Pets Fly First Class from Republic Airport

Pet Airways, a 2009 start-up, is taking the stress out of pet travel and is doing so exclusively at Farmingdale's .

The Delray Beach, Florida company runs an airline solely dedicated the transportation of dogs and cats throughout the United States. Pet owners can have their pals transported between regional airports near nine major cities in the United States, like Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, Chicago, Denver, Ft. Lauderdale, Los Angeles, New York, Omaha and Phoenix.  The company serves the New York area only out of in Farmingdale.

This pet transport operation began in August of 2009, originally serving only five cities. Since then, the company has expanded its operation significantly and the company reports business is well.

“Most of our flights go out full,” said Pet Airways Co-Founder Alysa Binder when asked about the financial health of the company. Official profit reports from the company support this.

At Pet Airways, pets travel in a specially modified Beechcraft 1900 twin turbo propeller aircraft, that has been outfitted for the carriage of animals. Pets are cared for throughout the flights by specially trained attendants. Food, drink, play time and potty breaks are all included at no extra charge.  For “pet parents,” the process of transporting your pet is made easier and quicker due to the fact that Pet Airways operates only out of smaller regional airports, like , allowing pet owners to escape the circus found at many larger air hubs.

But these luxuries don’t come cheap. Fares range from $99 one-way from New York to Baltimore/Washington, to $249 one-way from New York to Ft. Lauderdale. But many people don’t seem to be barking about the price. In a November 2010 company report, the company stated that over 3,000 pets had traveled on the airline since the beginning of 2010.

Given the economic climate, a niche-oriented business like this was a risky venture.  But Co-Founder Binder exudes nothing but confidence about the prospects of her small but growing company and Pet Airways plans to do almost anything but stand still in the current economic climate. 

The company's rather ambitious expansion plan includes expanding their service to 25 cities throughout North America, according to Binder.  Though short on specifics, Binder states that those 25 cities will include some cities in Canada.  The company has also recently gone public, listing on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board Stock Exchange with the stock symbol PAWS. 

In addition, they have named a new President and CFO, Andrew Warner, who has a history in “nurturing rapid growth in young consumer-oriented companies,” according to a recent company news release.

The company hopes that these actions, combined with their dedication to customers and “pawsengers” will achieve co-founder Dan Wiesel’s vision of “[making] Pet Airways a household name.”  And lucky for Farmingdale pet owners, this service is offered right in their hometown.