Animal incidents and deaths are part of the monthly DOT report on the airline industry. Based on the last 2 months of data (which runs several months behind passenger data), DL does have more pet incidents than other airlines... although DL is the largest airline as of the date of the data and based on passenger traffic carries more transoceanic int'l passengers than other airlines.
It is also possible from the monthly reports to see the actual incident reports. Even from the 6-8 reports I read, there are a couple trends that are apparent.
- Almost all of the dog reports (all but one report involved dogs; one was a bird) involved dogs that were flown on longhaul flights - transoceanic or US southeast to Alaska. One of the dead dog reports involved an itinerary to MNL completely on PMNW aircraft and routes - and presumably handled by PMNW personnel. Unless there was a change in how PMNW and DL handle pets, I'm not sure there can be any conclusion that DL handles pets worse than NW did.
- at least two of the reports involved dogs that harmed themselves in the kennel by trying to escape or chewing their own limbs. One report says the pet owner disclosed before the flight that the dog did not do well flying (so why was he accepted?).
- There were necropsies done on all of the deaths and none of them were conclusive. One cited potential hypoxia but noted that all aircraft systems were determined to have been functioning.
- Most of the "dead dog reports" involve pug nose breeds which are known to be less able to deal with limited oxygen situations as happens on aircraft - even for humans.
Having transported a dog on an int'l flight, I can assure you that even with medications, it is a very unsettling experience for many dogs. Travel for everyone is traumatic. Combine that with environmental factors that affect some breeds more than others and there very well could be problems.
While we might like to think that jumping a plane from one corner of the world to another is no big deal, the reality is that not everyone makes it - pets or people. Sometimes the right answer is that you - or it - should just not fly.
I am as curious as anyone if DL is doing anything differently from other airlines that puts animals at risk but my brief review of incident reports shows that some animals are just being pushed beyond their physical limits by being carried on some itineraries.
As airlines increase their amount of int'l flying and Americans attempt to take dogs on long flights, there will likely be more, not less, of these types of incidents.
