Flyer Accuses Qantas of Killing Bird
Joe Cortez July 14, 2017
Crowdfunding campaign seeks to take legal action against carrier and pet transportation contractor.
A Qantas flyer is asking for the public’s help to take the carrier to court, after she claims the Australian airline acted negligently alongside a contractor in transporting her beloved parrots to London. News.com.au reports 21-year-old Danielle Di Fiore wants to hold Qantas and their pet transportation contractor, Skypets, liable for the death of her two-year-old ringneck parrot.
Di Fiore was moving to London from Australia to live with her boyfriend and spent six months researching ways to bring her two parrots into the United Kingdom. She entrusted Qantas and Skypets to transport the birds to her new home. While one arrived healthy, she claims the other appeared to suffer from hypothermia.
After being released from the London Heathrow Airport (LHR) animal reception center, Di Fiore rushed the parrot to the local veterinarian, where it ultimately died. An arrival report noted the bird was in “very poor condition,” while another dog aboard the same flight was “very cold on arrival.”
During the inspection afterwards, the flyer claims the transportation crate was inappropriate for the bird, while standing water supposedly contributed to the hypothermia. Since the March flight, Di Fiore says she has reached out to Qantas and Skypets for recompense, but neither would budge. She wants to file legal action against the two in a bid to extract justice for her “best friend” and is seeking nearly $4,000 to recover her costs and pay attorneys for a lawsuit.
“My baby bird was more like my child […] I hand-raised and hand fed her from eight weeks old and she has never left my sight for more than a few hours,” Di Fiore wrote on the fundraiser page. “There’s been a severe error and no one will take responsibility and it will happen again if nothing is done!”
A spokesperson for Qantas said that they would reach out directly to Di Fiore regarding the situation. Skypets spokesperson Sue Rogers told News.com.au her company was not at fault, and “no-one is going to give any money back.”
Feel bad for the other bird. Not only did it lose its partner but now knows it was only second best in the mind of its owner.
Sad to say utterly clueless airline bureaucrats are quick to circle the wagons, hunker down, bury their head in the sands while sending their spin masters to hide their utter incompetence. Qantas is well aware of their utter incompetency in transporting these pets. Refusing to admit what the entire world already knows. Qantas willfully failed to meet their part of transporting the animal safety. Will soon be handing over a very large check to cover their utter incompetency. Trying to cover up the fact the pilot, who was aware or should have been aware of the animals in the cargo hold, failed to ensure the area was heated. Turning on the heating system.
How sad is that :-(
'A spokesperson for Qantas said that they would reach out directly to Di Fiore regarding the situation. Skypets spokesperson Sue Rogers told News.com.au her company was not at fault, and “no-one is going to give any money back.”' Did she go to the Oscar Munoz school of communication? I mean, the Qantas response seems so much more appropriate, even if they tell the customer the same thing that Skypets is, they really come off a lot better to the public.
This is terrible - while I don't think that the hold can get nearly cold enough to harm a ringneck, the hold is no place for a timid, small parrot. If you cannot find a carrier that allows small birds in the cabin, this is the time to take a ship IMO.