Just What We Needed: An Airline for . . . Pets?

Look. I realize that it's been a difficult year. We've had major investment banks implode. Taxpayer-financed commercial bank bailouts. And on top of it all, the whole AIG debacle. But am I the only person who was troubled to learn that in the midst of the worse recession since the 1930s, a new airline has been launched to cater to . . . pets?

Yes, you heard that correctly. Last week, Pet Airlines -- devoted exclusively to air travel by pets -- ran its maiden voyage. (Washington, New York, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles are the cities being served.) Rather than travel in the cargo hold -- as they do on most major airlines -- the pawsengers are checked into a special pet lounge in the airport where they are given a pre-boarding walk. Once on board, they enjoy bathroom breaks and constant monitoring by staff. Owners can even follow their pet's voyage using an online pet-tracking system. So far, according to airline owners Alysa Binder and Dan Wiesel, the response has been overwhelming.

I'll be up front. I'm not a pet person. So maybe I just don't get it. I mean, I'm all for a flourishing entrepreneurial spirit during hard times. But it just strikes me as somewhat perverse for Americans to be pouring their resources into luxury travel arrangements for pets when we're having trouble as a country getting a health care initiative off the ground.

I also live in the U.K. So perhaps I'm also a bit jaundiced by the dire state of British Airways at the moment. Barely a day goes by when there isn't some new jaw-dropping attempt by this company to keep itself afloat. Last month BA asked its 40,000 employees to work for free for up to a month (equally draw-dropping, thousands agreed to do so). Then the company announced that it was going to cut back on business-class service. Last week, in a move that dismayed many in the financial world, the company persuaded the trustees of its retirement fund to surrender bank guarantees that would have paid out £330 million if the company went bust. Now these funds can be used to keep the company up and running.

But it's not just in Great Britain where things are tough. The International Air Transport Association recently announced that even with lower fuel prices, the combination of falling demand and dwindling revenues has placed the industry in an "intensive care" situation worldwide. Even in the States, where things are not quite as dire due to a reduction in capacity, the imposition of new fees on just about every service imaginable is daunting.

Call me crazy. But in an era when we're being encouraged to end our obsession with over-parenting, I'm wondering whether we might extend some of that to our furry friends. Jerry Seinfeld once noted that 500 years from now, when space aliens try to depict Earth in the late 20th century, they'll cut to a shot of humans walking behind their dogs with plastic bags and tiny shovels. As Seinfeld himself might quip, "What's wrong with this picture?"

Amen, brother.