Experience 079. Furry Fliers. Flying with Pets and Animals.

The Seat 1A Podcast

We’re happy to be back after a few months of hiatus.

In this experience we examine pets and other furry fliers, and Vinod shares a couple of trip reports.

We have talked about animals as cargo in previous experiences. Airlines should know that there is an animal in the plane. Vinod remembers a dog that escaped out of the plane in Edmonton and went missing for weeks. Geoff remembers a poor dog that made a mess of itself in the kennel. Vinod remembers a massive dog that took up a row of seats with a passenger flying from St. John’s to Toronto.

Animal kennels on board need to be able to fit under the seat under the seat in front of you.

Prior to COVID in the US, there was a large number of unique support animals brought onboard.

We saw Dexter the emotional support peacock, Daniel the emotional support duck, Fred the miniature service horse, an emotional support pig, Gizmo the emotional support marmoset and a turkey at security.

Eventually in 2020 a new rule was implemented differentiating between trained support animals and emotional support animals.

Vinod shares a story that his father would share about a passenger feeding a miniature monkey in his jacket.

Vinod shares his experience of rescue dogs flying from Taiwan to Canada.

We wonder what happens with irregular operations and delays with pets. Vinod shares his memory of rats and mice in aircraft.

If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 41. "What are you Shipping? The Complex World of Air Cargo." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Vinod shares a couple of trip reports.

The first was a flight from Toronto to Vancouver that was delayed by more than three hours. There was extra drama with passengers and a crying baby.

The second was a family vacation to Costa Rica. Vinod’s son had wonderful interaction with a Delta pilot in Atlanta. The return flight via Los Angeles, caused Vinod’s loathing and hatred of the airport to go up a notch.

• bbc.com article 'Emotional support peacock' barred from United Airlines plane
• thenationalnews.com article From horses to peacocks, the wildest emotional support animals spotted on flights

If you have a story about pets and animals on flights, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, X/Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/