Nalu is always there, that's the thing! Housewives wanted at any cost psa, but he ended up in permanent symbiosis with this housemate, as it usually happens. That's why Nalu is a frequent flyer because he's with me almost every time I get on the plane.
These days I booked several return flights Dusseldorf-Belgrade via Air Serbia and he became very angry. The average ticket price for me was 134 euros both ways, which is actually cheap. But the "ticket" to Nalu is a fixed 70 euros one way, so 140 there and back.
So, transporting a five-kilogram bichon that doesn't have its seat at all is more expensive than transporting a 95-kilogram dog. The price for a dog was raised twice in one year, from 55 to 65, and now to 70 euros.
What emotional blackmail! Why do they charge so much? How do they justify that price increase? Air Serbia did not respond to Medjuvremina's questions.
Other prices are similar. With Eurowings, it is, for example, 60 euros in one direction. With larger companies for transoceanic flights it can be significantly more. Some low-cost airlines, such as VizAir and RyanAir, do not carry dogs at all unless they are guide dogs for the visually impaired or blind.
Photo: NRNalu of five kilos more expensive than the passenger of 95
Logic is profit and that's all.
Petar Vojinović, editor-in-chief of the aviation portal TangoSix, says that the logic of companies is to make the basic ticket as cheap as possible, and then charge as many additional services as possible, such as baggage. The price of those services has nothing to do with the actual cost of providing the service, but only with how much people are willing to pay.
But with luggage, a person can squeeze in and take less. "With a pet, the situation is completely different because there is no flexibility, the dog is considered a close member of the family, so the willingness of travelers to pay is much higher than for some other service," Vojinović says for our newsletter Međuvreme and adds:
"In translation, the more emotionally important the service and the less alternatives and flexibility it has, the more the company has the opportunity to charge for it. We can disagree, to consider it exploitation of that situation, but that's what all airlines really do."
What annoys people, he notes, is not only that transporting a loved one is so expensive, but the airline around him has nothing to do except to type in the passport, that is, the list of vaccines.
Where to take a dog anyway?
A dog or cat with a bag may weigh a maximum of eight kilograms. The bag must be soft and spacious enough, the dimensions are at least 40x30x24 centimeters. Because, it is required that the animal can "stand upright" in the bag, and at the same time the bag must be about 24 centimeters high - possibly a chihuahua can fit into it.
It is planned that the owner gets a seat by the window, and shoves that already impossible bag under the seat in front of him - which is also physically impossible. It turns out that the passenger has no room for his own legs.
Happiness in misfortune - Nalu endures flights quite routinely, sleeps and is not heard. And by the way, that dog is an experienced sleeper, regardless of the position, circumstances and noise level, he will take his 18 hours of naps a day.
This is not always the case, says veterinarian Rodoljub Ćirić. In the plane, the pressure and temperature change, in the box they are cramped... and bigger dogs, who are not allowed in the cabin anyway, have to go "down" and are separated from their owners, in the dark. In order to be transported at all, they must be sedated.
"There is no ideal tool because they all reduce pressure and lead to immobility, which affects breathing and temperature maintenance. So further trips are not recommended, and some companies even strictly prohibit it. Health risks exist, especially in older and sick animals," Ćirić told Medjuvreme.
It's especially bad for bulldogs that have been "produced" by selection so that they have too small a flattened head and breathe hard anyway.
Photo: NRA dog on a plane is more expensive than a human
Limited number of tailgaters
Upstairs, in the cabin, it's already better, says Ćirić, but even there there are dogs who are upset because they are closed and bark. "The mere change of pressure and sound can have a tremendous effect on them because their senses are far more acute than ours," he says, adding that it all depends on the dog's character and whether he got used to flying as a puppy.
And finally, one more thing that forces passengers to pay as soon as possible - on flights, the number of animals in the cabin is usually limited to two, three or four, so they should be distributed all over the plane. Ćirić sees no reason for it to be so strict, but there are still justifications:
"The presence of agitated animals disturbs other people and there can be serious noise during the flight. Furthermore, there is hygiene, frequent allergies among other passengers, the issue of evacuation because the transporters take up space..."
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