Maybe Scott could weigh in here about why this increase was necessary. In reality - Continental is not providing any "extra" services for any pet travelling in-cabin, nor do they have any responsibility for carrying the pet onboard. There are no increases in fees due to the weight of the pet, as the pet must replace a piece of carry-on luggage.

This could be justified in the case of a pet travelling underneath in cargo, as for sure the fees for the pet van and handling costs have gone up - but this increase is just money in the pocket - which they are not doing anything to earn!

Just my bitter $0.02.