FIDO GETS THE BOOT
My daughter will be so disappointed (she loves animals)… and the parents of Fluffy and Fido won’t be very happy either. It seems Air Canada is planning to ban all pets from its passenger planes effective July 15th.
According to airline executives, giving cats and dogs a ride in the cargo hold became too much trouble because of increasing load factors as well as tighter security measures that have led to an increase in checked baggage. An Air Canada spokesperson put it this way: “Animals in the hold actually reduce the amount of space we have for luggage because you’ve got to leave an area for ventilation or oxygen and as well they require extra handling.”
The news comes after an earlier airline rule change that occurred last September. That’s when Air Canada decided to stop carrying pets in the cabin because of concerns over passengers with allergies. There are some who speculate that the new pet ban came as a direct result of case involving a Canadian doctor whose dog died of carbon monoxide poisoning while in the cargo hold in early 2004. Last year the Canadian Transport Agency ruled that the airline was not liable for the death of animals in its care.
If you still want to fly Air Canada and need a way to transport your pet after July 15th you can use planes operated by Air Canada’s cargo division.
KIDS BLAST OFF
Good news for you parents who are constantly on the lookout for educational destinations. The Air Zoo, an aviation attraction, has just opened an interactive, hands-on space and science center that features space travel artifacts.
The Michigan Space Science Center is a 17,000-square-foot wonderland of space exploration. It features engines from Saturn V moon rockets, a full-size replica of a Gemini space capsule and astronaut flight suits. In addition, it houses a 5,000-square-foot International Space Station exhibit. Your kids can also take the wheel of a full-size replica of a robotic rover and pretend they are traveling to Mars.
Museum directors say the space station exhibit aims to create an environment much like a NASA astronaut training facility down to the machine that simulates weightlessness and a another hands-on display which illustrates how astronauts work in low-gravity conditions.
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