Lost cat creates American Airlines headache
It apparently escaped its cage in a New York airport on Aug. 25 and still can't be found. So feline lovers have taken Jack's cause to Facebook.
Jack has been missing since Aug. 25, when his owner, Karen Pascoe, checked him and his brother in as cargo for a flight from John F. Kennedy airport to California. It didn't take long for Jack to go missing. Pascoe was called by the airline soon after she cleared security, CBS reports.
She searched the inbound baggage area for an hour with no luck and eventually boarded a later flight with her other cat, Barry. The airline promised to keep searching. Jack still hasn't been found.
Cat lovers are ratcheting up the pressure on American, and Jack is now famous. A Facebook page with his picture has more than 4,000 fans. The news is spreading, and the last thing American wants is another embarrassing episode like United Airlines (UAL) faced with the United Breaks Guitars video on YouTube.
Tuesday evening, American issued a Facebook update on Jack, saying it will fly Pascoe to New York this weekend to help with the search and see what the airline is doing to locate the cat.
The update borders on the ridiculous. The airline is having daily briefings to review its progress and has even brought in representatives from the Port Authority of New York, including a wildlife management person, to participate.
American is looking into animal-tracking services, such as a search dog, and is reviewing its closed-circuit television footage in hopes of finding Jack. "We understand that a cat is a loved family member for so many (people), including many of our own employees, and we are doing our utmost to find Jack," the airline said.
I know where I would go if I were Jack. Starting this week, American will start offering some international first- and business-class travelers a quilted bed topper, pajamas and slippers, a duvet, a pillow and an amenity kit, Consumerist reports.
A quilted bed topper is just what a tired kitty needs. American might want to check its first-class areas just in case.
| Tags: | airlinesamrKim Peterson |
I was living in South Korea with my husband in the Army. We took in a cat over there, and she became my little shadow. You can bet that I brought her back with me!
If you think its impossible or hard to travel with a cat, you're wrong. I flew Delta and Korean Air with my cat and it was fantastic. You do have to fill out paperwork when flying to foreign countries, but that's the hardest part. I bought a soft carrier, and she flew with me in the cabin by my feet. I just lost some foot room, and in coach that was a little rough, but at least I'm short, so I survived.
They do NOT put the animal through the X-ray machines where your carry on luggage goes through. You have to remove your pet from the carrier, put the carrier through the machine, and hold your pet as you walk through the metal detectors. Then you put it back in its carrier.
I was skeptical about how she'd fly, but she didn't make a peep! When people saw me carrying her on the way out of the plane, so many people were like "There was a CAT on the plane? What a good kitty!" I think the crowds made her nervous enough to keep quiet. (She normally makes quite a fuss if she's in the carrier in my car, or even in the house, but for some reason, not in the airport or plane).
For everyone saying this article isn't important, you obviously either don't fly much, or don't love your pet. For many of us, our pets are part of our family. We pay a lot of money to fly, and we trust the airline to do their job correctly. If they lost a child, wouldn't that be important? And why is it, if they do their job wrong, it isn't important? If most of us screwed up so badly, we'd definitely be out of jobs. This IS an article worth reading. It puts pressure on the lazy airlines to step it up a notch. I think we need to drastically improve customer service and quality in many industries here in America, the Airlines being no different.
For people more concerned with the "starving people" and "hurricane victims" why are you spending your time criticizing this article instead of reading up on how you can help those causes you're concerned about? Try spreading some postitive energy instead of all the negative. We have enough bad kharma going on around here.
My father brought me up to believe that it is important to look after animals because they are defenceless in human society. I cannot believe the comments not caring about this little creature. Human error occurs in everything and blaming is not helping. I am heartbroken about this story, and hope this sweet cat is found soon.
Jack's welfare is much more important to me than that of Dick Cheney, by the way.
P.S. My darling father's name was Jack.
2) American Airlines is one of the worst airlines you can fly on. Bad service, on and off the ground, rude employees, long lines at the airport, lost lugagge etc. After my experience last year, I will pay extra money to avoid AA anytime.
I fear that the cat got out and got squashed and AA doesn't want to tell that young lady her cat is gone.
And who would wear pajamas on an airplane? Goodness!
I used to have two cats but lost one about a year and a half ago when I was a traveling on the East Coast. It was devastating to have to put him down in a strange place with a strange vet. He did not like traveling and would yowl the first half hour on the road but I wouldn't have had it any other way.
If you love your pets, take a vacation nearby and take them with you. Or leave them with someone you trust to take care of them properly.
This woman had no choice. I know what it's like to have limited relocation funds and she, like a lot of Americans thought the airline would see her beloved Jack safely home in California.
Stop beating her over the head. I am sure she is sick with worry and berating herself enough.
Hopefully Jack will be found. He is a beautiful cat. I hope he turns up soon.
I guess Tummy isn't a cat lover. I am and it preturbs me that an airline would be so careless with someone else's "loved one". We all have loved ones which include people and animals, so Tummy please try to at least understand that even if you don't care for animals.
I do wonder how this incident was allowed to happen? Were they putting the cat into a carrier or did the cage door come open or what? How come they don't do these things inside a room with a closed door to it? That is a simple common sense thing to do and why was it not done? Duhhhh, because they just don't care enough I suspect!
At the very least they should fly the owner of the cat for free so she can hopefully retrieve him from wherever he is hiding! It's going to take more than an hour to find him because cats that are shy or frightened don't come out readily even if their owner is calling them. I had a cat that I had to keep calling for more than 1/2 day because she had been missing for 4 days and she is the shy and sensitive type. Better take some water and food right away to this cat because it is probably VERY dehydrated by now if it hasn't found any water to drink. I think the heating ducts could be a place that it might hide in or the staff lunch rooms possibly. Sad that the airline has waited 5 days now to decide to search the security tapes (?) Why wasn't that done the day the cat went missing? Geez I'm sorry but I certainly WON"T be flying with that airline!
My Dog and I DROVE from Michigan to Washington State (her first time on a long trip), We had a ball!! She got to sniff all kinds of things she would have never sniffed living in the Big City.
We had even more fun on the return trip....We drove back w/5 live Chickens!!!
Yes we made it home safe and sound.
If we had of flown we wouldn't have had so much fun at all of the rest stops. The Chickens were the hit of the trip.
She's now gone after 14 years together and that was I think the best time of her short time w/me.
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