Hello, Pet Owners and Airline/Aviation Officials,

I am a proud dog mother to an adorable soon-to-be three-year-old, well-behaved female Pomeranian named Money-Penny. The first time I've flown with her I was very uncomfortable because she had to be in the seat in front of me and took up much-needed leg-room. I am only 5'2 I can't imagine what others who are taller and traveling with an animal go through—much less if my flight was longer than 2 hours! I got over it because it was a one-off trip and I'd usually leave her with a sitter. However, when I chose to take her with me back home to Florida both for Thanksgiving and Christmas instead of leaving her with paid strangers I could not ignore the discomfort and price anymore. 

The airlines I travel most frequently on is Southwest and Delta. The pet fees for these two airlines differ. Southwest is $95 per trip, while Delta is $125 per trip, why you say? I can't figure any other reason other than they set their own prices. After Thanksgiving my family wanted me back home for the Christmas holiday as well, I wanted to comply but I was apprehensive due to the costs. To my surprise, I found a roundtrip flight on Delta from my home in ATL to my hometown in FLL for $100! But… my flight for Money-Penny turned out to be $250... when in fact she's really just a carry-on. 

In-flight, the airlines does ZERO for your animal yet as a human I can find a cheaper flight than my pet and have to sit uncomfortably for the legroom that I've already paid for. Does that seem fair or makes sense to you? Now I am not saying that pets should fly free. However, I think these fees should either A. be a flat fee per itinerary e.g. ($95/$125 for a round trip) option B. be equal or lesser to the cost of a checked bag. Or if the cost of a pet on-board at times out-weigh the flight for a human then we should be able to have an entire seat designated for our pet so that we may not have to sacrifice comfort. 

Mind you, my dog makes no sound while she's in flight, I can't speak for other pets but I'd love to have her accompany me on more trips if the airlines would be more empathetic to the costs and needs of travelers. I am sure if the fees were economically feasible more pet owners of well-behaved animals would travel; thus increasing airline profitability.

Respectfully, 

Money-Penny’s Momma