United CEO says pet cargo service will stay
United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz says the airline has no plans to ditch its animal cargo PetSafe service but acknowledged it needs a major revamp.
"We are always going to review all the different options. Doing away with something would be the simplest thing to do, that’s not what we’re going to do. That’s not what United’s about," he said.
Munoz hinted that it is looking at options which could lead to narrowing the service in terms of what animals are carried, as ‘some animals are more high risk’ than others.
United suspended PetSafe after a trio of mishaps beginning with the death of a puppy forced into an overhead bin.
That was closely followed by two further incidents of dogs being placed on wrong flights.
United has also been involved in other high-profile animal cargo mishaps including the well documented death of a giant rabbit called Simon.
It is reviewing the service and says a decision will be taken by May 1.
At a business function Munoz apologised again for the puppy’s death saying ‘it should have never happened’.
"You have the right to demand the highest level of performance from us."
Meanwhile, overseas military families have decried United’s decision to suspend PetSafe.
Those at military bases on Guam now have no other options with a US carrier for pet transportation after Delta suspended its flights earlier this year.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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