PetFlight - Air Travel Information for your Pets

June 2008 Airline Pet Travel Report

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 12:43:56 GMT

America Airlines lists the death of a dog and a cat on separate flights, but includes very little information on the incidents.

Delta lists the death of an African Grey Parrot. The loading crew in at Hartsfield – Jackson Atlanta International failed to notify the captain that there was a live animal loaded in bin four and the bird froze to death in route to the destination city.

May 2008 Airline Pet Travel Report

Sat, 10 May 2008 18:30:28 GMT

Alaska Airlines reports the injury of 12 year-old dog that was dropped by a ramp agent in Seattle, WA. The dog received a cut near its eye, but did not requite a vet visit.

American Airlines reports two incidents this month. The injury of a seven year-old pit bull who was able to chew through the kennel and escape. Fortunately the dog ran inside a building and only suffered some bleeding nails. American reminded the Dallas / Fort Worth agents to secure kennels with zip ties, but it is not clear if that would have made a difference in this case.

On March 19th a cat arrived in Dallas / Fort Worth from El Paso and was reported to be fine. When it was time to be loaded on the continuation of the flight he was found to be deceased. a necropsy was performed.

Delta reported the death of a dog on a flight from Atlanta, GA to Salt Lake City, UT. The necropsy listed the cause of death as possible heatstroke. Delta performed and investigation and determined the dog was properly loaded in the cargo bin, the on board circulation system was properly working; no hazardous material was loaded on the aircraft, the kennel met ventilation requirements.

Hawaiian reported the death of a 16 year-old poodle on an overnight flight from Honolulu, HI to Phoenix, AZ. The owner stated that the dog had a pre-existing heart condition. No further information was listed.

April 2008 Airline Pet Travel Report

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:26:34 GMT

Continental reports the injure of an 8 year old Australian Shepherd during unloading in Pittsburgh, PA. The dog became scared during unloading and was able to cause the kennel to fall off of the baggage cart. The kennel opened and the dog was escaped. Employees attempted to catch the dog for about 20-30 minutes, when the dog jumped in to the open cab of a truck ending the case. The pads of the dogs feet were injured from running on the concrete.

Continental reminded agents that animals should be placed on the ground until ready to be moved.

March 2008 Airline Pet Travel Report

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:51:43 GMT

Alaska Airlines reports the death of a dog upon arrival in Ketchikan, Alaska. The report from Alaska Airlines does not give much details.

American Airlines reports the death of two dogs. A pug arrived deceased in Orlando, FL from San Juan, PR. A necropsy indicated pre-existing conditions that may have contributed to the dogs death. Another pug that was in the same hold arrived safely.

A two year-old French Bulldog passed away on a flight from Los Angeles, to New York. The owner did not want a necropsy performed and the airline indicated that all systems on the aircraft were operating normally.

Northwest Airlines reports the death of a cat on a flight from Norfolk, Virginia to Minneapolis, Minnesota. A second cat on the same flight arrived healthy. The necropsy indicated a pre-existing condition. The shipper also stated that the cat seemed ill before the flight, but still felt it was OK to travel.

Feburary 2008 Airline Pet Travel Report

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 08:23:00 GMT

A fairly quiet December with Continental reporting the injury of one dog. Daisy, a 5 year-old Corgi Mix escaped its kennel and jumped from the aircraft when it landed in Houston. She was caught after a few minutes and after biting one of Continentals’s employees. The dog suffered injuries to its pads and was treated by a local vet at Continental’s expense. The kennel was secured by zip ties, but the airline reminded the agents in Phoenix, where the flight originated, to take additional care in securing kennels of aggressive dogs or dogs not acclimatized to their crate.

January 2008 Airline Pet Travel Report

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 08:03:00 GMT

Alaska Airlines reports the injury of two dogs during transport. One with an injured paw and one with an injured mouth, both injuries seem to be from the dogs attempting to escape from the kennel.

Continental reports the loss of a 12 year-old cat while being loaded in Raleigh, NC. The cat escaped when the door popped open. Continental reprimanded staff for not applying zip-ties on the door, per their guidelines. The cat has not been found at the time of the report. Continental transported 7,473 pets during the month of November.

Delta reports the death of two pets and the loss of three. A 14 month old Bulldog Terrier was found decreased upon arrival in Buffalo, NY from Atlanta, GA. The necropsy indicated the dog had a preexisting heart condition, and the stress of the flight possibly caused his death. On November 2nd a 14 year-old cat arrived in Tampa from JFK deceased. The necropsy report indicates the cause of death is “cardiopulmonary collapse” contributed to by three pre-existing conditions of cardiac disease, liver disease, and kidney disease.

In two of the losses Delta reported, the dogs did not arrive at the destination. One was a Pug SGF-ATL ATL-LGA, the kennel arrived in LGA empty. The second was an eight week-old Great Dane puppy routed MGM-ATL ATL-PVD. The dog never arrived in PVD. Delta states that the possibility of theft is being investigated in both cases. The final Delta loss was initially reported in the December 2007 report. A cat escaped its kennel while being taken to the aircraft in Philadelphia, PA. Delta states that they accepted a non-compliant kennel and did not secure the door with cable ties.

American Airlines also reported the injury of a dog that occurred on October 16th, 2007. This was not included in the December 2007 report.

Hawaiian Airlines reported the injury of a dog that occurred on October 30th, 2007. This was not included in the December 20007 report. A dog fell off the belt loader while being loaded into the aircraft. The disturbing aspect of this incident seems to be that the owner saw and reported the event and it was not reported by the loading crew.

Reader Update

PetFlight received the following from the owner of the Bulldog about the Delta incident:

I used Delta’s Petfirst service to send my 1 year old bulldog, Caleb, to Buffalo, NY from Atlanta, GA on November 21, 2007. Caleb never made it.

I sent Caleb the night before I arrived, so I had my friend go pick him up at the airport. She was first told by an employee that they forgot Caleb somewhere in the airport facility, but assured her that he was fine and they would immediately return to get him.

After about an hour, they returned with him, only realized that he was deceased before they pushed the crate through the door to pass him on to her. The employee said he thought Caleb was sleeping.

Since then, both my friend and I have been trying to get in touch with Delta about the incident only to be callously bounced from person to person, department to department with the only information to fill out a claim form.

December 2007 Airline Pet Travel Report

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 14:40:00 GMT

Comair reports the loss of a cat that escaped its kennel during loading in Harrisburg, PA. The cat appeared to become agitated when it approached the plane and managed to break the latch on an airline approved (IATA) kennel.

SkyWest reports the injury of a Labrador Retriever puppy named Louie. The puppy was found lose upon arrival in Portland, OR on a flight from Salt Lake City, UT. The kennel appeared to have been damaged during loading or flight. The puppy was caught in the hold and given to the owner who later reported the puppy was limping. A veterinarian prescribed anti-inflammatory medication for the puppy. SkyWest reports that the damaged kennel was replaced and the incident was forwarded to the attention of the ramp manager in Salt Lake City for his review and follow up training including memos and briefings for all SLC ramp employees.

American Airlines reports the death of an English Bulldog upon arrival in Miami, FL from Haiti. The necropsy assumes death to be related to breathing difficulties associated with the breed (soft palate interference). This likely resulted in hyperthermia and hypoxia. An investigation was conducted which showed climate controls were working properly in the aircraft cargo compartment.

Delta Airlines reports the death of a cat upon arrival in Tampa, FL from Syracuse, NY. The flight connected through JFK. There is little information on this death. Delta states that the necropsy was not available at the time of the report, but this incident should not have been reported until January 2008. (Jan 2008: This incident has been moved to the Jan 2008 report with additional information.)

November 2007 Airline Pet Travel Report

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 14:30:00 GMT

Continental reports the death of a four year-old English Bulldog who was found deceased on arrival in San Diego from Houston on a non-stop flight. Continental reports that temperatures in the hold of the aircraft were between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The necropsy stated “possible heat stroke or aspiration of vomitus”. This might be an indication that temperatures don’t need to be that high to cause problems for brachycephalic breads.

Midwest Airlines reports the death of a Miniature Pinscher that was found deceased in Milwaukee Wisconsin from Los Angeles. The owner declined to have a necropsy preformed and the exact cause of death remains unknown.

October 2007 Airline Pet Travel Report

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 14:08:00 GMT

Alaska Airlines reports the loss of one cat and the death of another. A 5-year-old cat escaped from its kennel during loading in San Francisco, CA on August, 4th. The cat was not captured and no information on how it escaped was given. On August 27th a cat was found deceased upon arrival in Seattle, WA from Anchorage, AK. It was stated that the cat died of natural causes and all procedures were followed.

American Airlines reported the death of a French bulldog on August 2nd. The dog was found deceased upon arrival in Dallas, from Honolulu, HI. American stated that the necropsy results were inconclusive and that other animals traveling in the same cargo hold arrived safely.

Continental reports three deaths during the month of August. On August 11th, a Pekingese was found deceased in it’s create upon arrival into Portland from Houston. The necropsy did not indicate any cause of death, though it did note “non-specific findings are indicative of cardiopulmonary collapse or hypoxia” more susceptible to dogs belonging to the brachycephalic breeds. Three other animals arrived safe on the same flight. On August 13th, a two-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier was found deceased upon arrival in Abilene, TX after a short 1 hour 15 minute flight from Houston. The necropsy indicated that the animal overheated and might be related to the dog being ‘in season’. Also on August 13th a 7 year-old cat was found deceased upon arrival in Los Angeles. The cat, along with a second family cat flew from Washington DC, through Houston to LAX. The other cat along with two other animals on the same flight arrived safe. The necropsy states “presumably feline asthma was the primary underlying cause of death”.

Delta Airlines reports the loss of a cat that escaped its kennel while being loaded in Los Angeles. The kennel that was being used to transport the cat was not approved for airline use and this was not noticed by the Delta agent accepting the cat. The Air Travel Consumer Report incorrectly lists this incident as a death.

September 2007 Airline Pet Travel Report

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 13:16:00 GMT

Alaska Airlines reports the death of a 9-year-old bulldog who was returning from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The dog arrived in Los Angeles, California where it was found dead during unloading of the aircraft. The dog was in Mexico as part of a film shoot and the two trainers who were traveling with it said that it was very warm in Mexico and the dog was having trouble breathing.

Continental reports the death of two dogs. A three year old English bulldog from Los Angeles, to Houston, Texas, and finally to Orlando, Florida where it was found deceased. Continental reports that the temperatures were mild during the overnight flight. A necropsy performed by the owners vet indicated “brachycephalic airway syndrome exacerbated by hyperthermia and stress is more likely to have resulted in the death of this dog.”

A two year old American Staffordshire Terrier was found deceased on an Continental flight from Birmingham, Alabama to Houston. Temperatures were not reported to be an issue and a necropsy did not find any obvious cause of death.

Continental lists that they transported 11,886 animals during the month of July.

Delta is two months late with a report of a lost cat in Atlanta, Georgia. The cat was loaded into the aircraft and when the cargo hold door was opened for a final loading the cat escaped its kennel and darted past the loading agent. The kennel did meet IATA requirements. A search for the cat as been unsuccessful so far. The owner of the cat contacted PetFlight shortly after the incident. He stated that he was told that the kennel was knocked off during loading and fell to the ground and the cat escaped. Seems as though the late Delta report might be a bit more sanitized than the owner’s comments.

Delta also list the loss of a cat that is really should be listed as a death. On July 28th a 8 year-old cat escaped its kennel while being transported to the aircraft at the Miami International Airport. On August 6th, the cat was spotted and several people attempted to capture the cat, but it can and was struck by a car. A Wildlife Management officer declared the cat dead.

Northwest Airlines notes that a dog in a large kennel sustained a small cut injury to its right paw when it escaped from its kennel during ground handling at Houston. The dog was quickly recovered and placed back in its kennel. Northwest lists both poor kennel design (it was too flexible) and that the gate agent did not follow procedures by securing the kennel with plastic straps.