Rut Dog gets my vote as the model traveling pet owner


Regarding the seating of allergic people and pets in separate sections of the aircraft:

- ventilation systems are designed for lateral air flow within the cabin, with minimal fore-aft air movement
- cabin air exhaust takes place near the junction of the fuselage and floor; having the pet under a window seat should minimize the spread of allergens
- air is filtered and recycled 12-15 times per hour
- air from the entire cabin is filtered and collected in a common mixing chamber before redistribution; thus, if an allergen is not caught by the filters, it could conceivably go from one end to the other of the plane
- Boeing indicates particles 0.1-0.2 micron in size are the 'most penetrating particles' for its filters. Min. 94% efficiency for 0.3 micron particles, 99.9% for 0.03 micron. Not sure where cats' allergens fit.


In theory sitting far away from the problem pet should help.


More info on cabin air flow here

P.S. this diagram indicates that on a 767, air exhaust from the rear half of the cabin is evacuated to the atmosphere, while air from the front half goes into the recirculation pool.
Thus, the ideal place for a pet would be under a window seat at the rear of the aircraft!


[This message has been edited by monahos (edited 10-09-2002).]