Paws in the Air: Airlines Charge 1399 Yuan to Stow Pets in Cramped Boxes for the Entire Flight
Recently, many airlines have launched pet-in-cabin services, which has attracted public attention. While pet owners express the convenience, many people have questioned the hygiene and safety issues.
On September 23, a reporter from Poster News contacted Yunnan Xiangpeng Airlines, which recently launched this service. The staff said that pets need to be booked 24 hours in advance to enter the cabin, and provide relevant quarantine certificates issued by the Animal Health Supervision Institute; at the same time, this service is only supported for economy class seats, and the fee is 1,399 yuan. The size of the pet must meet the pet box capacity specifications. At the same time, the pet must be placed in the pet box throughout the journey and should be placed under the front seat.
Each passenger can bring a maximum of 1 pet
Recently, Yunnan Xiangpeng Airlines announced that starting from September 20, in order to allow more “furry kids” to experience the pet cabin service as they wish, Chengdu Tianfu and Zhengzhou will be added as departure airports for this service. Previously, the airline had already launched this service in Kunming and Haikou.
“When flying from Kunming to Jinan, you can choose to bring your pet into the cabin, and the charge is 1,399 yuan per pet per flight segment.” Yunnan Xiangpeng Airlines staff told reporters that in principle, passengers must make an appointment 24 hours before the flight takes off, and at least 3 hours before the flight takes off, bring their pets and pet boxes and supporting documents to the check-in counter to go through the signing of the agreement and material review and other boarding procedures. These documents include the “Animal Quarantine Certificate” and “Cabin Transport Pet Agreement” issued by the Animal Health Supervision Institute, and dogs should provide small animal vaccination certificates. Passengers with pets are given priority to the last row of economy class seats.
At the same time, currently, only domesticated dogs and cats are accepted, and there are also relevant restrictions on the specific conditions of pets, such as: pets less than 8 weeks old; dangerous dogs and their hybrids, dogs or cats with flat noses; Samoyed dogs that are not suitable for high temperature and high altitude environments; pregnant pets or pets that have just given birth within 48 hours before the plane takes off; pets that have undergone surgery within 48 hours; pets that are anxious, delicate, weak, sensitive to high temperature and high altitude environments or cannot stay in pet boxes for a long time, etc. The staff member said that each passenger can bring a maximum of 1 pet into the cabin, narrow-body aircraft can bring a maximum of 2 pets per flight, and wide-body aircraft can bring a maximum of 4 pets per flight. Pet food, water and other prohibited items are not allowed in the pet box.
TikTok user @不撸猫 posted a video recording that cats need to wear masks, pet diapers, etc. when taking an airplane.
“The bags of small animals cannot be opened throughout the flight, and the pets need to be cleaned in advance. You need to bring your own pet clothes, masks, and pet diapers. It is forbidden to feed them water during the entire flight. Avoid feeding them too much food and water before the flight takes off. The outside of the storage box must be covered with cloth or other coverings.” The staff emphasized that there are no seat arrangements for pet tickets, and the length, width, and height of the pet box entering the cabin must not exceed 35*28*24 cm, and it must be placed under the front seat throughout the flight.
Many airlines have launched pet cabin services
The charging standard is 1399 yuan
As early as April 30, 2009, the Civil Aviation Administration of China issued the “Measures for the Air Transport of Persons with Disabilities (Trial)”, which for the first time gave the “green light” to guide dogs and other service dogs to enter the aircraft cabin. In recent years, the regulations of major airlines on carrying service dogs on board are similar. Taking China Southern Airlines as an example, passengers who need service dogs to guide them should submit an application no later than 48 hours before the flight takes off, so that the service dogs can be brought into the cabin and enjoy the air journey with them.
The reporter noticed that Hainan Airlines and its subsidiaries Capital Airlines and Tianjin Airlines have also launched pet cabin services in some cities, allowing pets to board and enter the cabin with their owners. Currently, these airlines only allow domesticated dogs and cats to enter the cabin, and each passenger can only bring one pet into the cabin, and the number of pets that can enter each flight is 2 or 4. The charge is 1,399 yuan per pet per flight segment.
In addition, Beijing Capital Airlines also launched the “pet cabin service” at the beginning of this year, which is currently applicable to outbound flights from some airports in five cities: Beijing, Qingdao, Shijiazhuang, Haikou, and Shenyang.
“I moved with my kitten in July and chose HNA’s pet-in-cabin service. The kitten still suffered from ‘stress’ in the bag, and as an owner I could only hold the bag and do nothing. However, the HNA staff were very caring and friendly. I still hope that the cat bag will no longer need to be sealed, and I can reach into the bag to comfort the pet when necessary.” TikTok user @LAURERE_q said that although this service eliminates the safety issues of checking in pets, pet cats are still likely to suffer from “stress” because they are locked in the pet box throughout the entire process.
Douyin netizen @陌 also expressed the hope that pet owners must abide by the airline’s regulations, not release their pets for photos without permission, and not let this hard-earned good policy disappear.