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How Aviculturists Can Influence The Airline Travel Industry
Over the
years, I have written dozens of articles on dealing with the airlines and the
government, which many people have reported as being helpful. However, we can do
better when it comes to improving the relationship between aviculturists and the
air travel industry. To paraphrase the African proverb about children, it takes
a village to raise the awareness of the airline industry of our needs as
travelers with birds and I am asking for your help. Human
nature is such that people often will complain loud and long when they have a
problem but rarely do we express our gratitude when things go well. Never is
this truer than of people that fly with their birds. If an airline refuses to
let someone on board because the number of birds exceeds their policy limits or
they have to put their birds in the cargo hold because they will not fit under
the seat, I can guarantee, I am going to hear about it and so is the airline.
However, if someone has no problems at all, rarely do their airlines get a
‘thank you’ or other acknowledgment of gratitude. Most people feel they had
to pay too much and ‘it is the airline’s job’ but the fact is, airlines
are in the business of transporting people not birds. No airline is required to
carry any animal and we aviculturists need to respect that and treat our ability
to transport our birds by air as the privilege it is. This is
not only ‘polite’ but it is good for business – OUR business not the
airlines. They are going to have passengers whether we fly with them or not.
But, by acknowledging and appreciating their offer of transporting our birds
safely and efficiently, we facilitate the good will aviculturists need to
continue to travel with our parrotlets. It does not take much but we do need to
acknowledge that the airlines as well as the government have done us a
tremendous favor for allowing us this opportunity. Fortunately, this is not
difficult or time-consuming nor does it cost anything but a few minutes of our
time. How do we do this? As your mother probably taught you, a simple note of
‘thank you’ goes a very long way. When I
fly, I almost always use the same airport, usually on the same airline and at
approximately the same time of day. This allows me to get to know my local TSA
and airline gate agents and they know and remember me. I have established a very
good rapport with them as I comply with all regulations and try to be pleasant
to deal with. I also arrive early, am patient and courteous and I get through
security quickly and with very little disturbance to my parrotlets or other
passengers. Recently,
I returned from both the Great American and National Cage Bird Shows. I remarked
to one of the TSA agents how they ‘spoil’ me because they are very
professional and knowledgeable when it comes to inspecting my parrotlets and
that I wish they could train all of the TSA agents at the various airports. The
woman thanked me and asked if I would contact their supervisor and let her know
my thoughts. She gave me her supervisor’s card and identifying information for
the TSA team and I wrote the following e-mail upon my return from Chicago – Dear
Ms. Everett: My
name is Sandee Molenda and I am an exotic bird breeder that flies frequently
with my birds in cabin. I wanted to commend your TSA agents at CP5, under the
supervision of Bob Wilson in the San Jose airport. The
professionalism this team exhibits with regard to the handling of my birds,
which are very rare and expensive show birds, is the best of any airport I have
flown out of. They understand the fact that the birds cannot be removed from
their cage, therefore they always do a very careful and thorough visual
inspection of the birds and their cage in accordance with the guidelines of TSA
SOP11. They also use the equipment for explosive detection on the cage and again
are very careful not to hurt or disturb the birds. The outside carrier is run
through the detection (x-ray?) machine and again, they are always careful,
courteous and very professional. My only wish is that they could give training
sessions to other TSA agents at airports around the country. As
someone that flies frequently, I am well aware of the fact that TSA agents are
first and foremost concerned about the safety and security of the passengers on
airplanes. These agents are not only prime examples of that, they are also very
aware of the special needs of passengers such as myself and certainly go above
and beyond the scope of their job duties to accommodate me and my birds. I
thank them all for their superior efforts in protecting the flying public as
well as helping me with my very precious cargo. Sincerely
yours, Sandee
L. Molenda, C.A.S. I
received the following response from TSA: Ms.
Molenda, Thank
you so much for taking the time to share your feedback. Your recent experience
clearly reflects TSA's commitment to achieve our mission without compromising
customer satisfaction. I am glad to see that we were able to accommodate your
special needs. As you can imagine,
it is very motivating to know when your actions have had a positive impact on
someone. Your email is a testament to the how, in the daily performance of our
job responsibilities, we have the power to make each interaction a positive one
simply by being competent and professional while at the same time, connecting
with people in a genuine way. I
often tell our folks that the things we do that take the least effort can
sometimes leave the most lasting impression. I will share your compliment with
Robert and his team, their peers and the Management team and let them know about
the great job they are doing. In addition, the team will receive a letter of
recognition from our Federal Security Director and it is possible she may see
your comments published in our national newsletter. Regards, Stacy
Everett By
sending my letter, I accomplished several very important things. I was able to
bring to the attention of not only my local TSA the very unique needs of
aviculturists traveling with our birds but if my letter is printed in their
national newsletter, EVERY TSA agent in the country will be aware of the
protocols and procedures (SOP 11). It will also generate good will between the
avicultural community and TSA. I can tell you, TSA probably gets very few
letters of accommodation and MANY letters of complaint. This letter will be
remembered for that reason alone. The next time someone gets on a plane with
their birds, hopefully the TSA agents at that airport will remember this
exchange and be more knowledgeable and accommodating when it comes to our birds.
That is if, of course, if WE aviculturists ALSO obey all the rules. So, the next time you fly with birds and you have a pleasant experience, let the airlines and the TSA know how much you appreciate the privilege of being allowed to fly with your parrotlets. All airlines have customer service contacts on their websites as does the TSA. While you may feel they have an obligation to do their job, remember that their job is to transport people not animals. By taking a few minutes to write a letter, we can let the airline industry know that we appreciate their efforts and that we are willing to work with them. We also let them know that members of the bird-flying public are part of their economic strategy for success. With animal rights organizations, the fear of avian influenza and the airlines and government cutting costs to survive economically, we need to be heard and understood. Sometimes a simple ‘thank you’ can make all the difference in the world.
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Whether
I am at a bird show or convention, talking with parrot or canary breeders or
speaking to a group of pet bird owners, by far, the single biggest complaint I
hear is about the problems some people encounter when flying with their birds.
As someone that flies tens of thousands of miles each year with my show
parrotlets, ships customers parrotlets and have worked with the Transportation
Security Administration (TSA) on security protocols, if anyone has a problem
with birds and air travel, I am going to hear about it.