By Bill McGee, special for USA TODAY

"It's a needed service," says Alysa Binder, who co-founded the company along with her husband after their Jack Russell terrier Zoe encountered a rough cross-country flight in a baggage bin a few years ago. The so-called "pawsengers" fly in the reconfigured main cabin of a Beech 1900 aircraft, along with a trained pet attendant. The route map currently consists of service from airports in and around five metropolitan areas—Long Island, Baltimore-Washington, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles County—but Pet Airways has ambitious expansion plans for 25 North American cities within a few years, and Binder says South Florida, Boston, and Phoenix are next.

It would seem Pet Airways never would have gotten off the ground if so many pet parents weren't concerned about commercial airlines transporting animals. "This is our core competency," says Binder, who like many animal advocates is not happy that so many critters are forced into belly cargo compartments.

Obviously Pet Airways isn't the answer for everyone. But before you book a flight for a furry companion, it's critical to learn more.

How airlines have performed

In recent years the U.S. Department of Transportation has provided some insight into the problems encountered by pet owners on domestic airlines. Since May 2005, the DOT's monthly Air Travel Consumer Report has included Airline Animal Incident Reports. This requirement mandates that all U.S. scheduled passenger airlines report the loss, injury or death of any pets transported. These monthly reports can be downloaded at airconsumer.dot.gov/reports.

A review of the most recent 12-month period, from July 2008 through June 2009, reveals that thankfully such incidents are relatively rare, considering the DOT estimates 2 million pets and other live animals are transported by air in the U.S. each year. This is apparent even without calculating the exact percentage of animals carried by each airline, which is not provided by the DOT. In fact, there were no incidents reported at all on domestic carriers during the months of September, January and April. But of course citing such statistics to someone who has lost a beloved pet is like quoting similar data on the safe transport of unaccompanied minors to the caregiver of a child who is lost en route.

So overall it's difficult to formulate meaningful rankings since these incidents are reported without the context of total number of pets flown, let alone total distance of pets flown. That said, here's a rundown of the 32 incidents that were recorded over the last 12 months, with commuter airlines listed alongside their major carrier partners:

Deaths (21 total)
Alaska: 4
American: 4
Continental: 4
Delta: 4
Northwest: 2
Trans States/United: 1
United: 2

Injuries (7 total)
Alaska: 1
American: 2
Horizon/Alaska: 1
Northwest: 3

Losses (4 total)
American Eagle/American: 1
Delta: 1
Horizon/Alaska: 1
United: 1

As for the causes, each incident is cross-linked to the airline's actual report so consumers can learn from these tragedies. In some cases, pets were sedated or placed in improper containers, and in others airline personnel (or their sub-contractors) mishandled the animals.

Policies vary — widely

First things first: Is it best to travel with your pet or would he or she be better served by staying behind with family or friends, or at a kennel? If you're relocating, is air travel the only viable option? Consider the following advice from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: "The ASPCA urges pet owners to think twice about flying their pets on commercial airlines, especially if they plan on checking them in as cargo. Unless your animal is small enough to fit under your seat and you can bring him or her in the cabin, the ASPCA recommends pet owners to not fly their animal."

Such decisions can be tough, particularly because neither Amtrak nor Greyhound allow pets on board. If you do decide to transport your furry friend by air, first realize there are three options, though all three are not available for all pets. Some airlines allow pets in the cabin, though they must travel in a container and there are extensive restrictions on the size and weight of such a carrier. In other cases, an animal may travel as checked baggage, though there are size and weight restrictions for this as well. Finally there is the option to ship your pet as air cargo. Service animals such as seeing-eye dogs are exempt from airline prohibitions under DOT rules.

Each airline determines what type of pets to allow, with nearly all permitting dogs and cats. Policies for other species—ranging from birds to gerbils—are specific to that carrier. United, for example, allows dogs, cats and household birds in the cabin, and rabbits, hamsters and guinea pigs as checked baggage only.

With U.S. airlines, the rules and regulations for pets as carry-ons vary widely. The Federal Aviation Administration sums up the industry's "general procedures" by noting that most airlines limit the total number of pets, restrict them to their containers for the entire flight, and require that animals be "harmless, inoffensive, and odorless." You may also need to produce a recently issued health certificate.

Among the majors, fees for bringing aboard a pet as a carry-on range from $75 (Southwest) to $100 (Alaska, American, Delta, Northwest, US Airways) to $125 (Continental, United) for a one-way domestic flight. Such fees can be higher under certain circumstances and for international flights.

There also can be additional fees for pets carried as checked baggage and/or air cargo. Delta, for example, spells out your choices on its Pet Travel Options page.

Sorting through these policies can get tricky. AirTran allows pets in the cabin, but not as checked baggage; conversely, Frontier accepts pets as checked baggage but not in the cabin. And because of the heat at its Phoenix and Las Vegas hubs, US Airways bans pets in the cargo compartment, except on its Shuttle flights between New York, Boston and Washington (it's worth noting that US Airways reported no incidents during the last year).

Continental allows pets in the cabin, but bans them as checked baggage. Instead, they can be transported as cargo under the carrier's PetSafe program, which provides a 24-hour Live Animal Desk. Also, your furry friends earn you one OnePass mile for every dollar spent on pet transport, as part of Continental's PetPass initiative. JetBlue also awards TrueBlue points for pets under its JetPaws program.

Southwest previously banned carrying pets, but that changed on June 17th when the airline began accepting "small vaccinated domestic cats and dogs" for transport in the cabin only, in carriers that can be stowed under your seat. In fact, Southwest says "under no circumstances" will it accept pets in the cargo bin.

Important considerations

Consider all the options before you decide to put your pet on an airplane. Here are some general guidelines:

• Ask your veterinarian if your pet is healthy enough to fly safely, as well as what precautions you should take. Compile specific questions about feeding.

• Experts advise that puppies and kittens, sick animals, animals in heat, and frail or pregnant animals should not travel by air, and that "pug-nosed" animals should not fly in an aircraft's cargo area.

• The American Humane Association recommends that pet owners do not sedate animals prior to air travel: "Whether flying in the cabin or with cargo, animals are exposed to increased altitude pressures of approximately 8,000 feet. Increased altitude ... can create respiratory and cardiovascular problems for dogs and cats who are sedated or tranquilized."

• Despite marketing claims to the contrary, the Agriculture Department states there are no USDA-approved transport kennels: "Airlines or air transport organizations [such as the International Air Transport Association] do not certify containers. Statements such as 'airline accepted' or 'IATA Approved' are misleading." Instead, the USDA suggests you select a container that is "put together securely" (e.g., with locking bolts); contains metal doors rather than plastic, especially those fastened by four metal rods; and offers a "strong and effective" door lock mechanism.

• Make sure the container is the proper size. Also, note that many airlines will not accept a container with wheels. There are many other considerations concerning containers, so visit the sites linked at left to learn more.

• Properly label all containers and make sure your pet has identification, such as a collar, ID tag, and/or microchip. Affix a photo to the container in case the animal escapes.

• Acclimate the animal to the container prior to the day of travel.

• Bring along copies of vaccination and health records.

• International air travel can be quite complex. As the USDA states: "Each country has their own set of rules, some simple, some complex, and some require quarantine." For an extensive list of nations, visit the USDA's Regulations and Assessments page.

• Speaking of animal quarantine policies, they exist not only in many foreign destinations, but also in the state of Hawaii. Further information is available at hawaii.gov/hdoa/ai/aqs/info.

• Book as early as possible, since some airlines limit the number of animals onboard each flight. Reconfirm prior to departure.

• Always choose nonstops over connecting flights whenever possible. I found that several recent DOT Airline Animal Incident Reports concerned pets routed on domestic itineraries that contained multiple connections and three or even four flight legs each way.

• Consider the time of year and the time of day, particularly midday flights in the summer and late night flights in the winter, and how extreme temperatures might affect your pet. Some airlines impose embargoes at certain destinations and/or during certain times, or when ground temperatures exceed specified limitations.

The bottom line: There are dozens of restrictions and caveats about transporting pets by air, and all sorts of embargoes on specific destinations as well as certain times of the year. In addition, space is limited and usually subject to a first-come reservation basis. So never make a booking until you're clear what the rules are for that airline.