Last Tuesday, after traveling from the north of Sweden to Stockholm, to New Jersey, to Maine, the King Fredel clan was only looking forward to our final two flights from New Hampshire to Oakland because it meant we were on our way home to San Francisco, California. From our property in Southern Maine, it took us an hour-and-a-half to get to Manchester, New Hampshire's airport. With golf clubs, two bags a piece, a kennel and a Golden Retriever to check, needless to say, we were not happy when we learned that United Airlines had changed the type of plane in which we would be flying. As a result, their smaller plane would not be able to accommodate our seventy-pound pup and kennel.

This story, however, does have a happy ending.

But first ...

An Even Worse Nightmare

Last summer, the four of us flew from Oakland to Boston on JetBlue for $109 a piece, each way. Our dog, Dakota, on the other hand, cost $587 one-way via USAir. Upon her return home, separate from us, USAir literally lost our dog. There was no record of her in the computer. They simply could not find her. And when I called Philadelphia to find out if she for sure made her connection, I got the following response:

Lady, we ship hundreds of packages and pieces of cargo a day from here. We can't expect to be able to keep track of every one.

This was not an important document I was looking for. This was my Golden Retriever puppy, a dog we love so much we're willing to pay beaucoup bucks to get her across country, so she can enjoy every summer in Maine with us.

Never mind that Federal Express and DHL can successfully get a package from one end of the country 99.9% of the time without losing it.

Why then was USAir Cargo not able to provide the same kind of service shipping a live animal? We will never know.

After Tim spent three hours at the airport waiting for flight upon flight to come in, hoping Dakota would be on it, we finally got our pup home safe and sound. Given our extremely frustrating experience, we did not hesitate to be interviewed live by Animals Aloud radio show host Deirdre Kennedy last fall. Deirdre wanted to share our frustrating story with her listeners, and we were happy to tell it.

The good news is that there is another carrier in the country that provides better service than USAir did last summer. And that is United Airlines.

Last Tuesday, sitting from my economy seat, both my family of four and our five year-old pup below received first class service - thanks to the agent in Manchester, Ronnie Kerr and the "Captain of our Ship".

United Airlines' Agent Kerr and Captain Atchison (File #41715) deserve major kudos.

Ronnie Kerr re-routed us from Manchester to Chicago to San Francisco instead of Manchester to D.C. to Oakland. He not only saved us money by giving us a break on Dakota's two hundred dollar ticket, he helped get us all home two hours earlier than expected.

Our last trip of the summer could have easily turned into a disaster. It did not.

Twenty years ago, I was a dedicated United Airlines Mileage Plus customer. I had my Frequent Flyer Miles card and I tried to fly United every time I could. Five years ago, I stopped flying United all together. No matter what United did they couldn't get it right. I'd watch their "Fly The Friendly Skies" commercials and laugh. When I learned they had filed Chapter Eleven I was not in the least bit surprised. Their entrepreneurial spirit days had died years ago.

Now, however, I am pleased to write of an experience that proves United's team is clearly working hard to steer their once capsized ship upright and in the right direction.

People like United Airlines' Agent Ronny Kerr and Captain Atchison are examples of this first class service.

Upon getting situated on the plane heading from Chicago to San Francisco I asked one of the flight attendants if our dog had made it on the plane. She immediately called the captain to find out. Because we had been able to get on a 3 o'clock plane flying stand-by rather than our confirmed 5 o'clock flight, Dakota had been tagged to be on board the later flight. No matter. We were on Captain Atchison's plane. And he was determined to make sure our dog and bags were on the airbus with us.

It took some doing, which created a bit of a delay. But before the plane pushed back from the gate we got word that Dakota was safely on board below. Our bags also happened to make it on -- saving us a trip back to SFO to pick them up from the later flight.

A Happy Dog on Her Morning Walk in Maine

After landing, I was certain that when we tracked down Captain Atchison to thank him we would learn that he is a dog owner. In fact, he is not. Just a dog lover. And a determined member of United Airlines' team who is willing to go the extra mile to satisfy a family of five sitting in Economy Class and the Cargo section of his plane.

Last week, we learned that United has filed a plan to leave bankruptcy and to turn a profit of nearly $1 billion by 2006. We are hopeful to help them do just that.

"We are a vastly different airline than we were in 2002," Chief Financial Officer Jake Brace said in an interview last week. Brace cited a lowered cost structure, the shift in emphasis from domestic to international routes, the launching of United's discount carrier Ted, and an improved performance record.

The nation's second-largest airline, a unit of UAL Corp., said in its reorganization plan, which was filed last Wednesday, that it anticipates returning to profitability next year after a significant restructuring.

CEO Glenn Tilton said:

United has made tremendous progress in our restructuring to improve performance across the board, in costs, revenue, operations and service to our customers.

Today, we are more flexible, more efficient and more resilient.

As a result, United is now positioned to compete with the best carriers and confront the challenges of a volatile industry.

When traveling with pets, Rugged Elegance highly recommends flying with United Airlines. Their performance record scores high marks with us.

We hope your travel experiences, with or without pets, are as safe and satisfying as the tail end of ours were this summer.

Thank you Captain Atchison, Ronnie Kerr and Glenn Tilton, Chairman, President & CEO of United Airlines.

If you have compliments, concerns or questions about traveling with United Airlines call their toll free # at 877.228.1327, or send them an email at contactunited@united.com or write to:

Diane Soucy Bergan
Director, Customer Relations
United Airlines World Headquarters / WHQPW
P.O. Box 66100
Chicago, Illinois 60666

Inspire & Be Inspired!

Here's to healthy, adventuresome, soulful, "friendly sky" living at its best!

Here's also to becoming a Mileage Plus Member once more.

~ Jennifer Carolyn King, Rugged Elegance, LLC

P.S. If you love hero stories, especially those about airline pilots, check out this one from June 20th 1990 about an Alastair Atchison:

I was not able to confirm whether or not this was the same Atchison who flew our plane on September 6th 2005. Regardless, this man's heroic 1990 story is worth reading.

If the link, which is an html version of a pdf on BALPA.org does not come up, do a Google search on Alastair Atchison and you'll find it.