United Airlines To Tag Pet Carriers After Dog's In-Flight Death
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — After two embarrassing missteps involving dogs on its flights this week, United Airlines says they will start issuing brightly-colored bag tags for passengers traveling with pets in airline cabins.
The new change comes after a French bulldog died during a Monday flight from Houston to New York. A flight attendant had insisted the dog's owner put the pet carrier, with the dog inside, in an overhead bin. The dog was found dead when the flight reached New York.
United says the flight attendant did not realize there was a dog inside the bin, but the family and other passengers contradicted this account, saying they heard the dog barking.
The change, however, would not have helped in the case of Igo, a 10-year-old German Shepherd who was flying to Kansas City, Missouri with his family. Igo ended up in Japan, and United tried to hand over a Great Dane.
The airline said the kennels, which were likely stored in the cargo bay, were similar.
The new tags will start being issued in April. United says the tags will help flight attendants better identify pets on flights.