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One trip for their Jack Russell terrier in a plane's cargo hold was enough to convince Alysa Binder and Dan Wiesel that owners needed a better option to get their pets from one city to another.
On Tuesday, the first flight for the husband-and-wife team's Pet Airways, the first-ever all-pet airline, took off from Republic Airport in Farmingdale, NY.
All commercial airlines allow a limited number of small pets to fly in the cabin. Others must travel as checked bags or in the cargo hold -- a dark and sometimes dangerous place where temperatures can vary wildly.
Binder and Wiesel used their consulting backgrounds and business savvy to start Pet Airways in 2005. The last four years have been spent designing their fleet of five planes according to new four-legged requirements, dealing with FAA regulations and setting up airport schedules.
The two say they're overwhelmed with the response. Flights on Pet Airways are already booked up for the next two months.
Pet Airways will fly a pet between five major cities -- New York, Washington, Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles. The $250 one-way fare is comparable to pet fees at the largest US airlines.
For owners the big difference is service. Dogs and cats will fly in the main cabin of a Suburban Air Freight plane, retooled and lined with carriers in place of seats. Pets (about 50 on each flight) will be escorted to the plane by attendants that will check on the animals every 15 minutes during flight. The pets are also given pre-boarding walks and bathroom breaks. And at each of the five airports it serves, the company has created a "Pet Lounge" for future fliers to wait and sniff before flights.
A trip from New York to Los Angeles, for example, will take about 24 hours. On that route, pets will stop in Chicago, have a bathroom break, play time, dinner, and bunk for the night before finishing the trip the next day.
Amanda Hickey of Portland, Ore. is one of the new airline's first customers. Her seven-year-old terrier-pinscher mix Mardi and 2-year-old puggle Penny are taking their first flight soon.
Hickey said the service was a welcome alternative to flying her dogs in cargo when she transplants them from her soon-to-be Denver home to Chicago to stay while she and her fiance travel to Aruba to get married.
"For a little bit more money, I have peace of mind," she said.
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(Agencies)
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阿麗莎?賓德和她的丈夫丹?威斯?fàn)栐?jīng)讓他們的杰克羅素梗在飛機(jī)的貨艙里待過一次，這次不愉快的經(jīng)歷讓他們認(rèn)為寵物需要更好的運(yùn)送方式。
本周二，這夫婦倆推出的寵物航線首個(gè)航班——也是首個(gè)全寵物航班——從紐約法明達(dá)的共和機(jī)場(chǎng)起飛。
所有的商業(yè)航空公司只允許一定數(shù)量的小型寵物數(shù)量被帶入機(jī)艙。其他寵物必須作為行李托運(yùn)或是被放在貨艙內(nèi)——貨艙里很黑，溫度變化很大，而且有時(shí)還會(huì)有危險(xiǎn)。
賓德和威斯?fàn)栐?005年利用他們從事咨詢業(yè)的背景和他們的商業(yè)頭腦開創(chuàng)了寵物航班。在過去的四年里他們一直在設(shè)計(jì)執(zhí)行寵物航班飛行任務(wù)的五架飛機(jī)以迎合這些四只腳乘客的需求，同時(shí)還研究聯(lián)邦航空局的規(guī)章制度并制訂機(jī)場(chǎng)時(shí)刻表。
人們對(duì)這一做法的反應(yīng)讓他們欣喜若狂。寵物航線下兩個(gè)月的所有航班都已經(jīng)被訂滿。
寵物航班將在紐約、華盛頓、芝加哥、丹佛和洛杉磯這五個(gè)大城市運(yùn)送寵物。航班的單程票價(jià)為250美元，這跟美國最大的航空公司收取的寵物搭乘費(fèi)用差不多。
對(duì)于寵物的主人們來說，最大的差別在于服務(wù)方面。小狗和小貓們將會(huì)搭乘”薩博班航空貨運(yùn)公司“的飛機(jī)，機(jī)艙已將座位拆除，并一排排放好了寵物籠。乘務(wù)員將會(huì)護(hù)送（每次航班大約50只）寵物到飛機(jī)上，并在飛行期間每隔15分鐘察看一下動(dòng)物乘客。登記前，寵物們還可享受散步和衛(wèi)生間服務(wù)。在開通寵物航線服務(wù)的五個(gè)機(jī)場(chǎng)，公司還專門為寵物乘客開辟了一個(gè)“寵物候機(jī)室”，供它們等候航班或者四處聞聞。
舉例來說，從紐約到洛杉磯的寵物航班大約需要24個(gè)小時(shí)。飛行期間，寵物們中途會(huì)在芝加哥經(jīng)停，在那里上個(gè)衛(wèi)生間，玩一玩，吃吃飯，然后晚上睡個(gè)覺，第二天再繼續(xù)飛往洛杉磯。
美國俄勒岡州波特蘭的阿曼達(dá)?海基是這個(gè)新航線的第一批客人。她七歲的短毛獵犬馬蒂和兩歲大的哈巴小獵犬佩尼很快就要搭乘第一個(gè)它們自己的航班了。
海基將要和她的未婚夫飛到阿魯巴結(jié)婚，在這期間她需要把狗從她在丹佛的新家運(yùn)到芝加哥暫居，她認(rèn)為這種服務(wù)相對(duì)于把狗放在貨艙里要好的多。
“雖然要多花一點(diǎn)錢，但是我現(xiàn)在放心了。”她說。
相關(guān)閱讀
首個(gè)寵物航班將于今年7月開通
長(zhǎng)啥樣的人養(yǎng)啥樣的狗
Most talented dog 寵物狗除草彈鋼琴
Dogs look like their owners 研究稱寵物狗酷似主人
（英語點(diǎn)津 陳丹妮編輯） |
