Pets in the Cabin - Coming soon on Virgin Australia

[Ade]

737 overhead lockers with optimal lighting and oxygen supply (with 1-2 dedicated lockers for pets) so that they are a safe and comfortable space for pet cages to go into.

And ensure that the lockers are odour & leak-proof (for any unforeseen spillage/leak)

 

[Ade]

Freshly made ingredients for Turkish Airlines First Class I suppose?

Pax get to choose which chook they like to eat...

Chef: "Mr. blah-di-blah, which of the flying chook would you like for dinner tonight?
Mr.BDB: "Well chef, the one running around seat 4F seems like its got a spring in it's step and that is what I shall have"
Chef: "Ah!, the spring chicken ofcourse. An excellent choice, if I may say so, Mr. BDB. I shall catch it at once and cook it"

Mr. BDB settles into his 1A with a whisky on the rocks. A chicken flies across from 1E and lays an egg on his lap

Looking at the freshly laid egg, Mr. BDB: "Well, well, what do we have here... ?" and calls out to the Chef
Mr. BDB: "Can you also hard boil this egg for me please? Belinda Sparks here (points at the chicken) has been kind enough to offer me an egg"

 

[Ade]

See, I've thought about this and I've wondered (and maybe I'm missing some big thing)...

Why can't they just gate-check pets? That way, owners can be sure that their pet makes it onto the plane, and I'm sure the pets are loaded last anyway. I'm sure the $100~ fee to fly a pet can more than pay for someone to take the pet from the owner at the gate, and visually prove they're loaded onto the aircraft.

Sensible, if the cost of putting pets in the hold was $150 or less and gate checked then, the concerns about them being left in the heat/cold waiting to be loaded would be alleviated.

Just to play another scenario - do we think any traveller with pet would refuse to gate-check their pet? OR are we expecting all those travelling with pets do it? In other words - if someone travelling with their pets chooses to make a scene during gate-check - how do the airlines handle it? Are they going to leave the pet and board - NO ... will the pax choose not to travel - may be? not sure ... just a thought that popped into my head.

 

[XWu]

To this point, please see below ;

The DDA allows qualified Assistance Dogs to accompany their handler into all public spaces. The only exceptions to this may be spaces in which a person’s disability is being addressed by other means, or areas with stringent sterility requirements, for example:

• Specific Clinical Settings
• Surgically sterilised areas
• Industrial food preparation areas (kitchens)
• Quarantined areas

link to page: Public Access Rights - Assistance Dogs Australia

Your post prompted me to look up DDA 54A which covers Assistance Animals

Federal Register of Legislation - Disability Discrimination Act 1992

www.legislation.gov.au

Actually interesting lists of what is not considered discrimination under the Act, eg being asked for evidence of qualified assistance animal, and properly behaviour/condition of the animal etc

Also different states and territories may have different definitions of public spaces so that ADA page may need a bit of tweaking

Not trying to undermine the role of assistance animals, just genuinely surprised by what is actually written into law vs what people write.

Please don’t flame Or take it the wrong way

 

[kyle]

To this point, please see below ;

The DDA allows qualified Assistance Dogs to accompany their handler into all public spaces. The only exceptions to this may be spaces in which a person’s disability is being addressed by other means, or areas with stringent sterility requirements, for example:

• Specific Clinical Settings
• Surgically sterilised areas
• Industrial food preparation areas (kitchens)
• Quarantined areas

link to page: Public Access Rights - Assistance Dogs Australia

My comment was more for the restaurant eating area rather than preparation.

 

[Harry_Moses]

I am thinking that it is just an idea the airline has been asked for many times - the implementing of it will in part be determined by the response from the general public. They would have to be the smallest cats and dogs on the planet to be able to fit in any carrier that would actually fit under the seat in front. Allergies are one consideration, but so are issues surrounding genuine service dogs and any issues that may present when "fluffy" just magically escapes its crate, how domestic pets will actually "behave" at 30,000 feet - what if another passenger gets bitten or scratched, any passenger that gets assigned a seat alongside a passenger with a fur companion and doesn't wish to consume their meal with animals present, what the reaction will be from Biosecurity Detector dogs that work in the terminal space, whether these pets must remain in their crates until they are completely through the airport arrival process, what happens to escaping pets in pick-up areas or terminal car parks. Who will actually "police" the whole issue to ensure passengers travelling with onboard pets remain compliant and keep them in the crate? There are hundreds of issues to consider - sounds like a fun idea to begin with but the logistics of it are a nightmare. And in the vast majority of cases it will not be the animal that is the issue, it will be the owner. Pets travel extraordinarily well in the cargo hold - probably best to just leave them where they are safe and secure.

 

[NM]

My comment was more for the restaurant eating area rather than preparation.

Aminals (with the exception of fish, seafood and shellfish) are not permitted in in-door dining areas (i.e. restaurants, cafes, bars etc. with the exception of public access registered and accredited service animals.

Animals | Food Standards Australia New Zealand

www.foodstandards.gov.au

Animals are permitted in non-enclosed outdoor dining areas at the discretion of the owner/manager of the establishment.

This then creates an issue about what is the boundary between the gate areas and the dining areas inside an airport terminal?

I do expect that any carry-on pet would be required to be contained inside the crate upon entry to the terminal and to remain inside the crate until exiting the terminal at the destination, with obvious exceptions for manual security screening/wanding and relief in an identified animal relief area. Owners walking their pets on a leash inside the terminal is unlikely to be permitted, for what I expect are obvious reasons. However, under the Companion Animals Act 1998, an animal does not necessarily need to be registered as an assistance animal to be permitted access to a public place or public transport. So the airport owner/operator could allow non-assistance animals inside the terminal (but not the food service areas) if they wish.

 

[howard61]

I have a tiny dog weighing 2.4kg. Trained as a therapy dog, he has high obedience, high noise tolerance, can hold his bladder for 12 hours and is hypoallergenic. He's too valuable to be put in the hold and this will be perfect for both of us. If you are into dogs please feel free to check him out @sparky_watts_poodle on instagram. Can't wait for Virgin to implement this one.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I am thinking that it is just an idea the airline has been asked for many times - the implementing of it will in part be determined by the response from the general public. They would have to be the smallest cats and dogs on the planet to be able to fit in any carrier that would actually fit under the seat in front. Allergies are one consideration, but so are issues surrounding genuine service dogs and any issues that may present when "fluffy" just magically escapes its crate, how domestic pets will actually "behave" at 30,000 feet - what if another passenger gets bitten or scratched, any passenger that gets assigned a seat alongside a passenger with a fur companion and doesn't wish to consume their meal with animals present, what the reaction will be from Biosecurity Detector dogs that work in the terminal space, whether these pets must remain in their crates until they are completely through the airport arrival process, what happens to escaping pets in pick-up areas or terminal car parks. Who will actually "police" the whole issue to ensure passengers travelling with onboard pets remain compliant and keep them in the crate? There are hundreds of issues to consider - sounds like a fun idea to begin with but the logistics of it are a nightmare. And in the vast majority of cases it will not be the animal that is the issue, it will be the owner. Pets travel extraordinarily well in the cargo hold - probably best to just leave them where they are safe and secure.

All good points. But how do you think they have managed in the US and Europe all these years?

None of the issues you mention have been deal-breakers. Which is no small achievement given everyone will sue at the drop of a hat in the US.

Yup, it's tiny cats and dogs. If the animal can't fit, it goes in the hold.

 

[ramboflyer]

I hope they only allow the animals onto designated flights and passengers will know there will be dogs and cats on board so we can avoid those flights. I love dogs but have no desire to share a confined cabin with them and all that entails. Yes, there are smelly, annoying humans sometimes but why add more problems.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I hope they only allow the animals onto designated flights and passengers will know there will be dogs and cats on board so we can avoid those flights. I love dogs but have no desire to share a confined cabin with them and all that entails. Yes, there are smelly, annoying humans sometimes but why add more problems.

I guess the reverse of that is ‘we’ve had to put up with everything else all these years, why can’t we bring our pet?’.

I have to put up with sick people, some with hacking coughs. Don’t think I can get covid from a dog or cat!

 

[Ryan Bingham]

I have to put up with sick people, some with hacking coughs. Don’t think I can get covid from a dog or cat!

Actually you can (What You Should Know about COVID-19 and Pets | Healthy Pets, Healthy People | CDC). Particularly if you kiss them. But, yeah, unlikely.

 

[justinbrett]

Pets with their own social media accounts should be especially banned!

 

[ozstamps]

I've joined up Fluffy and Fido into Velocity, and have got their family pooling all in place to me as they are under 10 years old, so it works well.

I just hope the pet dining choices in the Lounges will be extensive ..... not just Puppycinos.

Those little sachets of Dine do not smell too bad really (well the Sardine ones are pretty foul to be honest) and are a TON cheaper for cost-cutting Virgin, than all those lashings of human food that gets wolfed down each day by the SLC.

 

[hydrabyss]

I thought I would search for any incidents on planes and was surprised to find a few.

 

[JohnK]

I wouldn’t stop someone taking their pet in an evacuation

It’s the people who think their laptop is important that need stopping and that’s happening now.

Or the bag in the overhead with USD80,000 in notes inside?

 

[tdimdad]

Pets with their own social media accounts should be especially banned!

But they'll be taking selfies and recording TikTok's which will also show your fancy happy socks. What's not to like?

 

[drron]

At least VA 45 will never have pets in the cabin.
Indonesia has rabies.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

At least VA 45 will never have pets in the cabin.
Indonesia has rabies.

Carriage of pets will be limited to domestic flights.

 

[Fishhead]

I am a Platinum Flyer with Virgin and use Singapore Airlines and Etihad for my overseas trips. If they allow dogs and cats on planes I'm out and if Qantas offers a status match I am in ASAP