All Pet Airline Takes Flight

First class isn't just for businessmen anymore, it's for business dogs too.

On May 1st, 2009 Pet Airways officially starting accepting reservations for its new all-pet airline. Pet Airways, whose headquarters is located in Delrey Beach, Florida, is the first airline exclusively for pets, and it allows pets to ride in the main cabin of the plane rather than the cargo hold. Currently, pet owners who need to travel a significant distance with a pet that doesn't fit under the seat forward of a commercial airliner are faced with a difficult dilemma. Is it worse to traumatize your pet by having it travel for hours in the cargo hold of a plane, or to traumatize your pet by boarding it in a kennel while you travel on your own with the other bipeds.

In an April 29, 2009 press release, Pet Airways CEO Dan Wiesel stated: "Currently, most pets traveling by air in the U.S. are transported in the cargo hold and are handled as baggage. The experience is not only frightening to the pets, but can cause severe emotional and physical harm, even death. Pets are like family members and they deserve better." Pet Airways also offers travelers the option of tracking their pet online. It's reminiscent of FedEx's system of tracking packages. Pet owners who log on to the Pet Airways website can see an update online every time their pet changes hands or moves to a different car or plane.

Pet Airways pet passengers need to check-in for their flight two hours in advance, but area also given "potty breaks" by the Pet Airways staff while they're waiting for their flight. If you have more complicated plans for traveling with your pet, Pet Airways also offers up to three days of boarding for your animal at their facility. Pet Airways also states that a flight attendant checks on each animal every 15 minutes during the flight.

Pet Airways currently flies only dogs and cats, but states on their website that flights for reptiles, birds, pigs and other common pets are coming soon. All flights cost $149 per pet one-way. Continental Airlines currently charges $125 per in-cabin pet flight, and charges according to weight for animals traveling in cargo. United Airlines charges $175 for pets that can travel as a carry on item, and $175-250 per pet in cargo.

Pet Airways currently flies to and from New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C., and Denver. Pet Airways is currently taking reservations for their first flights, scheduled to take off in July 2009. That's when traveling pets will give Pet Airways the official paws up or paws down. My husband and I currently can't take a vacation to any distance that we can't drive to. Our dog would be traumatized by taking the six hour flight across the country in the cargo hold so we could all visit my parents. He would also be traumatized by being left in a boarding facility for more than a night or two. We're hoping that Pet Airways starts flying to Boston or other New England states some time soon.

Sources:
Continental Airlines:
http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/content/travel/animals/in_cabin.aspx
http://cargo.cocargo.com/cargo/rates/

Pet Airways:
http://www.petairways.com
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/04/prweb2354504.htm

United Airlines:
http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,51255,00.html