Pet Airways was an American

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

headquartered in

Delray Beach, Florida Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020 was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census. Located 52 miles ...

, that specialized exclusively in air transportation of

pets A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence, ...

. The airline claimed to be the first designed specifically for pets where pets flew in the main cabin, not in cargo. After Pet Airways ceased operations in 2011, its parent, PAWS Pet Company Inc., transferred to the pharmaceutical space, and changed its name to Praxsyn Corporation. , the Pet Airways website indicates that the airline plans to resume flights after acquiring funding to restart the company.

History

The company was founded by Dan Wiesel and Alysa Binder, who got the idea when planning a trip with their dog. The launch of the company was funded by a group of investors. Operations continued from 2009 to 2011 when operations ceased. By the time operations ceased, over 9,000 pets had been flown. In February 2012,

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

reported that Pet Airways had run into financial problems. In a regulatory filing that month, the company said, "We have experienced a history of losses and have yet to begin generating positive cash flows from operations and, as a result, our auditors have raised substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern." In 2011, the airline permanently ceased operations.

Services

When the airline began in 2009, airfare per pet started at $150, and was based on the pet's size and the distance traveled. The average cost was about $500 per flight, though an individual flight could cost over $1,200 for a large animal. Flights could be booked online. The pets ("pawsengers", in their terminology) were checked into a pet lounge at each airport at which the airline operated. Owners could track their pets en route via the website. Airline staff gave all pets pre-boarding walks and bathroom breaks. During the flight, the pets were under the care of trained attendants, checked on at least every 15 minutes for the flight's duration.

Destinations

The company launched its first weekly flight on July 14, 2009, serving nine US cities—New York City,

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, Chicago,

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, Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta, Phoenix,

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, and Los Angeles. In April 2011, it announced addition of three Texas destinations (Dallas, Houston and Austin), St. Louis, and Orlando, but did not commence service. Pet Airways announced plans to expand to 25 cities by late 2011. As of April 2011, Pet Airways flew to 11 destinations: ;Arizona *

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( Falcon Field,

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) ;California *

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( Hawthorne Municipal Airport) ;Colorado * Broomfield (

Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport is a public-use airport located in Broomfield, Colorado, United States. The airport is owned and operated by Jefferson County and is situated midway between Denver and Boulder on U.S. Highway 36. It is locat ...

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) ;Florida *

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(

Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport is a major public airport in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is one of three airports serving the Miami metropolitan area. The airport is off Interstate 595 in Florida, Interstate 5 ...

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

;Georgia *

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(

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) ;Illinois *

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(

Midway International Airport Chicago Midway International Airport , typically referred to as Midway Airport, Chicago Midway, or simply Midway, is a major commercial airport on the Southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the Lo ...

) ;Maryland *

(

Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport , commonly referred to as BWI or BWI Marshall, is an international airport in the Eastern United States serving mainly Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. With Dulles Interna ...

) ;Nebraska *

(

Eppley Airfield Eppley Airfield , also known as Omaha Airport, is an airport in the midwestern United States, located northeast of downtown Omaha, Nebraska. On the west bank of the Missouri River in Douglas County, it is the largest airport in Nebraska, with ...

) ;New York * Farmingdale (

Republic Airport Republic Airport is a regional airport in East Farmingdale, New York, located one mile east of Farmingdale village limits. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a general aviation ''reliever airpo ...

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...

)

References

External links

Official website
{{Airlines of the United States, state=collapsed Defunct airlines of the United States Airlines established in 2009 Airlines established in 2017 Airlines disestablished in 2011 Airlines based in Florida Companies based in Palm Beach County, Florida Pets Animal organizations 2009 establishments in Florida 2011 disestablishments in Florida 2017 establishments in Florida American companies established in 2009 Delray Beach, Florida