More Animals [Pets] Died On United Airlines Planes In 2016 Than Any Other U.S. Carrier

By Adam Gabbatt and Mona Chalabi at The Guardian.

Crystal, The Patriot Kitty, was flown to us from Columbus, Ohio on two flights in the cargo hold of two planes in late summer a few years ago and was apparently handled very well. It was a 9.5-hour trip for her in the heat of the summer. They made sure she had water and food in her carrier and we were surprised to see that they had refilled her water reservoir in her carrier both at O’Hare and again at SFO.

Our only complaint was the slow work of the United Cargo agents in SFO who took their sweet time getting to Crystal while she sat in her cage following that long ordeal as we looked at her thru the United Cargo door window. That agent extended Crystal’s journey to 11 hours.

Would we ever ship her by cargo again? No, not on any airline.

And by the way, the puny carriers that fit under the seats in the plane cabins are so low that the cat has to ride for 6.5 hours or more lying flat with almost no room to turn in. But at least there’s no worry about loss of pressurization and cold/hot temps.