Thursday, April 24, 2008

The High Price Of Flying

My mom loves to take me everywhere, which necessitates air travel at times. It is an expensive luxury that will hopefully be aided by my newish status as a prescribed assistance animal, however normally the cost per roundtrip is $160 for my ticket alone. Now on a good day, to a close destination, this can easily rival the price of my mom's ticket!
I think it is a shame that the already problematic airline industry is so poorly equipped to deal with any type of real security issue but can afford to rip off already disgruntled patrons of their less than glamorous flight services by charging a pretty penny for pets. Bottom line...loving parents will always pay rather than leave baby in a cruel kennel or pay an equally exorbitant petsitter so the airline has taken the $160 for at least 6 roundtrip flights, and regardless of distance or the inconvenience of being shoved under a seat with all the stinking feet of hundreds of people that my nose can smell much more sickeningly than yours, I should be the one getting paid!
I'll have stayed quietly in a bag the length of a sub sandwich for over 10 hours with no bathroom break, no meal, no play time, no screaming fits, no slamming myself against the back of another patrons chair, and unlike all the other toddlers on the flights I have been essentially unseen and completely unheard by anyone. And when seatmates do see me and love me, it makes the flight. Again, why don't they pay us?
The flight attendants were not so nice on my 6 flights; I think my friends are more helpful. Let's petition to fly free for all dogs on all airlines asap because mom's family is going broke flying me around the country at the rate I'm going. How about double frequent flyer miles at least considering they charge for 2 roundtrip tickets? I mean, I need my mom to get me my own confirmation number through a lengthy and annoying phone call each and every time.
Despite the dropping the old required rabies and vet papers to verify health, it is still a hassle when booking online to then have to call and bother an already annoyed rep for a little 6 pound purse full of puppy to have a special code assigned to it, and then have to count me as a carryon, limiting mom further for the money and love of bringing me. That's love for ya!