Air travel with pets

Several of my clients have asked my opinion about traveling by plane with a dog or other pet. So here are my thoughts, and some links that may help you decide whether or not to bring your pet on your next vacation.

My personal opinion is that you should avoid taking your pet on an airplane, especially if you are unable to take it with you in the cabin. It's stressful to them, and can be physically dangerous. Airlines treat pets like luggage. I don't know about you, but I can get over lost or damaged luggage, but not a lost or injured/killed pet. And most cargo compartments are not temperature controlled, are extremely noisy, and don't necessarily provide enough oxygen to your animal. They are not designed to transport live animals.

In the spirit of full disclosure, part of my business is taking care of animals while their owners are away, so I have a vested interest in people NOT taking their pets. Therefore, below are some sources for unbiased information.

If you do decide to fly with your pet, don't forget to talk to your vet first, and read the information in the links below to try to make the experience as safe as possible. In addition to checking your airline's safety record (see below), be sure to check with them about specific requirements they may have.

Links to more information:

1. The Humane Society of the US has a web page that provides Tips for Safe Pet Air Travel
2. Since 2005, airlines are required to report all incidents of lost, injured, or killed pets. You can find these reports on the Aviation Consumer Protection section of the Department of Transportation website here. However, these reports are cumbersome and don't provide easy summaries. Also, because there is not really a good mechanism for tracking/enforcing consistent and accurate reporting, I believe these numbers significantly under-report the problem. But they are all we have in terms of hard data, for now.
   
3. There is a website that has compiled the data for you here (thank you to Jol A. Silversmith at ThirdAmendment.com!)

I've also provided a table of incidents from May 2005 through November 2006.

Carrier	Death	Injury	Loss
Alaska Airlines	2	3	1
American Airlines	9	0	0
ATA Airlines	0	0	2
Atlantic Southeast	1	0	0
Comair	0	1	0
Continental Airlines	16	11	0
Delta Airlines	3	0	3
Frontier Airlines	0	2	0
Hawaiian Airlines	1	3	1
Horizon Airlines	2	1	0
Midwest Airlines	2	1	0
Northwest Airlines	0	2	2
Pinnacle Airlines	0	2	0
Shuttle America	1	0	1
SkyWest Airlines	1	0	0
United Airlines	7	0	1
US Airways	1	1	1
Total	46	27	12

(Of the deaths, 38 involved dogs, 5 involved cats, 2 involved birds, and 1 involved a rat. Of the injuries, 20 involved dogs and 7 involved cats. Of the losses, 2 involved dogs, 9 involved cats, and 1 involved a bird. In addition, 1 of the lost cats was subsequently reported to have been recovered, while 3 of the injured dogs were reported to subsequently have died of their injuries.)