I would estimate that the State Department has given millions of dollars in business to United Airlines over the years, much of that business it would not have gotten were it not for the absurd and grossly outdated Fly America Act. To say "thank you," United Airlines has rejected an AFSA-led campaign to extend the waiver of its new (and expensive) pet travel policy to Foreign Service Officers traveling on official orders. After United created the new policy, DoD flexed its muscle and United offered a waiver to uniformed service members. But they won't extend the same courtesy to FSOs.
So an Air Force mail clerk working at Ramstein can take his pooch without the extra cost and hassle, but a political officer going to the Sudan is out of luck.
http://diplopundit.net/2012/04/05/united-on-fs-pet-waiver-requests-emails-read-now-you-can-drop-dead/
Update (4/20/2012) - According to AFSA, United Airlines has relented and has extended the pet policy waiver to Foreign Service Officers!!!
So an Air Force mail clerk working at Ramstein can take his pooch without the extra cost and hassle, but a political officer going to the Sudan is out of luck.
http://diplopundit.net/2012/04/05/united-on-fs-pet-waiver-requests-emails-read-now-you-can-drop-dead/
Update (4/20/2012) - According to AFSA, United Airlines has relented and has extended the pet policy waiver to Foreign Service Officers!!!
4 comments:
What's wrong with being a mail clerk at Ramstein?
Not a thing. What's wrong with being a Foreign Serivce Officer? That's the point I was trying to make. FSOs serve our country, too, often under dangerous and difficult circumstances. Very few people (including United Airlines) understand that.
I want to bid on a mail clerk job in Ramstein my next tour.
But here it says that State Department Foreign Service Personnel can take pets?
http://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/animals/exceptions.aspx
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