Why Delta won’t let you fly pets as checked luggage

[marmar]

from MarketWatch:


Soon you won’t be able to check your dog with your suitcase on Delta flights.

Delta Air Lines stated on its website that it will no longer allow customers to check their pets with their baggage after March 1, 2016, unless passengers are a member of the military with active transfer orders or require service animals. Certain pets can still travel in the cabin for a fee, and a Delta spokesperson says they can travel in the cargo hold of an aircraft after the policy takes effect when shipped as freight via its Delta Cargo service. Prices for Delta Cargo shipping range from $193 to $1,481.

The move may have been prompted by Delta’s history of pet incidents. The airline has recorded the highest number of pet deaths between May 2005 and September 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. On Delta flights alone, 74 pets have died in the 10-year time period, accounting for about 25% of all recorded airline pet deaths in the U.S., and 14 pets have gone missing. However, these numbers are just a small percentage of the thousands of pets that travel on airlines each year. ...................(more)

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/delta-will-no-longer-allow-pets-to-travel-with-checked-luggage-2015-11-17

[A HERETIC I AM]

1. I flew one of my Boston's in the hold several times back in the early 90's....

but I think it was mostly on Northwest. Never had a problem.

In fact one time when I went to pick him up, the guys at the cargo warehouse had him out playing ball with him!

I've carried the one in my avatar pic in the cabin a couple times, but I don't think I would ship a dog these days.

I can not imagine going to pick up a beloved pet from an airline only to find he was dead.

[haele]

2. Delta used to be one of the best carriers to fly with pets. Up through the late 90's, IME.

Pets were never out on the tarmac for any length of time. They went from a temperature-controlled terminal room directly into a temperature controlled flight-attendant's storage cabin under the plane's kitchen bay elevator, and around the 2 hour inflight point, the flight attendant would go down and check on any animals, then come up and inform the owner/passenger on the condition of the pet.

Every time I went for long-term cross-country installation work, I would take my cats. At the time I typically lived alone and would get a temp sub-let from a sailor who wanted to save up enough BAQ for the deposit to move off base and put everything valuable in storage while I was working for two/three months out of state. Which meant, I had to take my cats, because they hated being by themselves or being around people they didn't know for more than a week at a time.

I'd get notice any time the tarmac workers touched the carrier (they travelled in a large dog crate so they could be together and had room to move), and would get an in-flight update on their situation. Never had a problem during the four times I had to do this.

Sad that no carrier has a decent pet transportation policy any more. It's more about the bottom line than customer service.
If I were in the same situation now that I was in the mid-90's, I'd have to take the train cross-country.

Haele

[pstokely]

3. Does Amtrak or Greyhound allow pets?

I'd just drive if it had take my pets with me that couldn't be under the seat as a carry-on. It's no longer profitable for them to transport pets safely or without liability.

[Bluenorthwest]

4. No pets on Amtrack. Fly them under your seat, never fly the short nosed breeds...

https://www.avma.org/public/PetCare/Pages/Short-nosed-Dogs-and-Air-Travel-FAQs.aspx