One trip for their Jack Russell terrier in a plane's cargo hold was enough to convince Alysa Binder and Dan Wiesel that owners needed a better option to get their pets from one city to another.
On Tuesday, the first flight for the husband-and-wife team's Pet Airways, the first-ever all-pet airline, took off from Republic Airport in Farmingdale, NY.
All commercial airlines allow a limited number of small pets to fly in the cabin. Others must travel as checked bags or in the cargo hold -- a dark and sometimes dangerous place where temperatures can vary wildly.
Binder and Wiesel used their consulting backgrounds and business savvy to start Pet Airways in 2005. The last four years have been spent designing their fleet of five planes according to new four-legged requirements, dealing with FAA regulations and setting up airport schedules.
The two say they're overwhelmed with the response. Flights on Pet Airways are already booked up for the next two months.
Pet Airways will fly a pet between five major cities -- New York, Washington, Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles. The $250 one-way fare is comparable to pet fees at the largest US airlines.
For owners the big difference is service. Dogs and cats will fly in the main cabin of a Suburban Air Freight plane, retooled and lined with carriers in place of seats. Pets (about 50 on each flight) will be escorted to the plane by attendants that will check on the animals every 15 minutes during flight. The pets are also given pre-boarding walks and bathroom breaks. And at each of the five airports it serves, the company has created a "Pet Lounge" for future fliers to wait and sniff before flights.
A trip from New York to Los Angeles, for example, will take about 24 hours. On that route, pets will stop in Chicago, have a bathroom break, play time, dinner, and bunk for the night before finishing the trip the next day.
Amanda Hickey of Portland, Ore. is one of the new airline's first customers. Her seven-year-old terrier-pinscher mix Mardi and 2-year-old puggle Penny are taking their first flight soon.
Hickey said the service was a welcome alternative to flying her dogs in cargo when she transplants them from her soon-to-be Denver home to Chicago to stay while she and her fiance travel to Aruba to get married.
"For a little bit more money, I have peace of mind," she said.
阿麗莎•賓德和她的丈夫丹•威斯爾曾經讓他們的傑克羅素梗在飛機的貨艙裡待過一次，這次不愉快的經歷讓他們認為寵物需要更好的運送方式。
本周二，這夫婦倆推出的寵物航線首個航班——也是首個全寵物航班——從紐約法明達的共和機場起飛。
所有的商業航空公司只允許一定數量的小型寵物數量被帶入機艙。其他寵物必須作為行李託運或是被放在貨艙內——貨艙裡很黑，溫度變化很大，而且有時還會有危險。
賓德和威斯爾在2005年利用他們從事諮詢業的背景和他們的商業頭腦開創了寵物航班。在過去的四年裡他們一直在設計執行寵物航班飛行任務的五架飛機以迎合這些四隻腳乘客的需求，同時還研究聯邦航空局的規章制度並制訂機場時刻表。
人們對這一做法的反應讓他們欣喜若狂。寵物航線下兩個月的所有航班都已經被訂滿。
寵物航班將在紐約、華盛頓、芝加哥、丹佛和洛杉磯這五個大城市運送寵物。航班的單程票價為250美元，這跟美國最大的航空公司收取的寵物搭乘費用差不多。
對於寵物的主人們來說，最大的差別在於服務方面。小狗和小貓們將會搭乘」薩博班航空貨運公司「的飛機，機艙已將座位拆除，並一排排放好了寵物籠。乘務員將會護送(每次航班大約50隻)寵物到飛機上，並在飛行期間每隔15分鐘察看一下動物乘客。登記前，寵物們還可享受散步和衛生間服務。在開通寵物航線服務的五個機場，公司還專門為寵物乘客開闢了一個「寵物候機室」，供它們等候航班或者四處聞聞。
舉例來說，從紐約到洛杉磯的寵物航班大約需要24個小時。飛行期間，寵物們中途會在芝加哥經停，在那裡上個衛生間，玩一玩，吃吃飯，然後晚上睡個覺，第二天再繼續飛往洛杉磯。
美國俄勒岡州波特蘭的阿曼達•海基是這個新航線的第一批客人。她七歲的短毛獵犬馬蒂和兩歲大的哈巴小獵犬佩尼很快就要搭乘第一個它們自己的航班了。
海基將要和她的未婚夫飛到阿魯巴結婚，在這期間她需要把狗從她在丹佛的新家運到芝加哥暫居，她認為這種服務相對於把狗放在貨艙裡要好的多。
「雖然要多花一點錢，但是我現在放心了。」她說。
Vocabulary:
Jack Russell terrier：傑克羅素梗，19世紀在英國南部培養的白色梗類犬，主要是為了在地面上和地下捕捉歐洲紅狐狸。這種梗是由約翰.羅素牧師培養出來的，並由此得名。
cargo hold：貨艙
business savvy：商業頭腦
transplant：移居，使遷徙