Following three widely publicized pet-related incidents last week, United Airlines suspended its PetSafe travel offering “to conduct a thorough and systematic review,” the Chicago-based airline said March 20. The suspension does not affect the transport of small pets in-cabin, United emphasized.
“We are taking this voluntary action … [to] make improvements that will ensure the best possible experience for our customers and their pets,” United said. The carrier will honor PetSafe reservations through March 20, but will not accept any new reservations. United expects to complete its review by May 1.
United’s PetSafe program is an option for passengers with pets that are not eligible for travel in-cabin; animals travel in pressurized, climate-controlled compartments similar to passenger cabins. PetSafe fares are based on the combined weight of the animal and its shipping crate; for travel originating in the US, for example, fares range from $201 for an under 10 lb. animal to $2,410 for a 350 lb. animal being sent to continental Europe or Hong Kong.
United’s move comes after the airline diverted a flight on March 15 from its Newark-St. Louis route to deliver a dog mistakenly loaded onboard to its Akron, Ohio destination. The detour added an additional two hours to what is normally a two-hour flight; United said its provided compensation to the passengers on board, but did not release specific details.
Earlier in the week, United had two more dog-related incidents. The first involved a small French bulldog that had been placed—in its approved on-board pet carrier—in an overhead bin at the insistence of a flight attendant, only to be found dead when the flight landed at New York LaGuardia airport. The second incident involved a PetSafe-fare dog accidentally shipped to Japan instead of Kansas City, Missouri, after a mix-up United said happened in Denver. The German shepherd was returned safely to its owners in Kansas City March 15.
In 2017, of 24 animal deaths, 15 injuries and one loss among all 506,994 animals transported by US airlines, 18 deaths and 13 injuries happened on United flights, out of 138,178 animals the carrier transported during the year, according the US Department of Transportation.
United apologized and claimed full responsibility for the overhead bin incident and said it is committed to support the family whose dog died.
“To prevent this from happening again, by April we will issue bright colored bag tags to customers traveling with in-cabin pets. This visual tag will further help our flight attendants identify pets in-cabin,” a United spokesperson told ATW March 14.
Source:atw