United Airlines Resuming Pet Transport Program

After pausing its PetSafe pet transport program due to the death of a dog in an overhead bin earlier this year, United Airlines announced Tuesday it would resume the shipment of pets in its airplane cargo holds.

United revealed it is working with the American Humane organization to improve the well-being of all pets that travel with the airline, and the carrier said it will continue to review all pet handling processes and policies, including in-cabin pet travel.

Data from the United States Department of Transportation revealed that of the 24 animals that died on U.S. carriers last year, 18 were on United flights, according to Reuters. As a result, United is implementing new policies, updating training and customer requirements and working to improve the safety of the pet travel experience.

“American Humane has long been known and respected for setting the gold standard of animal welfare,” United vice president of cargo Jan Krems said in a statement. “We look forward to a long-term collaboration and appreciate their expertise in helping us further improve our service on an ongoing and continual basis.”

“As we continue our review process to ensure that we are always doing what’s right, we are committed to making significant improvements in our program and adhering to the best practices of animal comfort, well-being and travel on behalf of our customers and their pets,” Krems continued.

Starting on June 18, United will accept cats and dogs in its PetSafe transport program, but will no longer allow other household pets on flights. The airline also banned Short- or snub-nosed cat and dog breeds, as well as strong-jawed dog breeds.

The pet policy change for United comes after several major carriers, including Alaska Airlines and Delta, have tightened restrictions on which kinds of animals can fly.

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