An article in the Washington Post's Sunday travel section profiled Pet Airways, an airline dedicated solely to the safe travel of animals. But, the more newsworthy statistic printed, in my opinion, was this -- "Since May 2005, the Department of Transportation has collected monthly data from airlines on pet incidents. Through August 2010, the total was 154 pets who died, 63 injured and 38 lost." Animals traveling are stowed in their carriers in the cargo hold -- imagine traveling in a dark, loud cargo area, without anyone to oversee your trip. That's what the founders of Pet Airways did, and then they created an airline that transports just animals -- two-footed passengers have to find their own means of transportation!
Years ago, I flew with my cat, Sidney, from Tallahassee, Florida to Miami. Sid was in a carrier tucked securely under my seat. The man behind me sneezed the entire trip. After a several hour delay, due to fog, Sidney and I, along with the sneezing passenger, arrived safely at our destination. What if she had been cooped up in the cargo area for, not only the duration of the 90 minute trip, but the extra ground-hold as well?
Joe Yonan's article brought back memories of a very interesting trip, and made me realize how lucky my my animals have been -- none of them, after that flight with Sidney, have ever had to travel by air. In fact, if it were up to Nigel ,he'd travel by car 24 hours a day.
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