Tyler likes to travel. Cecily doesn’t. But the long-haired cats didn’t have a choice in the matter when their owner, Carol Cassara, took a trip from San Francisco to Miami recently: The felines were flying along.
Cassara, a consultant now based in Tampa, Fla., sought the advice of a veterinarian before boarding. The animal doctor prescribed Valium for the kitties, but warned that there was a chance of an “adverse reaction.”
“On the flight, Cecily got more and more agitated, turning desperately around and around in her carrier, until it was clear that this was the adverse reaction the vet told us about,” Cassara remembers. The cat managed to squeeze out of her cage. “We went up and down the aisles, as passengers watched,” says Cassara. “It was like a tennis match.”
Finally she captured her pet when it wedged itself under a food cart. Cassara was so shaken by the ordeal that she swallowed the Valium that she’d reserved for the cat’s return flight.
Are pets and air travel compatible? About 8 percent of travelers said they’ve taken their animal companions with them on a trip during the last year, according to the Travel Industry Association of America.
Still, there’s a fair amount of friction between passengers and pets.
On a British Airways flight from London to Sydney late last year, a hamster broke out of his cage and prowled the cabin. Flight attendant Vitor Campos, who noticed it on the floor, was nipped on the finger when he reached down to retrieve it. The crew eventually cornered the furry runaway.
But by far the strangest case of animal misbehavior happened a few years ago, when Los Angeles socialite Marcelle Becker’s white Maltese dog, Dom Perignon, cut loose on an American Airlines flight from New York to Los Angeles.
Becker contended that crew members kicked her and her 13-year-old pet while trying to return the canine to its kennel. American’s lawyers said the woman “threatened to kill everyone on board.” It all ended with the captain restraining Becker by tying her up with Dom Perignon’s leash. A Santa Monica Superior Court jury rejected Becker’s claims.
Even well-behaved pets can be troublesome. Julie Baker’s flight from Houston to Detroit on Continental, for example, went to the dogs when another passenger brought her mutt into the cabin.
“After take-off, she took her dog out of his carrier, wrapped him in a plaid blanket, and held him on her lap like a baby,” she recalls. “The only problem I had with this is that I’m highly allergic to animals and the lady sitting next to me said she was deathly allergic to dogs.”
Should pets go in the cargo hold? Probably not a good idea. Last summer, five guard dogs being shipped from Atlanta to South Carolina for training died from heat-related stress after thunderstorms kept their Delta Air Lines flight grounded on a steamy Hartsfield runway for more than an hour. The deaths prompted Delta to ban animals from its cargo holds on U.S. passenger flights until the fall.
And late last year, following the escape of a dog from an American Airlines plane at New York’s JFK airport, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals issued a warning that animals may not be safe in cargo holds of airplanes. Animal advocates claim the compartments expose animals to extreme heat, cold and deprive them of oxygen. They’re pushing for tougher laws on animal transport.
Some travelers believe pets have every right to fly with their owners. Anthony Bresenhan Kaye travels with his dog several times a year and has never had an incident. “Other passengers are usually quite happy to sit next to her when she’s on my lap or near her when she’s under the seat,” he told me. “In many cases, the vast majority of the other passengers never knew that there was a puppy on the plane.”
While I certainly can understand that some pets are well-mannered, it’s also obvious that many others aren’t. The frightened creatures force their way out of their kennels and exacerbate an already unpleasant travel experience for most of us.
Most pets clearly don’t belong in the passenger cabin.
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Most airlines quit serving peanuts on their flights because of the allergic reactions of some passengers. Should they respond any differently to those with allergies to animal dander? If you want to take your pet, drive! This is a health issue; not a personal preference.
I took my 15 lb. Pom to Chicago from Orange County over the holidays 2 yrs ago. He was very good on the packed flights and I asked my seatmates if it was ok, otherwise I would have asked to change seats. With all of the screaming, crying, kicking, and loud kids on the flights, my fellow passengers were amazed and commented how good my dog was!
Some animals adverse reactions to tranquilizers is well known. Anyone taking their pet on a flight and planning on givng Fido or Fluffy one for the first time should have the sense to have a “trial run” at home.
Give the kitty or pooch a dose as a test and then put them in their carrier for a few hours so they get used to both the drug and being in their carrier for a long period of time.
A little common sense goes a long way!
Sometimes driving isn’t an option. We’re in the process of moving from San Diego to Seattle. So, do we subject our 2 cats to 3 days in the car or 3 hrs on a plane? We chose to fly them. We dosed the cats a week before the flight to see how they reacted. So far we have only transported one cat and he slept through most of the flight. I would NEVER let my pet out of the carrier on the flight – that’s inviting trouble. And I don’t believe in bringing my cats on vacation with me.
If an animal gets out of its carrier, you should blame the owner, not the hundreds of thoughtful pet owners that take care of their animals and follow the rules. I think it is only fair to ask the person sitting next to you if they are allergic to a pet and if they are, ask the flight attendent if you can switch seats with someone. I have traveled several times with my dog and have had no problems whatsoever with him. I gave him a bath the night before the flight and brushed him carefully even though he does not shed or produce dander like some breeds do. I was told to keep the dog in the bag on the flight, and I did so. However, the airlines need to stop charging the high prices to allow us to take them on board. It is for their safety. The airlines are double charging for the space where we normally keep a hand bag and put our feet. They can’t provide a safe place to put them below. Dogs have died, and dogs have gotten lost. The pets sit quietly in their bags crunched under the seat for hours without a peep. Young children scream,run up and down the aisles and carry on and parents don’t calm them down. Listening to a baby cry for three hours or more is far more annoying than a quiet pet asleep at my feet.
If I had a choice I would rather sit next to a well behaved 15 pound dog on a flight than: a 300 pound sweaty person stuck to me the whole flight, a brat screaming and carrying on next to me, behind me or in front of me, the same brat kicking my seat or throwing treats on my head, his stupid mother saying “sweetie, please behave” which the brat ignores the whole 8 hour flight., a motion sick woman throwing up on the floor which ends up splattered on my suede shoes, the rude jerks carrying on inappropriate conversations for all the world to hear, the woman breastfeeding her infant that expects me to act as her nursemaid and hold all her baby supplies and forces me to hear all about how precious junior is when I don’t care and just want to take a nap or read my book. I would gladly let the dog put his paws on me and sit close to my food if I had a choice.
Thanks for the comments. My maltese is a sleeper. She sleeps with us in our bed all night. She is 6 lbs. and I am thinking of taking her with me to New York state. Will the airlines charge me? She will lay on my lape not a seat.
I moved from Missouri to Kentucky for a new job and was not able to bring my two cats with me because of my original housing situation. My situation changed and my parents were flying from Missouri to Kentucky for a visit and I asked them to bring the cats with them.
The cats were placed in a soft-sided carrier so they could travel in flight. They had hard carriers on stand-by just in case they were forced to be in the cabin for some reason. There was some concern about the 15 pound weight limit for one cat and after speaking with customer service on the phone and asking how strictly that rule would be enforced – was told “It depends on what kind of mood your gate agent is in.”. Thankfully, my mother said their agent was allergic to cats and didn’t even place them on the scale, he just printed their boarding passes and got the cats out of his presence as quickly as possible.
There was a problem at security, though. One of my cats almost escaped and could have gotten loose in the airport, which would have been a disaster. And yes, she was tranqued. The other cat, also tranqued, became very restless and tried to claw out of her carrier during take-offs and landings, but otherwise, they traveled fine. No uncontrollable meowing, no allergic passenger (or airline attendant) throwing a fit or any other problems I was terrified of my parents encountering.
Long story short, my cats survived the trip, but it would have to be an absolute emergency before I fly them anywhere again. Just far too nerve-wracking.
where do you go for vacations that you are able take your pets on vacatiion with you