Airlines Hike Pet Fares

Old Sep 3, 2008, 1:34 pm
  #46  
 
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I was told by delta customer support, delta charges the extra pet airfare when you check-in. CO charges you when you book your ticket. I wish they would have charged me when I booked my ticket. It just seems completely unreasonable.
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Old Sep 3, 2008, 1:36 pm
  #47  
 
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Originally Posted by PAS81
I was told by delta customer support, delta charges the extra pet airfare when you check-in. CO charges you when you book your ticket. I wish they would have charged me when I booked my ticket. It just seems completely unreasonable.
I didn't know that. That sucks. I hope it doesn't go up again before your trip!
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Old Sep 3, 2008, 3:24 pm
  #48  
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Originally Posted by PAS81
My husband and I are traveling to see our family tomorrow. He recently returned from his second tour overseas (he is in the service) and we are excited to see family.

When I went to delta's website today and after calling customer service several times I was notified that for my small 5lb dog to travel it would cost more than our airfare. The price (for him to travel) since our initial purchase of our tickets has gone up in price 100% (org. price $75, current price $150). Is this fair? Our dog will be under my seat, he doesnt take any additional room or assistance from any of the crew members. Is it right to charge $300 or $200 for our dog to fly when our airfare was $240 each; and we actually have a seat on the plane.

I understand with the cost of everything going up in the world Delta has to see where they can make profits, but how can the company do this to regular families? Our dog is part of the family; we would like him to be with us, but at a reasonable cost. We are a military family on a military income, if we knew the price for him to travel was going to be so outrageous we would of looked at other options. I don't understand how the airlines can do this to people, don't they understand what it is to have a family?

I recommend that you write to DL's CEO and express your outrage. If enough people do, they might take notice.
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Old Sep 4, 2008, 4:49 am
  #49  
 
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Originally Posted by PAS81
Is this fair?
No, this is most certainly an outrageous increase. $50 is acceptable; $75 is livable; $150 is ridiculous. But... there's really not much we can do about it besides complain and vote with our wallets. Unfortunately, the only airline still offering "reasonable" prices for in-cabin travel is NW, and even that is still $80 each way.

BTW United also charges only at check-in.
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Old Oct 8, 2008, 9:45 am
  #50  
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This is out of control... On UA and CO, our dog will actually most times have a more expensive than us

And when you want to buy a ticket for the dog so she at least can earn miles, that's not possible either...
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Old Oct 8, 2008, 8:54 pm
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Originally Posted by tommy777
And when you want to buy a ticket for the dog so she at least can earn miles, that's not possible either...
I assume you've asked? If a cello can have a seat, why not a pet?

BTW, since my last post in this thread, UA has once again raised their pet fees... any tickets purchased on or after Oct. 2, for travel on or after Nov. 10, are subject to a $175 fee per pet per direction! Now that is outrageous! At $125/pet/way I was peeved but grudgingly accepted it; it was still roughly break-even with kennel costs for a trip of ~7 days. Now, at $350 per round-trip per pet, I can board my dog at a luxury pet hotel and still end up paying less!

Come next winter, we will be looking very hard at other carriers besides UA for our annual Xmas trip to see the family. UA will never notice, of course, but they have potentially lost over $1300 in revenue now ($400 airfare + $250 pet fee, x2) rather than just "losing" $200 (by not hiking the pet fee). Miniscule, I know - not even a molecule in the bucket - but I'm sure I'm not alone in this sentiment. There does come a price point where people do finally stop grudgingly accepting increases and actually stop paying...

Of course, it may be unlikely that we'll find significant savings at any other airline...
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Old Oct 22, 2008, 10:49 pm
  #52  
 
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Originally Posted by Tummy
It has nothing to do with cost of service. Airlines have said that they want to discourage people traveling with pets.
can you provide a link, please?
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Old Dec 3, 2008, 8:57 am
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I Sneak

I travel with a cat nearly every other week to cat shows. I normally simply sneak my cat on board. My cats are quiet (the ones that are not don't fly) and I my carry-on is plain-looking and is carried just like any gymbag. Every now and then I'm caught, play dumb "Didn't know I had to pay." and then go back and pay. This happens maybe once every four months.

Sometimes plain old being nice--and having terrifically cute cats--count. While agents at the baggage check-in counter are the more vigilant in noticing an unpaid-for animal, most gate agents, flight attendants, and TSA employees have more pressing things to worry about than whether the quiet bag is holding an unpaid for cat. Plenty of those employees have pets themselves and can empathize with a passenger travelling with a pet, or, in the case of TSA, seeing a cute, trained, and highly friendly cat come out of the carrier during screening, with a cheerful passenger that is more than willing to allow the cat to be petted. TSA officers are people, often people with pets. They want to ensure that the planes are safe, that bombs and destructive devices, and the people who want to harm are not getting on those planes--not that people carrying household pets are being fleeced by further fees.

Additionally, I don't go around the airport advertising that I'm carrying around an unpaid for cat. Despite the airlines doing everything they can to hike fees, most flight attendants are incredibly gracious. Since my cats cause no problems--the "allergic people" in the cabin never even know there's a cat next to them (although since I'm going to a show the cat has been bathed, so there's even less to be allergic to)--most every FA that finds out has looked the other way. I have never been accosted or reprimanded by an FA once on board. It's good business too--the airline employees want to KEEP their customers. Sure, if they catch me they can make my life tougher by insisting I go back and pay their ridiculous fee, but then again I will just stop flying them to go to cat shows. Showing and breeding cats is a hobby, not a business. Steep junk fees such as the hike in pet-in-cabin will stop me from flying if the airlines and TSA are going to be vigilant about them.
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Old Dec 5, 2008, 2:51 pm
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Originally Posted by catbreeder
I travel with a cat nearly every other week to cat shows. I normally simply sneak my cat on board. My cats are quiet (the ones that are not don't fly) and I my carry-on is plain-looking and is carried just like any gymbag. Every now and then I'm caught, play dumb "Didn't know I had to pay." and then go back and pay. This happens maybe once every four months.

Sometimes plain old being nice--and having terrifically cute cats--count. While agents at the baggage check-in counter are the more vigilant in noticing an unpaid-for animal, most gate agents, flight attendants, and TSA employees have more pressing things to worry about than whether the quiet bag is holding an unpaid for cat. Plenty of those employees have pets themselves and can empathize with a passenger travelling with a pet, or, in the case of TSA, seeing a cute, trained, and highly friendly cat come out of the carrier during screening, with a cheerful passenger that is more than willing to allow the cat to be petted. TSA officers are people, often people with pets. They want to ensure that the planes are safe, that bombs and destructive devices, and the people who want to harm are not getting on those planes--not that people carrying household pets are being fleeced by further fees.

Additionally, I don't go around the airport advertising that I'm carrying around an unpaid for cat. Despite the airlines doing everything they can to hike fees, most flight attendants are incredibly gracious. Since my cats cause no problems--the "allergic people" in the cabin never even know there's a cat next to them (although since I'm going to a show the cat has been bathed, so there's even less to be allergic to)--most every FA that finds out has looked the other way. I have never been accosted or reprimanded by an FA once on board. It's good business too--the airline employees want to KEEP their customers. Sure, if they catch me they can make my life tougher by insisting I go back and pay their ridiculous fee, but then again I will just stop flying them to go to cat shows. Showing and breeding cats is a hobby, not a business. Steep junk fees such as the hike in pet-in-cabin will stop me from flying if the airlines and TSA are going to be vigilant about them.
A couple of words of warning. Be careful if you get caught by the same airline too many times, they can put it in your record and then they'll be looking to see if you're travelling with an undisclosed pet every time you fly.
Also, this same exact scenario backfired on someone on one of my flights just last week. We saw a lot of pet carriers getting on and soon realized we had exceeded the limit for pets per cabin. Once the agent brought the paperwork down we mentioned it and sure enough, there was someone trying to "sneak" their cat on board. Not only did they have to pay the fee, they also had to take a later flight where there was room to accommodate them. I personally love animals, but if I had turned the other cheek in this situation it could have cost me my job. F/a's do let a lot of things slide as long as it's not jeapordizing our job but we do have to draw the line some where. Sorry.
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Old Dec 7, 2008, 8:22 pm
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Sorry about what?

Originally Posted by GalleyWench
A couple of words of warning. Be careful if you get caught by the same airline too many times, they can put it in your record and then they'll be looking to see if you're travelling with an undisclosed pet every time you fly.
Also, this same exact scenario backfired on someone on one of my flights just last week. We saw a lot of pet carriers getting on and soon realized we had exceeded the limit for pets per cabin. Once the agent brought the paperwork down we mentioned it and sure enough, there was someone trying to "sneak" their cat on board. Not only did they have to pay the fee, they also had to take a later flight where there was room to accommodate them. I personally love animals, but if I had turned the other cheek in this situation it could have cost me my job. F/a's do let a lot of things slide as long as it's not jeapordizing our job but we do have to draw the line some where. Sorry.
No need to be "sorry", per your last word, as anyone who sneaks does so at their own risk, though there are really few terribly serious consequences. Certainly, as one who flies frequently on a handful of airlines, I have yet to, as I stated in my original post, run into an FA that has demanded that I deplane with my cat, that has taken my name, serial number, or that has even really questioned whether I had a ticket for my cat. The nice thing about traveling with a pet carryon that doesn't look like one is that crew members and personnel will likely not be counting my carryon as a pet carrier going onboard. A lot has to do with how its done, and the less one advertises a carryon pet, the less crew members are apt to be looking for "contraband." I would not try sneaking if I had a loud cat, or one that did not travel well. As a passenger I am as bothered by the loud and crying--whether they be kids or kittens--as any other flier. I had one cat that flew ONCE that cried across the country. It was embarrassing and exhausting. She was one I paid for, but I still felt terrible about subjecting my fellow passengers to that for over five hours! As far as sneaking, I've probably been caught fewer than six times, and from my standpoint, the money I've saved in the game is worth it.
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Old Dec 14, 2008, 10:39 am
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I've always paid my fees, but with the prices going up he'll probably just travel less often. Then again, we may just travel less often. There have been a number of times (even before the recent increases) that the pet fees have been more than my ticket cost.

I'd heard a story a long time ago about an actor (Jack Lemmon?) that was flying a specific route all the time and would purchase 2 F seats -- one for him and one for his very well behaved dog. The crew that flew these flights got to know him and would bring dog treats when they were flying. I don't know how true it is, but I thought it was a cool story.
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Old Dec 22, 2008, 11:14 pm
  #57  
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Airlines Pooh Pooh Pets On Planes: Raising Fees & Banning Travel

BOSTON, Dec. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Airlines seem to be waging war on passengers who carry pets in the cabin, judging by a recent rash of fee hikes and new rules.

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Airlin...-13893620.html
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Old Jan 26, 2009, 7:02 pm
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Any bird owners who travel?

My husband and I have an African Grey Parrot and have traveled from Boston to Chicago each X-mas since 2005. Since that time, I've seen several airlines (AA, our favorite) ban birds on their planes and others (Delta) raise the rates to ridiculous levels. I read this thread with some interest, but also dismay, that there does not seem to be a vocal enough contingent of travelers with parrots to share concerns with the airlines. Our bird weighs one pound. ONE POUND! And that warrants a $300 fee?!? My shoes probably weigh more than that.

Our parrot travels in a cat carrier in the cabin with us. Other than talking to people's feet (saying hello as people walk past the aisle during boarding is a favorite of his), he is absolutely quiet during the actual flight. Like a previous poster, most flight attendants are shocked when we get off the plane and they realize we had a bird with us. I guess most people expect him to scream the entire way? While other fliers suggest going to other airlines with less exorbitant fees, that's really not an option for us because so many airlines bought into the "bird flu hysteria" and lumped pet birds into that category. As an "old world parrot", Greys aren't susceptible to bird flu. And while I have yet to have a TSA or airline agent ask me for a health certificate, I dutifully bring my bird to the vet a few days before departure (another $100) to ensure he is healthy. There's a greater chance of somebody bringing in germs on their shoes than getting sick from my animal. But I digress...

An unfortunate conundrum of owning a bird is that they are not like dogs or cats that can be dropped off at a friend's house or checked on every few days by a caring neighbor. They are intelligent (research showing the mental capacity of a 5 year old child) and need human contact. Most vets won't board birds because of the care required. Paying someone to come to the house once a day to change the food would drive our bird crazy (would you leave your child home alone and just have a neighbor come by once a day for 30 minutes?) And so, we have no other choice than to A) not see family over the holidays or B) reluctantly pay the fees. I tried arguing with Delta this year that our round trip tickets cost less than the fee to travel with him and couldn't I just buy him a seat and then put him under the seat in front of us--no deal.

I agree with others that driving is the way to go (which is what we do in the summer), but risking that over the winter season with the threat of inclement weather just isn't worth the risk. So, I guess this is just my way of airing my concerns. I feel a bit helpless by the situation and wondered if others out there feel trapped by the fees like we do?
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Old Jan 26, 2009, 7:18 pm
  #59  
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It looks like the airlines are getting away with this. I'm very upset with these fees like everyone else.

We HAVE to do do something!

I think a petition would be a good idea. I will also take this up with CO at the CO mega DO in IAH in two weeks
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Old Feb 17, 2009, 1:23 am
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Originally Posted by cepheid
AFAIK, by law, they must be free. IANAL but that's my understanding.
Worth noting is that a number of airlines in the past couple of years have become terrible about giving bona fide Search And Rescue Dog handlers, including ones that have worked airliner disasters, grief about having dogs in cabin going to or coming back from applicable trainings, and have tried to start asking for pet fees to be applied.
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