Airline travel has, in recent years, become a sometimes nightmarish experience. Gate staffers are bored and inattentive; passengers bring enormous backpacks on board and try to stuff them into an entire overhead bin. That’s not to mention the delays, the canceled flights, and oh, the occasional door popping off mid-flight. And if you’re traveling with your canine sidekick, unless it’s one of those little critters that fit under the seat in front of you, the pooch goes in a travel kennel in the cargo hold.
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That is, unless you’re traveling between Los Angeles, New York, and/or London, and are willing to shell out $6,000 for a one-way ticket on a new airline, BARK Air.
BARK Air kicks off with flights from New York on May 23. The “first-of-its-kind travel experience tailored to dogs” is brought to travelers by BARK, Inc. – the company started in 2011, known for BarkBoxes, treats and toys for furry friends – according to a press release.
“We are excited to take the insights we’ve learned over the years to create an experience that is truly dog-first, which is drastically different from just accepting dogs – from the ground to the skies,” co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at BARK Matt Meeker said in a statement.
One-way tickets from New York to Los Angeles on the day of launch are $6,000 for a pup and its owner.
Holy gold-plated pooch, Batman! That’s a lot of green folding cash, to take the mutt along on vacation.
So, what does one get for six large?
What’s included? A concierge, “efficient check-in process” 45 to 60 minutes before takeoff sans crates, TSA checkpoints or screening. It features socialization with other dogs onboard, meals for the human companion and calming items such as treats, noise-canceling ear muffs, and jackets to help dogs have a “stress-free and enjoyable flight.”
Dogs onboard get beverages, BARK-branded treats, snacks, and more.
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Honestly, has anyone considered the optics of this?
Not that there’s anything legally wrong with this scheme; if people have the money to toss around making sure Fido is comfy and has snacks while they are jetting off to see if the homeless enclaves in New York are any smellier than the homeless enclaves in Los Angeles, then more power to ’em.
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But there’s already a healthy trade in envy (isn’t that one of the seven deadly sins?) in the United States and elsewhere, and for the rest of us schlubs standing in line waiting to board an aluminum sardine can with wings, so we can sit in a chair that was apparently made for Tom Thumb and enjoy refreshment consisting of a few stale pretzels and half a can of warm Coke, this would provoke envy among the most tolerant among us. Bear in mind that these well-funded elites are some of the same people wagging their fingers at us over our gas stoves, pickup trucks, and air conditioning. Now, not only will they have a massively larger carbon footprint than the typical American, but so will their dog. Someone didn’t think this through.
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