In the world of domestic animals, the debate as to whether it's better to be a cat person or a dog person is as complex and divisive as asking an avgeek whether they prefer Airbus or Boeing. Of course, both are matters of personal preference, with strong arguments to be made for either side, but, every so often, the worlds of aviation and pets collide, occasionally resulting in cat-astrophic consequences. These meetings of worlds most notably occur when passengers bring their pets onboard aircraft.
Animals are often transported in less-than-ideal conditions in the cargo-carrying belly of modern airliners, but, occasionally, if they are the right size or working as an emotional support animal, pets sometimes end up being transported in the passenger cabin. In both cases, notable incidents have occurred. 1 Mittens' Air New Zealand odyssey Three flights in 24 hours The subject of transporting domesticated animals on commercial passenger aircraft has become a hot topic once again in recent days following an alarming chain of events in New Zealand.
Specifically, as reported by the BBC on January 22nd, an eight-year-old cat named Mittens ended up taking three flights in the space of 24 hours after being unintentionally left onboard in an aircraft's cargo hold. Have you heard the Simple Flying podcast recently? If all had been well, Mittens would have been transported in the cargo hold of an Air New Zealand flight from Christchurch, New Zealand (CHC) to Melbourne, Australia (MEL) on.