hiker chick
07-15-2009, 08:28 AM
This is the only way I'd even consider having Gidget fly across country. Not crazy about it taking 24 hours, though. Non-stop is safer. Here's a photo gallery: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2009/07/14/GA2009071402792.html?hpid=multimedia1&hpv=local
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D99ECQSG0&show_article=1
Paws up: All-pet airline hits skies
Jul 14 02:24 PM US/Eastern
By SAMANTHA BOMKAMP
AP Transportation Writer
Pet Airways will fly a pet between five major cities—New York, (http://topics.breitbart.com/York/) Washington, (http://topics.breitbart.com/Washington/)Chicago, (http://topics.breitbart.com/chicago/) Denver, (http://topics.breitbart.com/Denver/) and Los Angeles. (http://topics.breitbart.com/Los+Angeles/) The $250 one-way fare is comparable to pet fees at the largest U.S. airlines.
For owners the big difference is service. Dogs and cats will fly in the main cabin of a Suburban Air Freight plane, retooled and lined with carriers in place of seats. Pets (about 50 on each flight) will be escorted to the plane by attendants that will check on the animals every 15 minutes during flight. The pets are also given pre-boarding walks and bathroom breaks. And at each of the five airports it serves, the company has created a "Pet Lounge" for future fliers to wait and sniff before flights.
The company will operate out of smaller, regional airports in the five launch cities, which will mean an extra trip for most owners dropping off their pets if they are flying too. Stops in cities along the way means the pets will take longer to reach a destination than their owners.
A trip from New York to Los Angeles, for example, will take about 24 hours. On that route, pets will stop in Chicago, have a bathroom break, play time, dinner, and bunk for the night before finishing the trip the next day.
Betsy Saul, (http://topics.breitbart.com/Betsy+Saul/) co-founder of Petfinder.com, which has ranked the pet-friendliness of airlines for three years, said she's excited about the expected impact Pet Airways will have on pet travel across major airlines.
"The entire industry will stretch because of Pet Airways," she said. "It's a challenge that says 'let's make this (experience) better for pets.'"
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D99ECQSG0&show_article=1
Paws up: All-pet airline hits skies
Jul 14 02:24 PM US/Eastern
By SAMANTHA BOMKAMP
AP Transportation Writer
Pet Airways will fly a pet between five major cities—New York, (http://topics.breitbart.com/York/) Washington, (http://topics.breitbart.com/Washington/)Chicago, (http://topics.breitbart.com/chicago/) Denver, (http://topics.breitbart.com/Denver/) and Los Angeles. (http://topics.breitbart.com/Los+Angeles/) The $250 one-way fare is comparable to pet fees at the largest U.S. airlines.
For owners the big difference is service. Dogs and cats will fly in the main cabin of a Suburban Air Freight plane, retooled and lined with carriers in place of seats. Pets (about 50 on each flight) will be escorted to the plane by attendants that will check on the animals every 15 minutes during flight. The pets are also given pre-boarding walks and bathroom breaks. And at each of the five airports it serves, the company has created a "Pet Lounge" for future fliers to wait and sniff before flights.
The company will operate out of smaller, regional airports in the five launch cities, which will mean an extra trip for most owners dropping off their pets if they are flying too. Stops in cities along the way means the pets will take longer to reach a destination than their owners.
A trip from New York to Los Angeles, for example, will take about 24 hours. On that route, pets will stop in Chicago, have a bathroom break, play time, dinner, and bunk for the night before finishing the trip the next day.
Betsy Saul, (http://topics.breitbart.com/Betsy+Saul/) co-founder of Petfinder.com, which has ranked the pet-friendliness of airlines for three years, said she's excited about the expected impact Pet Airways will have on pet travel across major airlines.
"The entire industry will stretch because of Pet Airways," she said. "It's a challenge that says 'let's make this (experience) better for pets.'"