- Wonder if she earned any frequent flyer points?
Long-distance flying is stressful for people, but it’s even more so for pets that have no choice but to travel by plane. All the noise, the people, the weird smells… there’s plenty on a plane for an animal to dislike.
Imagine, then, how Mittens must’ve felt when she made three flights within 24 hours — because she was forgotten on the plane.
The eight-year-old Maine coon cat is owned by Margo Neas. The New Zealand woman recently moved from Christchurch to Melbourne, Australia.
Naturally, Mittens was coming with her. Unfortunately, Air New Zealand didn’t allow the large kitty in the cabin, so she went into the cargo hold.
After landing in Melbourne, Neas waited to pick up her cat — and waited, and waited. Eventually, an airport staff member awkwardly broke the news to her.
Cargo handlers had missed Mittens’ cage and forgotten her on the plane. By the time Neas found out, Mittens was halfway through her return flight to Christchurch.
Neas immediately got in touch with the pet shipping company she’d hired to take care of Mittens, and they rushed to the airport to pick her up. After a quick health check, Mittens was back on the plane for her third and, luckily, final flight of the day.
Now, Mittens is back with her mama in Australia. There are a couple of silver linings to the story, too — Neas’ pet transport fee was refunded and the experience has turned the previously aloof cat incredibly cuddly.
Precious Cargo
On January 13, Margo Neas was ready to begin her new life. She was about to move from Christchurch, New Zealand, to Melbourne, Australia.
She packed up all her belongings — including her cat, Mittens. We’re sure Neas would’ve loved to keep Mittens with her for the flight, but unfortunately, that wasn’t an option.
Mittens is a fairly sizeable kitty, and as such wasn’t allowed in the cabin. Additionally, Air NZ doesn’t take pet transport bookings directly, so Neas had to book Mittens’ flight through pet carrier Move My Pet.
Altogether, Neas paid just above $1,100 to get Mittens and her crate transported to Australia in the plane’s cargo hold. The arrangement was neither cheap nor ideal, but what can you do?
The plane took off with Neas in her seat and Mittens in the hold. The 7.5-hour flight was uneventful and the plane landed in Melbourne without issue.
Neas cleared the immigration check and went to baggage reclaim to pick up her bags and Mittens. The bags showed up, but it seemed something was delaying the cat.
So, Neas waited. And waited. And waited some more.
‘We Have Located Your Cat’
After three hours of waiting, Neas’ cup finally overflowed. She went to ask for her pet at the service desk, and the ground staff member made some calls.
We can’t begin to imagine how awkward the ensuing conversation must’ve been.
“They said: ‘Look, we have located your cat — but it’s actually on the return flight to Christchurch,’” Neas recalled for NBC.
It turned out that the cargo handlers hadn’t noticed Mitten’s crate, as it had been sitting behind a collapsible wheelchair. The staff grabbed the wheelchair but didn’t realize there was something behind it.
Thus, Mittens stayed on the plane. By the time new bags started coming in, the handlers must’ve assumed the cat was where it was supposed to be.
Emergency Pick-up
After realizing what had happened, both Neas and the Melbourne airport staff got on the phone. The airport agent called the plane and asked the pilot to turn on cargo hold heating so that poor Mittens didn’t freeze.
Neas, on the other hand, called Move My Pet. She explained the situation, and a staff member from the company rushed to the airport to retrieve Mittens.
The good news is that the cat made it back to New Zealand no worse for wear. Move My Pet gave Mittens a bath and a health check before OK’ing her for her third flight of the day.
And so, Mittens got on yet another plane heading back to Melbourne. Seven and a half hours later, she was finally reunited with Neas.
A Newly-awakened Cuddle Bug
After she got her cat back, Neas filed an official complaint with Air New Zealand. She requested an explanation about why nobody took Mittens off the plane and asked the airline to reimburse her for the cat’s transport fees.
You might expect nothing to come out of such a request. A bit later, however, Neas received a phone call from Air NZ’s sales manager for New Zealand.
He reported the initial results of their investigation, including the wheelchair mess-up. Neas also received a confirmation that Air NZ would fully reimburse her for all costs related to Mittens’ transportation.
There’s also another silver lining to the story. According to Neas, Mittens didn’t use to be very affectionate — but after the airplane debacle, she become snugglier than ever.
“She basically just ran into my arms and just snuggled up in here and just did the biggest cuddles of all time,” Neas recalled.
Perhaps Mittens just hadn’t realized how good she had it until she got left on the plane.