When I moved back to the United States from Romania, where I’d been living for two and a half years, I brought home a new husband and, just as importantly, our cat. We’d rescued her from an animal shelter two years before and there was no way we were leaving her behind. So we jumped through all the hoops presented to us — finding an FAA-compliant crate outside of the U.S., getting our cat micro-chipped, having a vet create a pet passport (basically just a record of her health and vaccines) — before my husband crated her up one November morning and brought her with him to the airport for his Lufthansa flights from Bucharest to Frankfurt and then Frankfurt to New York City.
Fourteen hours later my husband and cat arrived safely at JFK. It never really occurred to me that he would land safely and she wouldn’t. But after reading about a recent investigation by NBC Bay Area, I’m counting my lucky stars it turned out so well.
Turns out lots of animals don’t make it. Most stories don’t get into the news, but some do — like the case of former model Maggie Rizer. Back in September 2012, her 2-year-old golden retriever died during a flight from the East Coast to San Francisco.
Perhaps the most famous of all mistreated pets was Jack, the Norwegian forest cat that disappeared in JFK airport after an American Airlines baggage handler dropped his crate. Though he eventually turned up after falling through the ceiling in a customs area, he was so sick and dehydrated that he had to be put down.
Sadly, these stories are not as uncommon as we’d like to think. According to the NBC Bay Area investigation, 302 animals have died, been injured or disappeared while in the care of commercial airlines over a six-year span. The most common cause of death as determined by the airlines was “unknown.” Other common causes — again, as determined by the airlines themselves — were pre-existing medical conditions, escapes from the kennels, self-infliction and natural deaths.
The investigation even revealed which airlines have the worst record. Delta Airlines saw the most tragic outcomes, followed by Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Continental and United (those last two are now one single entity).
So, does knowing all this make me think twice about flying my cat in the future? You bet it does! What’s worse than knowing that my animal may not be safe in an airline’s care is reading about how the airlines do everything in their power to deny any responsibility for the deaths. Going forward, if I can’t drive to a destination with my cat, then she’s just going to have to fly coach with me.
Have you ever flown your pet somewhere? What was your experience like? And do you think airlines have a responsibility to get your pet to their ultimate destination safe and sound? Weigh in below.
– written by Dori Saltzman
I haven’t flown with my dog, but it definitely wouldn’t be my first choice. If I can avoid flying with him, I will go out of my way to do so. Thanks for sharing this info!
Oh this story is heart-breaking and there are many more such instances. Pets also travel in crates in the cargo hold, where it is cold and dark. I also think it is high time animals be given passports instead of being kept in quarantine. And frankly, I don’t see why cats and small dogs can’t be bought their own seat on the plane so they can sit next to their owners
Just as attitudes on where to allow animals (not on trains, subways, buses etc.) are very different from Europe, flying with an animal on an American airline poses definitely a greater risk than let’s say Lufthansa, Air France etc. And yes, you should be able to buy a seat for your pet – most pets who travel are much better behaved than some children.
When I wrote a letter to Amtrak why one cannot take even a small animal in a carrying cage on the train, I was told that this was the rule! Smart thinking indeed!
Shipping a pet by air is extremely safe. The International Pet and Animal Transportation Association (IPATA), is a nonprofit group that is dedicated to the well-being of animals during transport.
First, airlines place animals in a separate area, apart from the luggage, that is well lit and climate controlled. The law requires commercial aircraft cargo areas to be pressurized and climate controlled. Air circulates so pets are breathing the same air as the human passengers. There have been some deaths due to extreme temperatures – but that is due to outside temperatures and not the regulated cargo areas.
There are very few animal incidents when compared to the number of pets transported by air each year. Millions of animals travel by airplane. Unfortunately, the U.S. does not require airlines to report the total number of animals transported during the month; only the number of incidents.
Professional pet shippers work with airlines to ensure safe travel conditions. There are many instances where families must fly with their pets and because of false facts that are circulated throughout the media; they are scared to do so.
Just to be fair, while these stories are true, these are mostly people who tried to ship their pets by themselves. Most people who try to ship their pet by themself will use kennels that are way too small for their pet. If you look at the dog, and picture above, this kennel is completely wrong. This kennel is a snap together kennel, which can break easily. This kennel is absolutely too small for that dog, which can cause the dog to suffocate while in transit. You need to use a professional because an airline may not catch something like this, and how would you know if this is not what you do? Here at Animals Away, we make sure that our water bowls are frozen, that way the pet has water during the flight. We make sure that an animal will have a stop over at a pet hotel if this is a long trip. Pet hotels are located in FRA, LHR, and AMS when you are flying internationally. We are all members of IPATA, and work daily to ensure the safety of everyone’s animals. I have many repeat clients who use us every time they relocate, and would never trust their pet to anyone else. When traveling domestically stops are also important, and as I said before, we take all measures to ensure safe pet travel.
Most of the problems happen when a well meaning pet owner ships a pet themselves, but seldom does anything happen with a professional pet shipper. Of the 2-3 million pets estimated shipped by air in any given year around the world, a tiny fraction of one percent ever have a problem – and in my experience in working with the airlines, it is usually related to an underlying, undiagnosed medical problem, like heart or lung condition (except for escapes, usually due to in inappropriate crate). Not always, but very frequently. Mt airlines will require a necropsy in the event of a death to find out the reason why. The DOT reports do not give a complete picture, since only the numbers of problems were reported – they don’t list the total number of pets the airline shipped in that month of reporting.
As the immediate Past President of IPATA – comments above from our office – we would not be moving pets as individual businesses if we thought harm would come to the pets in our care. Airlines have much imporoved over the years with their staff training; and the IATA Live Animal Regulations, which in part governs airliens, will require staff at airlines accepting pets all be specifically trained in a Live Animal handling course beginning in 2014. I would ship my own pets – and have.
I’ve traveled by air with my dog countless times and without problems.
A secure crate will prevent accidental release. Years ago, I had a cat “Houdini” escape from his soft crate in the passenger cabin once. Prophetic name I suppose. He would have been safer in the cargo pet section.
As required by the airline, I go to the vet to make sure my dog is “fit to fly” and to obtain an airline required health certificate. He travels in the pet section of the cargo hold. A healthy dog, and a properly secured airline crate are all that are necessary for safe trip.
When you think of it, a lot of people die upstairs in the passenger cabin from heart failure, not the fault of the airline. Dogs can miss connecting flights just like people. The airline (Delta) has always taken care of my dog properly when this happened.