Please strap on your muzzles- we're flying!!

I have travelled many times on Jet Airways with my dogs - adults and puppies and they have never mentioned this to me, even as of last week.

I think this was bought up by an agent who would handover the dog to the Airline

By: Warren Chang | 19 Jul 2009

Well, the person concerned is otherwise a regular with Jet Airways and he himself had carried the pup along. This was on the 4th of July '09 from Delhi to Mumbai. Imagine- too his surprise the very airline which he swore by did this to him!! Anyways the point is not any particular airline - bashing but a strict over-all code of ethics to be followed when there are pets traveling.

By: bishwadeep chatterje | 19 Jul 2009

I have sent my puppies from Coimbatore to Delhi, Mumbai, Rajghat many times through Jet airways. They are strict. They do demand a particular type of cage/crate (for safety - they accept fibre or wooden). They demand doctor certificate (its a must). But they never asked me to give any sedative so far. They are cool and helpful if we do all the procedures they need like certificate from doctor and correct type of crate and so on. I too had some problem in initial stages but now everything is fine.

By: Benny Kennels | 20 Jul 2009

Being strict is logical...being uptight is not....If there's a uniform law in place, then everyone will be clear about the dos and the don'ts.... They ask you to specify the breed and yet didnt even have the breed (that was travelling) listed..!!
And warriec, you were accompanying your dogs...its obviously a different story if they are unaccompanied. Now I'll go to our domestic airlines' websites and see if they have any specified norms of sending unaccompanied pets in cargo. (I will be very surprised if they do.)

By: bishwadeep chatterje | 21 Jul 2009

Three yrs back I moved to Bangalore permanently & decided to travel by jet airways. I purposely wanted to travel by air so my dog & me could reach our destination within two hrs & she would not be stressed,but the conditions put by them were so stupid, the cage size given was very small compared to her height, the reason she should not situp & bark at the crew & yes they did tell me to tranquilise her even though I told them sh is very allergic to tranquilisers.
I find them totally lacking in knowledge & caring about dogs.
I would prefer to travel by any airlines but never by Jet airways this not the first pet death occured by them there have been quite a few in the past.

By: Ashvina.D.Bativala | 28 Jul 2009

We have transported a 6 month old Labrador Retriever pup from Pune to Delhi and back by Jet Airways and never had a problem. Yes, the Dogs need to be secured in a cage that is of the size and quality specified by the International Air Transport Association. The cage must be big enough for the dog to be able to stand and turn around. Pups should be over 12 weeks old. Some Airlines do recommend sedation to calm the Dogs during the flight.

Pugs, cannot and should not be transported by air in the Summer as they do have a major problem with heat and humid conditions. It takes about 20 minutes in unbearable heat for the Pug to collapse with heat exhaustion. Once a Pug is transported to the Aircraft, it takes about 20 minutes for the hold to cool down after the Captain has closed the hold and started his engines. The time between the transportation to the Aircraft, the closing and cooling of the hold is enough to kill a Pug in the Summer. Many International and Domestic Airlines do not accept Dogs with flat faces for carriage on their aircraft, particularly during the Summer.

I myself spoke to the owner of the two Pugs who died on Jet Airways and he was understandably extremely upset with Jet Airways. This case was not in July, probably as far back as April or May and the sector was Mumbai-Delhi.

By: Priya Shergill | 14 Aug 2009

Priya, I was referring to:
1. My unaccompanied pup flew out in July....
2. Pup was 8 weeks old (too young to be muzzled and tranqualized). There was no rule about minimum age...if handled properly they'd be the best behaved passengers...
3. They didnt have 'English Mastiff' on their list...only Bull Mastiff (why bother having the breed listed then?? Go by size and weight...)
4. Load the dogs after the hold has cooled...(Where there's a will...etc.)
5. The directive or disclaimer should come from the Airlines...about whens, hows, dos and don'ts...to avoid such situations.
6. Once we have a law or set guidelines in place then we needn't get into a debate between the lucky guys(whose dogs survived) vs the unlucky guys (whose dogs died of negligence/misinformation).
7. Sensitize the staff with the help of professional animal handlers. Get them from abroad if they're not available in India.....it WILL add to the beauty and smartness required in airline professionals...
Best regards.

By: bishwadeep chatterje | 14 Aug 2009

Hi Bishwadeep,

1. & 2. Jetairways and Indian Airlines acceptance of your pup at 8 weeks would amount to their lack of knowledge of the conditions of carriage of live animals in the hold. The pup was too young to be air-freighted anyway and this would amount to taking a deliberate risk. Muzzling and tranquilizing a pup that young was also complete ignorance on the part of the ground staff concerned.

3. English Mastiff or Bull Mastiff would have made no difference to people who don't know anything about Dogs and are not trained to differentiate the problems with each individual breed of Dog or Cat.

4. The Hold can only be cooled once all the Cargo and Baggage is loaded and the doors are closed. After that it takes at least 20 minutes to cool. So the process is not that simple and there is also no alternative.

5. The Airlines staff should be qualified enough to know when to and when not to accept live animals for carriage on their aircraft. In the absence of such correct knowledge, they are not in a position to to guide Customers and hence young pups would be at risk when carried by Air. I, myself have worked at the Airport for an International Airline, so I am aware of the problems faced by Customers. When I carried our Labrador Pup from Pune to Delhi and back on Jetairways, both Pune and Delhi stations had different standards of acceptance!

6. Guidelines, Training Manuals, Cargo Manuals, Ground Operations Manual and the Passenger Services Manual are with every Airline, but it takes a good conscientous staff member to go through them and remember what is written or even to refer to them when in doubt. Each case is to be treated individually and passengers should be advised in advance at the time of making their Reservation, as to what is actually required. Passengers must inform the Reservation staff of their intention to carry a dog and give the name of the Breed, it's age and weight inclusive of the cage. Based on passenger information, the staff concerned, if qualified to do so, will explain the formalities and the do's and don'ts required. Again, if booked unaccompanied, the Cargo staff concerned should be in a position to give clear information.

7. I agree with you, the staff needs to be clearly aware of such procedures and they need to handle the situation professionally and proficiently. This is all part of Customer Care with a very high degree of knowledge of the subject in totality, right from the Reservation procedure to the actual loading onto the Aircraft or from booking the Dog as Cargo to the loading onto the Aircraft.

Best regards,

By: Priya Shergill | 14 Aug 2009

Muzzle a puppy?! you cannot muzzle even a full grown dog for such a duration, they need to sweat, and breathe.
At max a muzzle shld be used for 5-10 min.

By: Ravinder | 22 Aug 2009