Hillary said:
>I encourage everyone to call, ask questions, and complain.  Maybe if
>everyone banned together (even if you don't have any planes on travel
>soon..  it would be to your benifit (sic) to get it changed so that when
>you do want to go away... you have the option) and demanded it, delta
>would change their policies."
 
You might be right, complain enough and Delta might change their policy,
and decide it's not worth it to allow ferrets to fly in the cabin at all.
This isn't a personal attack, as you're not the only person ever to talk
about smuggling ferrets on planes on this list, you're just the most
recent.  Allergies aside, smuggling ANY animal on board a plane is one of
the most foolish things I think anyone could do, especially when you're
talking about doing it on one of the only airlines that accepts ferrets at
all.
 
The cost for people to fly continually goes up, but unfortunately being
able to fly on an airplane to go somewhere isn't a right that is owed to
you, and for the most part airlines can charge whatever they choose for
services.  I'm not exactly sure what the $60 one way fee pays for when you
bring an animal on board the plane, but I can make a few decent guesses.
The first one that comes to mind is that if it cost nothing to take your
pet on board, then everyone would do it.  On Delta they only allow two pet
carriers in the cabin per flight, which is why you make the reservation for
your pet when you get your ticket.  There is paperwork involved in taking
your pet with you that Delta also has to process, and probably some kind of
premium attached to their insurance about pets and liability.  If you can
be charged $50 just to have your ticket reprinted, then being charged $60
to take a pet on board doesn't seem so high.
 
Keep in mind that not only do you need to pay $60 each way to take your pet
on the plane, but you need to pay your vet whatever he or she charges for a
current health certificate (within ten days of your flight) as well.  Last
time I took my ferrets on a plane, all in all it cost me about $200, but it
was worth it to me to take them, and if I had boarded them while I was gone
it would have cost me at least that much money.  I would much rather have
had them in my care, regardless.
 
>My question is WHY is the price so high?  and also i'm assuming that the
>under the seat arrangment limits your carry on.  Thus... why are we paying
>so much for one of our carry on baggages (my ferrets take up much less
>room than does my normal carry on)?  "
 
If you had more than your allowed number of bags, you would have to also
pay to take them with you.  If any of your baggage was over the weight
limit, you would have to pay for that as well.  Taking animals on the plane
isn't the same as taking any other carry on bag, and if you're lucky, your
under the seat carrier will just barely fit under there.  In fact the last
leg of my last trip, the under seat compartment was cut in half because of
the arrangement of the seats, and my carrier wouldn't fit at all.
Thankfully I got someone to switch with me.
 
Basically what I'm saying is that you are compromising the safety of your
animals, and compromising the ability for everyone to be able to take our
ferrets on the plane in the future by considering smuggling your animals
and complaining to Delta about the fee, that they have every right to
charge you.  Advocating that other people do this (the caveat of "don't get
caught" doesn't help much) is also extremely irresponsible in my opinion.
I for one have only been pleased, and thankful for the excellent service
that Delta provided to me, and for all of the kind flight attendants and
ticketing agents who were so nice to me and my pets during a long and
difficult trip.
 
Robynn and the toothsome threesome
[Posted in FML issue 2919]