United halts pet-hauling service after dog death, bungles

United Continental won’t take new reservations for its animal-transport service after drawing worldwide scorn in recent weeks for the death of a dog and other blunders in handling pets. The airline will review the procedures for its PetSafe program until May 1, including which breeds of dogs it will accept, according to a statement Tuesday. During that time, the carrier will honor existing reservations without accepting new ones for the service, which is for animals travelling in the cargo hold. United announced the move following a bruising week of public-relations fiascoes involving pets. “We think United’s issues highlight how fundamentally it has strayed from one of its core missions as a customer-service company,” CFRA analyst Jim Corridore wrote in a note Tuesday. United has already announced a plan starting April to issue brightly colored bag tags to identify in-cabin pets. The service suspension won’t affect those animals. Among other issues being examined for PetSafe, United will consider which pets to accept, said a spokesman. <br/>