My Deam Vacation

I’ve traveled numerous times on planes with my cat in an approved carrier in the cabin with me. He does well flying and I get to spend the holidays with him. Each time, I paid for a medical exam for him by my vet so that I’d have the medical certificate if they asked (they never did) and I paid the airline fees. Two years ago, the first time I flew, it cost $50 each way for his “reservation” and $30 for the exam, for a total of $130. The next time, it cost $75 each way and $30 for the exam, for a total of $180. Since I wanted to take him home for Christmas this year, I checked the airline pet fees and nearly fell out of my chair! Delta/NWA is now charging $150 each way for a pet and United is charging $175. The cheapest, USAir, is still charging $100 each way, but I don’t fly them because they’re almost never the cheapest airline for me. I recently bought a ticket on Delta for my flight home for Christmas and payed $250 for a roundtrip, but my cat’s “reservation” would cost $300, more than my ticket! If I was flying United, it would cost $350!