners, on the other hand, pointed out that they have few alternatives when it comes to transporting their animals, whether for a long vacation or a cross-country move. And banning pets because of allergy sufferers, they argue, is a slippery slope. “If airlines are going to start insisting on pet-free flights because of a few hothouse flowers complaining about the possibility of being annoyed by allergies,” a reader identified as HK from New York City asked, “can they also start banning people with colds?” HK continued, “Oh — and I guess they should ban people who wear too much perfume so that I don’t have to suffer a headache throughout the flight, people with sketchy hygiene and people who want to bring pungent foods onboard.”

But passengers had other reasons for wanting to ban pets from planes. Millie Smith, from Boulder, Colo., described how a small dog on a red-eye flight “barked incessantly for about 45 minutes on takeoff and a half hour on landing.”

So what’s wrong with putting pets in cargo? Even a former airline employee said he would not trust an airline with safely transporting his pets as checked luggage. “Knowing what I do about conditions on the ramp and in the baggage compartment, I would never transport my dog by air, no matter what the season,” said Scott from Morgantown, W.Va., “He would be terrified by the noise, the confusion, the isolation and the physical sensations of flight. It would be pure selfishness on my part to subject him to that just so I could take him along on a trip.” And Kay from Eugene, Ore., described how her daughter had to rush her kitten to the veterinarian when it arrived “at the point of death” from dehydration after a flight from Georgia to Arizona.

Some readers offered suggestions on how to get airlines to pay closer attention to pets. Jim Hutchins of Ogden, Utah, who keeps an online diary about his dog, Roxy, including her travels, recommended writing a friendly note on the carrier when checking a pet as luggage. This may help remind baggage handlers that your pet has a name and isn’t just another piece of cargo. Freezing a bowl of water can help reduce spills and keep the pet hydrated during a flight, he also noted. And booking a window seat may allow you to see your pet as it’s loaded into the aircraft.

Still, some owners go to extraordinary lengths to avoid the stress flying can cause to pets. Shirley Lin, from Arizona, wrote about driving to New York from the Southwest for four days and staying in pet-friendly hotels instead of checking her pets as luggage for a move in 2006. “As much as I would love to vaca (sometimes) with my dogs, it’s more stressful on them, and they’re perfectly happy at home with their favorite sitter,” she wrote.

But sometimes driving is just not an option, as when moving overseas. In those cases, airlines have been known to charge very high fees. One reader, who went by the screen name Krauset, griped about paying $1,700 to move the family dog, Jack, one way from Phoenix, Ariz., to England, on British Airways. “This was not much less than the total cost of our family’s four round-trip tickets,” Krauset wrote. “Shame on you British Airways. The least you could have done was put Champagne in Jack’s water bowl. Stop the price gouging!”

To avoid such charges, one reader, Ami from Washington, suggested smuggling a pet onboard: “I fly with my 20 lb. mutt often on US Airways, Jet Blue, Delta, Continental, etc. He is transported in a rolling bag that I carry on like a suitcase. I sneak him around as much as possible to avoid paying the pet charge. About 80% of the time he does not get spotted by ticketing agents or flight attendants. I only pay the fee when they catch me and make me pay it.”

Still others had more of an issue with pet owners than the pets themselves. “In our family we all have severe cat and dog allergies,” wrote a reader identified as rnzucker from Portland, Ore. “We were quite surprised one time when my daughter was sitting next to a woman who had a dog, who had no sympathy for my daughter and refused to move seats.

“My daughter ended up sitting totally separate from the family as a result,” rnzucker continued. “Pets in the cabin on planes (or on trains) can be a major health issue for many of us, even in carriers, and should not be ignored. Not everyone wants to be next to your pet.”

Will pet lovers and pet haters ever get along? One reader identified as markjay1 from New York City suggested fining dog owners if their pets misbehave onboard: “Every bark, yelp, growl or whine costs the owner $25, no limit. That’s for each one. A growl that ends with a bark is considered two infractions. Every ‘accident’ costs the owner $200. Every passenger whose allergies are set off by the dog is immediately paid $100 by the dog owner. If the dog gets out of its carrier the fine is $250. If the owner lets the dog out of its carrier the fine is $1,000. I think these rules are fair. If your dog is well controlled I have no problem with it, and you, on the plane.”