Business week recently did an article about how transporting animals is a pretty lucrative freight business for some major airlines such as Lufthansa, Emirates, and Air France / KLM. Lufthansa alone transported over 110 million creatures last year though the number is a bit deceiving when you take into account the tons of worms and tropical fish included in that number.

Lufthansa even has an animal lounge spawning 3750 square meters that includes the latest in comforts for your animals such as slip proof flooring and a roof to keep the animals dry. No word on if there is unlimited alfalfa or upscale birdseed included with your stay. I assume Animal Planet would be playing on the overhead monitors.

Sample cost of flying a horse from Frankfurt to New York runs about $6,000 and you probably don’t even earn any Miles and More miles for the horse. Lufthansa also cautions, “Please also ensure that you arrive at the airport with your animal in plenty of time before departure. In Frankfurt you should be at check-in at least one hour before departure.” I wonder if you’re allowed to ride your horse to the terminal or perhaps walk alongside your pancake tortoise to check in.

They don’t only specialize in horses, but other animals such as rhinos, hippos, penguins, dogs and pigs.

The next time you’re enjoying yourself at a lounge in Frankfurt, just remember that there are some furry friends that are having an equally enjoyable time at the animal lounge and some parakeets are probably enjoying priority boarding.

Thanks to reader Sice for the tip

I’m surprised this doesn’t happen more often, though I would have suspected it would be other passengers rather than the flights attendants.

An Air France flight attendant was recently arrested for stealing from sleeping business and first class passengers on international flights.

She would remove money, credit cards, and jewelry from their baggage while they slept.

I’ve only had one problem with theft ever and that was a camera stolen from my checked in suitcase coming back from French Polynesia. I was much more naive back then and Delta actually ended up sending me money as part of a claim for a replacement. I’m much more wiser now and keep all my valuables out of suitcases and my passport with me at all times.

The best remedy for traveling is to stay smart and be vigilant about protecting your belongings!

Air France has their own frequent flyer program called “Flying Blue”. Sign up for their program here. When you sign up it says

To earn Miles, always provide this number when reserving tickets or checking in.
All the Flying Blue information will be sent to you by email.
You will receive a bonus of 1,000 Miles after you have received your first account statement by email.

Next, go to this questionaire for an additional 1000 miles. I always credit miles flown on Air France to my Delta account, however, Air France is considering merging with Delta / Northwest which makes this short promotion worthwhile.