Our columnist Lyubov Vysotskaya took the story of a cat with a “wide bone” who did not want to be allowed on the plane to heart. She knows firsthand what it means – to be nervous because of the extra “animals” a pound.
I have a fat dog. Let’s skip the details of why this happened, but there is a fact: my Yorkshire Terrier is not mini at all. In principle, he is a rather tall overgrown dog, and also extra pounds … In general, his weight is at the limit of “airplane” capabilities. Like Victor.
The standard rules for the carriage of animals in the cabin of an aircraft on domestic airlines are as follows: eight kilograms with a carrier. The lightest salon carry for its dimensions weighs 900 grams. By simple calculations, we get 7 kilograms and 100 grams – the maximum weight of a dog at the time of weighing at the airport.
I emphasize once again that these are the rules that apply to the mustachioed-tailed passengers of the cabin. You can, of course, load the animal into the luggage compartment. Moreover, knowledgeable people say: quite comfortable conditions have been created for animals. This is not a suitcase freezer. Although a lot of horror stories are wandering about him: they either lose the cat, then they forget to unload the animal, and it flies back and forth three times a day, then they generally freeze to death.
But even if we discard all these accidents at work, BUT still remains. And what is more. Those who have decorative dogs know their fine mental organization. My tender fat Yorkie, separated from me, and even locked in a carrier, would at best howl the entire flight with fear. At worst, I wouldn’t have taken him to his destination alive. I’m not exaggerating a single drop: when the plane takes off, I don’t know what makes the vibration stronger – from the liner itself or from a frightened dog.
In general, every time about a month before day X, my dog would begin his personal “pre-flight training”. The dog went on a diet. As you can imagine, not voluntarily. If Goethe had somehow seen this picture, The Suffering of Young Werther would have a new hero.
But this is all lyrics. In fact, I sincerely don’t understand: if a dog or a cat fits in a carrier of the right size, what difference does it make – they weigh 7 – 8 kilograms or 9 – 10? The same Aeroflot, for example, has hand luggage included in the ticket price, and that is 10 kilograms! And an animal is, for a minute, not a suitcase. And its transportation costs a lot of money. In my opinion, this is very unfair. We are still a civilized country where pets are treated like family members, not like things.
Allergy sufferers are now generally actively against animals in the cabin. Yes, I understand them perfectly, I myself am the same. But a dog of any size will cause a seizure regardless, even a pocket dog. Likewise, you may be allergic to perfume that your neighbor has poured too much on. Let’s ban the use of eau de toilette before the flight? Or a bouquet of flowers that someone has received / is taking as a gift. Let’s not just cross out flowers from the list of free items for transportation, but also put a taboo on bouquets on the plane.
Or is it still not necessary to bring it to the point of absurdity? After all, you can still weigh passengers at the airport. And measure whether they fit in a chair or not. A fat neighbor on an airplane is far more inconvenient than a fat animal.
The airline employees know that there will be animals on the flight long before departure. At least, because before buying tickets, you need to get their consent. In addition, according to the rules, there can be no more than two animals on board one aircraft. Probably, it will not be difficult to allocate places for passengers with carriers where they will not interfere with anyone. I would like to believe that after the incident with the cat from Vladivostok, it will now be so.
PS Last summer my dog and I went by train for the first time. Paradise and bliss. No weight restrictions. Yes, 36 hours of travel. But calm road! And calm preparation for it. So, until the rules change, I’m probably now a passenger on the railways, not on the airlines.