[dianna]

Hi, everyone. I finally arrived Hong Kong with my dog and would like to share my story on bringing him.

I did everything on my own from preparing for all documents, applying for special permit from overseas, to arranging cargo shipment. Considering the cost involved with hiring pet import company and less stress my dog would be exposed to, I believed my efforts were worthy. However, the problem beyond my control erupted at the last minute.

Just 20 mins before the departure from JFK, I was informed that the airplane(CX)'s cargo compartment was having a problem with its temperature maintenance system and my dog could not be shipped on that plane. Without that much information available on my dog's well being, I was forced to take the next available flight to be with my dog. I later found my 4.7 pound chihuahua left wet and trembling in a windy, cold, and rainy cargo area for I don't know how long when I picked him up. Eventually, he had to wait for 10+ hrs in a kennel and a cage in addition to 17+ hrs of flight via Vancouver. By the time I got to my dog in Hong Kong, my dog was so stressed out, he was crying and yelping. It broke my heart.

Here are my two cents. If you are taking your dog to Hong Kong, please prepare for the worst case scenario like mine: Do not rely on the airline's name or reputation. Find someone with authority to make things happen if your flight is delayed. Demand the airline to give you the access to your dog to check up on him. Make sure your dog receives good enough care such as meal, water, and walk if you could not be with him while waiting for the next flight.

CX's manager tried to do his best to make things easier for both of me and my dog but it did not compensate CX's lack of proper procedure and preparation in a case like this nor did save my dog from the most traumatic experience that he has ever had.. Shame on Cathay Pacific!!

[nina_70]

Gosh, that's just TERRIBLE. It's just not acceptable to have your dog sitting outside in the rain when you pay the fare and expect a certain level of service. Thank you for sharing & hope your little one feels better. Thankfully, animals tend to recover pretty quickly.

[goodkarma]

First of all, heartbreaking and just plain sad.

Is there a reason they would not let you carry him onboard? He's tiny enough to stow under the seat for take off and landing.

[jayinhongkong]

Poor lil chihuahua I'm glad he made it OK in the end. That's totally unacceptable treatment by CX.

[freeier]

while i am sympathetic to your dog's cause, i think you'd have to be very careful these days with demanding such concession at the airport.

airline is set up to transport ppl and non living goods. i doubt many of them has procedures to handling exceptions involving living animal cargoes. in addition, the heightened security these days made many of their procedures loopholed and the authority tend to be extremely conservative in handling exceptions that are out of their book.
and frankly, if i am a passenger on the plane, i would also rather the authority is more strict than allowing exceptional access to cargoes to prevent people using that loophole to take planes down.

i know it sounds cruel and cold, but i doubt you are going to get much leeway if you scream and try to get them to cede to your request. so maybe having a professional company handling the transportation is the correct way. they might have considered the potential of having flight change and delays and etc.

[goodkarma]

Of course no one want security abandoned for a pet BUT what's stopping them from bringing the poor dog back into the terminal so the mom could handle things til the next day when the flight leaves? Sheesh, I'm sad about this.

[jayinhongkong]

Originally Posted by freeier

while i am sympathetic to your dog's cause, i think you'd have to be very careful these days with demanding such concession at the airport.

airline is set up to transport ppl and non living goods. i doubt many of them has procedures to handling exceptions involving living animal cargoes. in addition, the heightened security these days made many of their procedures loopholed and the authority tend to be extremely conservative in handling exceptions that are out of their book.
and frankly, if i am a passenger on the plane, i would also rather the authority is more strict than allowing exceptional access to cargoes to prevent people using that loophole to take planes down.

i know it sounds cruel and cold, but i doubt you are going to get much leeway if you scream and try to get them to cede to your request. so maybe having a professional company handling the transportation is the correct way. they might have considered the potential of having flight change and delays and etc.

Aside from eating, playing and sleeping, I don't think her dog has any other causes.

Airlines offer transportation for animals. If they don't want to, they should stop. If they continue to offer transportation, they should ensure the animals are treated humanely. Why was her dog soaking wet and shivering? Couldn't they have put her dog into a room with a roof at least?

[kayakkingoz]

Originally Posted by dianna

Just 20 mins before the departure from JFK, I was informed that the airplane(CX)'s cargo compartment was having a problem with its temperature maintenance system and my dog could not be shipped on that plane. Without that much information available on my dog's well being, I was forced to take the next available flight to be with my dog. I later found my 4.7 pound chihuahua left wet and trembling in a windy, cold, and rainy cargo area for I don't know how long when I picked him up. Eventually, he had to wait for 10+ hrs in a kennel and a cage in addition to 17+ hrs of flight via Vancouver. By the time I got to my dog in Hong Kong, my dog was so stressed out, he was crying and yelping. It broke my heart.

Here are my two cents. If you are taking your dog to Hong Kong, please prepare for the worst case scenario like mine: Do not rely on the airline's name or reputation. Find someone with authority to make things happen if your flight is delayed. Demand the airline to give you the access to your dog to check up on him. Make sure your dog receives good enough care such as meal, water, and walk if you could not be with him while waiting for the next flight.

CX's manager tried to do his best to make things easier for both of me and my dog but it did not compensate CX's lack of proper procedure and preparation in a case like this nor did save my dog from the most traumatic experience that he has ever had.. Shame on Cathay Pacific!!

Whilst I understand your frustration and plight, a couple of things to consider (I worked for an aussie airline for qiute a while before moving here)...
1. Most airlines outsource cargo functions in other ports, including JFK.... - I doubt CX had any control over what happened on the tarmac

2. Especially since Sep 11, security at airports is very tight.... once the dog goes airside, the only way to get him back would be a permanent one

3. It seems Cathay's gone out of its way to help you - they've changed your flight without penalty or fuss, and the airport manager has gone out of his way to help you - there are a lot of big and small airlines that would've shown you the door (just have a look at ALL of the US carriers for example - esp in event such as this, involving a live cargo instead of a passenger)

4. In this day and age, airlines are struggling with higher costs and reduced profitability.... so if you want the services demanded for your "pet", the only way to get it, is by hiring a private charter for you and him! Airlines don't have the number of persons, even if they had control of the cargo collection, loading and drop offs... to provide that level of individual service to an animal.... Even travelling as a passenger, unless you were in first or business class or a platinum frequent flyer, I doubt you'd find that service anywhere

5. Where the dog was waiting, and the process he had to go through is often the Airport's responsibility and sometimes also the regulator's - with increased security, quarantine rules, customs, and other aviation requirements, what happens on the tarmac and prior to you collecting your beloved is often out of airline's control....

I;d suggest writing to thank the airport manager and those that helped, and POINT out what went wrong and ask for recompense or at the very least an explanation... I would be surprised if Cathay didn't respond...


Don't get me wrong - I LOVE dogs and miss mine terribly, but also be realistic about what airlines can deliver and what a "cargo service" really is! All that they're contracted to do is to deliver your "cargo" between the departure and destination ports.... what happens on the tarmac, and delays are unfortunate, but sadly unavoidable.... also we the passengers are demanding more and more for a less and less amount.... do the sums yourself and ask how long can such a paradoxial situation continue? And what do you want - service or price, because both cannot always be provided


BTW - pets can only be carried if they are for the disabled as a trained service animal (eg: guide dogs)...

[goodkarma]

Sorry but it's a huge copout to blame the "outsourced" handling party. Cathay needs to be on top of them.

Yes, I know I know it could happen with any airline and I'm not picking on Cathay.

[PDLM]

Whenever something goes wrong with airline operations how far they go out of their way depends on a couple of key factors:

1) Do you have any frequent flyer status with the airline (or with their partners - OneWorld in this case)

2) What class are you travelling in?

3) How much did you pay for your ticket? (And in this case how much did you pay for the dog?)

At the end of the day, shipping a dog around the world as air cargo is a pretty risky business - I can't immediately find the stats, but from memory I think about 5% of animals don't survive intercontinental shipping in this manner for one reason or another.

With the current US paranoia with airline security you're pretty unlikely to find any way of bending the rules regarding the "sterility" of the secure airside area.

A couple of other points: CX889 is scheduled to depart 7 hours later than CX831, so perhaps you could clarify which day it was that CX889 was delayed until perhaps 2am rather than its scheduled time of 21:40? (So as to get significant time in the wet and windy cargo area then 10 hours in a kennel before going back to get on CX889)

And was 889 full in your class of travel? And was your ticket changeable (for a fee or free)? And what did CX actually charge you (if the ticket was not flexible)?