Oops, killed your cat -- here's $50.00

[Jadzia]

I can see a Top Cat episode in there somewhere.


TC: Call up the gang Benny, you're gonna make us rich!

Benny: What's the plan TC?

TC: We're sticking you, Benny, on a plane!

Benny: Oh boy! Where are we going?

TC: Anywhere. It doesn't matter. Now listen: Airplanes! Insurance! They pay out big time now for living animals who die in cargo. We're gonna be rich I tell ya!

Brain: Wait. Does this mean Benny has to die?

Benny: I don't like the sound of this TC.

Choo-Choo: I like Benny. I don't want him to die.

TC: Don't worry Chooch I have already thought of that. We'll go onto the plane as normal, and just before we disembark, Benny here will play dead.

Benny: (confused) I don't think I know how to play dead.

TC: It's easy. Just shut up and lie on the floor.

Benny: You mean like this TC?

TC: That ought to do it Benny. Now let's see if you can convince officer Dibble. Call it a trial run.

Choo-Choo: Here he comes now.

TC: Quick everyone, start crying... No not you Benny, you're supposed to be dead remember.

 

[Miss Chicken]

There was a link on original article that takes you to another account that gives more details. There it says

Lombardi's $289.94 cargo ticket on Delta Air Lines included $70 to make sure Snickers was taken off the plane quickly. But Lombardi said it took 50 minutes to get the cat off the plane.

So this woman paid well above the normal rate for her 'cargo', she even paid extra to make sure her pet was removed quickly. It would seem to me that she had every reason to expect that her cat wouldn't be treated the same as normal cargo.

 

[Trekker4747]

Is there a chance this airline was founded by George Costanza?

The way I see it the airline's failure to properly maintain the aircraft and to transport the cat as cargo resulted in the animal's death. The airline should be responsible to reimburse the family for the loss by paying at least the fair going market-value for the type of cat it was and the age it was. $50 is an insult.

Transporting pets as cargo, really, is the only way to do things as there's no practical way to transport animals in the passenger compartment given the space limitations and the chance of introducing a possible allergen to the plane's enclosed environment. The airline didn't maintain the plane properly, the cat died as a result. Their fault. The own the owners a fair price and they'll suffer in the court of public opinion as well as likely end up settling a lawsuit that'll cost them way more money than if they had just offered a fair price.

 

[scotpens]

. . . If passengers/stowaways are in cargo, they're there illegally, so completely different rules apply. It wouldn't be an insurance issue ~ It would be a police investigation, seeking prosecutions of whoever put the old man in the luggage.

Or the young woman.

Love the Top Cat idea. That’s cute!

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Transporting pets as cargo, really, is the only way to do things as there's no practical way to transport animals in the passenger compartment given the space limitations and the chance of introducing a possible allergen to the plane's enclosed environment.

Actually, cats and small dogs--and larger animals if they're service animals--CAN be transported in the cabin of many airlines. You have to book your seats early, because the airline sets a limit on how many animals they'll allow in the main cabin, but it is doable.

In fact, Sherpa bags were invented for exactly that purpose (transporting cats and small dogs in the cabin).

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I'm amazed there are still people who are willing to trust any living thing to the fucking airlines. I'd rather buy another seat on the plane and put the cat in its carrier right next to me.

 

[ThunderAeroI]

Delta ships cats and dogs all the time. I see so many dogs getting shipped that its as normal as a person getting on the plane.

 

[Gaseous Anomaly]

The more I read about airlines the less I want to fly! I think it would be better to take severral days to get to my destination with my precious cargo intact!

 

[Lunarflower]

Transporting pets as cargo, really, is the only way to do things as there's no practical way to transport animals in the passenger compartment given the space limitations and the chance of introducing a possible allergen to the plane's enclosed environment.

Actually, cats and small dogs--and larger animals if they're service animals--CAN be transported in the cabin of many airlines. You have to book your seats early, because the airline sets a limit on how many animals they'll allow in the main cabin, but it is doable.

In fact, Sherpa bags were invented for exactly that purpose (transporting cats and small dogs in the cabin).

Yeah. That's how my mom brought home our puppy (well she is not a puppy anymore). She flew up to the breeder, and flew back with the puppy.

 

[JiNX-01]

Joke: One down, 9 billion cats to go!

Some airlines (Southwest) have changed their policy and do permit pets to ride in the passenger compartment as long as the carrier can fit under the seat in front of you. I personally would be reluctant to take my cat on a plane because I wouldn't want to have to deal with an accident or vomiting (not to mention the disgust of fellow passengers), and she's bad enough riding in a car which she has done hundreds of times over the years and she has never gotten any better about it.

I do agree that the passenger who lost the cat should be compensated for more than a lousy $50 plus airfare. That's .