My mother flew on United to Tokyo and during the flight her 2 pekingnese dogs were in crates in cargo. Sometime during the flight one of her dogs sustained a severe injury to his eye- some kind of puncture- which required immediate surgery upon arrival to Okinawa. He may lose his eye and I'm trying to get her to send a letter to United for reimbursement for the medical costs she has accumulated. Has anyone out there ever experienced this and if so, what compensation did you request? What was the outcome. I'm absolutely outraged that they did not transport him to a medical facility sooner and that they have left her to fend for herself.

I think you should consult an attorney in this case.

Is the course of events crystal clear already? How did the little guy get injured?

I would agree with Post 2, this can get sticky especially if it was your carrier and the dog was not removed from the carrier at any time. Also what exactly caused the injury? My thoughts to your mother, having travelled with our pets numerous times without incident it does cross my mind what may happen to them in the hold.

Read the contract of carriage in regards to UA's liability, I have had BA in London transfer our pets from a US approved carrier to a wooden box that was approved in the UK but looked a darn sight more uncomfortable than our carrier, at that point the liability was transferred and we had to sign paperwork as such.

Best of luck and I hope the little guy gets better soon.

I agree with everyone above having traveled with my pets... They are pretty clear about legal liability usually but sadly I wouldn't be surprised if they have some "accident clause"... Considering the cost of the medical care and operation, a lawyer would be prudent....

Agree with post two as well. Additionally, I would get the news media involved - it may enhance UA's response to your claim.

I would agree with Post 2, this can get sticky especially if it was your carrier and the dog was not removed from the carrier at any time. Also what exactly caused the injury? My thoughts to your mother, having travelled with our pets numerous times without incident it does cross my mind what may happen to them in the hold.

Read the contract of carriage in regards to UA's liability, I have had BA in London transfer our pets from a US approved carrier to a wooden box that was approved in the UK but looked a darn sight more uncomfortable than our carrier, at that point the liability was transferred and we had to sign paperwork as such.

Best of luck and I hope the little guy gets better soon.

I'll bet it didn't happen in the hold, but rather during the process to/from or between planes. Do they put pet carriers on conveyor belts along with other bags?

Sure sounds terrible, poor thing.

Reason #342343 never to travel with a pet in cargo on an airplane.

Sorry to hear about this.

Sorry the little guy was injured and hope he'll be okay, but I'm curious on how he was transported from Tokyo to Okinawa and how you're certain that the issue is with UA. It's not clear to me.

I concur with reading the coc and considering an attorney, but there is a question about where the legalities would originate in the US or overseas.

Additionally, I would get the news media involved - it may enhance UA's response to your claim.
Right - and how about the United Nations and Greenpeace and the Dalai Lama? :rolleyes:

Keep it real and don't freak out!

So sorry to hear about this.

About 2 years ago I did some research for a member who traveled with her dogs on a different carrier and it had a very sad outcome.

I looked back at our messages and the information I gave her.

Contact Jerry DePoyster at the USDA, APHIS. His agency regulates air transportation of cats and dogs. He should at least be able to provide some assistance as to rights in this case and where to turn to next. The other member found him quite helpful.

Jerry DePoyster, USDA, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 84, Riverdale, Md. 20737, telephone: (301) 734-7586, e-mail: ace@usda.gov, Web page: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/publication.html.

My best ...

Who is the pet's "agent" (i.e were they in cages thru UA, or literally "crates" as you said via some cargo company?)

GoingAway asks a similar question. How/with who was pet transported?


Sorry for the sad story.

Thank you to everyone for your response to my mom's crisis. The carrier was a hard vari-kennel which is the only kind approved by the airline for transport as cargo. As far as I know, the carrier was not damaged in any way and the only assumption is that something in the hold penetrated the door of the kennel. Given that everything she has told me has been via email and I have not had the chance to confirm on which of the flights this occured, I will advise her after I get all of the facts. My current understanding (which could be wrong) is that they were injured during the flight from Seattle to Tokyo and since they arrived late and missed connections, they were transported by the japanese to a Pet Hotel overnight and returned to the airline the next morning. It is possible that the injury occured during the flight from Tokyo to Okinawa by a codeshare operated by Nippon Airlines since I cannot see any reason why the injury would have gone unnoticed given the customs clearance requirements that she would have had to follow. At this point I am waiting until I can get all of the information from her.

Thanks again. He is now in recovery and I will update as I get them.

At this point I am waiting until I can get all of the information from her.First of all, sorry to hear about your mother's misfortune.

When it comes to airline transportation, there are only 2 categories: passengers and baggage. A pet transported in the cargo hold is considered to be the latter, so, save for a goodwill from the airline(s) concerned, a case/claim like this would, regretfully, be treated essentially in the same manner as a damaged suitcase... Assuming this was a RT ticket ex-US, the maximum liability for damage to baggage is approx. $1400 USD per PAX (as per the Montreal Convention): http://www.jus.uio.no/lm/air.carriage.unification.convention.montreal.1999/doc.html

Your mother should also act fast -- as with any other type of a baggage claim, she only has a maximum of 7 days from the date of arrival to file a written claim with the airline. Assuming both flights were a part of the same ticket, she can claim either against the first airline (UA) or the last airline (NH), without having to determine where exactly the damage (injury) occurred.

Of course, the above is not legal advice, and your mother may wish to consult legal counsel.

I think you will be hard pressed to blame United for this.

As you say, it would be tough for this to go unnoticed. After the United flight, they were transported to a Pet Hotel. They stayed overnight. And presumedly returned in good condition... I cannot believe they would not have noticed something this serious.

Either way, you need to make the claim asap as KVS indicates.

Now that we have a Travel With Pets forum, please follow this there.

l'etoile
UA moderator