Pets in the Cabin - Coming soon on Virgin Australia

[Ryan Bingham]

Oh good! I can now bring my falcon!

One of my favourite travel pics...

 

[tdimdad]

A bit of counterbalance to the conversation: White People And Their Pets: Gina Yashere.

 

[zoraya_lane]

Curious what you'd do with the pet whilst working?

I work from my accommodation so I can keep it with me the whole time.

 

[Pushka]

I work from my accommodation so I can keep it with me the whole time.

ok so pet friendly accommodation? serious question, if you work from your accommodation then why the need to travel?

 

[TheRealTMA]

ok so pet friendly accommodation? serious question, if you work from your accommodation then why the need to travel?

To buy pet food!

 

[zoraya_lane]

ok so pet friendly accommodation? serious question, if you work from your accommodation then why the need to travel?

Damn detective, what’s with all the questions Because I have a certain kind of job that can only be done in person and I make more money when visiting clients’ cities than staying in my own. Pet friendly accom is easy to source, especially for a small dog.

 

[jonboixxx]

Given the size of some of the dogs used in the VA marketing videos, they will need to have a dog chiropractor on hand after Fido spends the whole flight stuffed in a small cage under the chair in front. And apologies in advance for my SO sneezing through the entire flight after the pet parade through the J cabin. (On the infrequent occasion 2J's can be found as a CR).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The limitation on specific flights (if that's the intent) does very little to reduce the health risk and load on cleaning.
To rotate a pet-friendly plane to a no-pets run would need a much deeper clean than the usual tidy-up, even when all pets would be still in their cages.

I'm yet to come across pets in cabin but the bare minimum VA should do is to allocate a specific small segment of the cabin for pets. the last N rows are probably most reasonable, especially when boarding & disembarking happens via rear stairs. That gives a little bit of separation between pets and those who can't be in the same premise with them.

Personally, I'd love to have a pet (one of those hypoallergenic cat breeds which I hopefully would survive or at least manage with it) but can't imagine putting it through the stress of travel in a cage. Somebody please think of the pets' feelings, too...

None of these issues will be unique to Australia.

There are other complications such as delays and cancellations and pax being re-routed. I don’t see how it’s practical to offer pet vs non-pet planes?

Considering too that service or guide dogs will have been in some planes, and pax with cats at home will be bringing fur and whatever else on board with them anyway!

The allergy problems don’t appear to outweigh pax being able to bring pets in other places. Don’t know why australia would be different?

 

[fletty]

This ABC article contains a bit more information: Virgin plans to welcome small cats and dogs into flight cabins, but what happens if you have an allergy?

pets would be limited to a small number of designated rows

Virgin conducted a survey in April 2023 with 643 Australian travellers, of which 426 were pet owners.

Of those pet owners, 286 said if it was allowed by the airline, they would most likely fly with their pets in the cabin "more than zero" times.

So 67% of the pet owners said they would fly with pets. I wonder how many of the non-pet owners said they support the change?

 

[RSVKanga]

Will the animals be tagged as ‘premium hand luggage’ for VA’s turboprop services such as SYD-CBR?

 

[TheRealTMA]

This ABC article contains a bit more information: Virgin plans to welcome small cats and dogs into flight cabins, but what happens if you have an allergy?




So 67% of the pet owners said they would fly with pets. I wonder how many of the non-pet owners said they support the change?

Non pet owners were not asked I suspect.

 

[jb747]

The hold is airconditioned, and pressurised. Why do they need to be in the cabin?

Mind you, there were quite a few passengers I'd have liked to be able to send to the hold.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Sourced from axios dot com… pertaining to travel in the USA:

If you're afraid of dogs or allergic to cats, well... too bad.

• The FAA says you're exposed to pet dander on every flight, even without any animals onboard, because passengers carry allergens into the cabin on their clothes.
• The agency suggests flying on an airline that doesn't allow pets in the cabin. (Good luck with that.)
• If that's not an option and you're near a pet, you can ask to be reseated.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The hold is airconditioned, and pressurised. Why do they need to be in the cabin?

Mind you, there were quite a few passengers I'd have liked to be able to send to the hold.

Pets can, and have, died in the hold.

While the hold may be air conditioned, the time immediately prior to departure may be different. I’ve seen pet crates sitting in the sun at airports waiting to be loaded. Or the reverse, it could be raining.

 

[Ryan Bingham]

The hold is airconditioned, and pressurised. Why do they need to be in the cabin?

We PetJeted (or JetPeted, I can't remember) the dog BNE-NTL and she loved it. Love a pooch, but not sure about this idea of sticking them under the seat (as if you could with a standard ).

 

[jb747]

Pets can, and have, died in the hold.

While the hold may be air conditioned, the time immediately prior to departure may be different. I’ve seen pet crates sitting in the sun at airports waiting to be loaded. Or the reverse, it could be raining.

And passengers have died in the cabin. The issue you are talking about is one for proper management, and it should not be solved by putting them in the cabin. And, in any event, this would only apply to small dogs, which are, in my experience, the worst yappers out there.

 

[Ryan Bingham]

We PetJeted (or JetPeted, I can't remember) the dog BNE-NTL and she loved it. Love a pooch, but not sure about this idea of sticking them under the seat (as if you could with a standard ).

Sorry, bad form replying to your post.

Can I bring my dog into the lounge?

Is she counted as a guest BC I'm a very important Platinum and need my full allocation?

Jane?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

And passengers have died in the cabin. The issue you are talking about is one for proper management, and it should not be solved by putting them in the cabin. And, in any event, this would only apply to small dogs, which are, in my experience, the worst yappers out there.

Understand, but the issues in this thread don’t seem to be supported by 5e experience overseas?

While,proper management of pets is critical, there’s also the human factor. People may feel more comfortable having their pet in the cabin with them, and potentially at far lower cost than transporting in the hold.

This gives them an option.

 

[justinbrett]

I imagine this is a case of floating the idea, waiting for any public backlash, and then quietly shelving it.

 

[TheRealTMA]

I imagine this is a case of floating the idea, waiting for any public backlash, and then quietly shelving it.

So any publicity is good publicity…

Maybe a distraction from CEO resignation and talk of a float.