Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Owner books entire business class cabin for scared pooch
Buying more than one seat for yourself on your flight is nothing special - some people are even forced to do it. But to book an entire cabin just for yourself and your pooch - that is one I'd never heard of before. That is exactly how a lady dealt with her scared dog last week.
Apparently her boxer is scared of flying, and fellow passengers freak the little four legged friend out a bit - so his owner purchased all 16 business class seats on her Tel Aviv - Paris flight (and back). At $2000 per round trip, that equals a "mere" $32,000, or about the same as a decent size family car.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not against a little extra love for pets, and I can understand that some people will go to extreme lengths to keep their poodles happy, but to fork over an additional $30,000 just to keep the poor thing from freaking out, is just too much.
Me? I'd be more interested in knowing whether I can get the frequent flier points for all 32 seats.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Amy Aug 6th 2009 8:43PM
When we moved from Europe to the US last year we bought extra seats on the plane for our cats. Not because they're nervous fliers but so we could have the extra legroom - they sat under the seats next to us. We wanted to buy business class tickets but we couldn't travel with our cats in the cabin in business class on our preferred airline. Four coach seats were cheaper anyway. And yes, we did get the ff miles for all four seats.
Darren in Denver Aug 30th 2009 10:52PM
I read your message about taking your cats in the cabin with you and I think it's absolutely fabulous. How many cats do you have? I'm assuming 2(?). I'm considering taking all three of my Shihtzus (small dogs) to Italy or France and I would gladly purchase seats for them, but I'm not sure how to start the process. Most often american airlines will only allow one animal in the cabin. That leaves the other two having to travel under the plane. They would not survive it. It's hot down there, and pug-nosed dogs are prohibited from riding in luggage anyway because of their poor breathing; they can suffocate. Plus, they would be traumatized. Do you just mention to your ticketing agent that you're interested in buying multiple tickets for animals? Since you flew FROM Europe, I am imagining that european airlines feels friendlier toward dogs that do american airline companies. Can you advise me?
Jay Aug 8th 2009 3:23AM
That's ridiculous she could of gave the dang dog some xanax to calm it self down.(I worked in a pharmacy)
Amy Aug 31st 2009 5:02PM
Hi Darren, yes, we had two cats to fly over with us, so my husband and I bought one extra ticket each. We booked with United Airlines over the phone, although we did call twice before booking and also spoke with a booking agent at the airport to be sure we could do what we wanted to do. We first thought we could book seats in Business and were fairly devastated when we learned it was not possible, but traveling in coach was a better solution anyway. I am pretty sure one person may only take one pet carrier, so you'd have to be traveling with three people to carry three dogs. I had a friend travel with both of her cats in the cabin as she flew alone, but the cats were in one carrier (poor things, but it was a short flight). Different airlines have different regulations on the number of pets that can travel in the cabin. Our first preferred airline only allowed one! Maybe there are airlines that allow three? Good luck.