While Fifi looked comfortable, many online observers were not, with fur flying over Rosalie’s travel arrangements and her tongue-in-cheek posts about how she treats her dog as if it were her daughter.
“It seems a bit sad that you’d prefer to spend tens of thousands on a dog and call it your daughter, when there are thousands of children in care homes that could become a real daughter,” wrote one.
“I just grew up where the cost of a dog in first-class could feed a couple hundred starving kids, get them some clean clothes and maybe save literal lives, so this is hard for me to see,” wrote another.
While some might criticise Fifi’s mode of transport, the pet travel services business is booming.
In 2021, the global market was valued at US$782.4 million. It is now forecast to reach US$1.3 billion by 2031.
A growing trend in the sector is jet share – the chartering of private jets by pet owners keen to travel with their furry friends and share the expenses with others. Facebook groups such as “HK Private Jet Sharing With Dogs” have emerged to help match pet owners with destinations.
Olga Radlynska Naudot, founder of Hong Kong-based private aviation company, Top Stars Air, said chartering a private jet with one’s pet is no longer reserved for the rich and famous.
“Travelling on a private jet with your pet in the cabin is safe, fast and efficient and provides peace of mind,” said Naudot via phone from Senegal where she is on holiday.
“And of course you get all the perks like a separate arrivals area, less security and the private jet experience such as lots of space and champagne.”
She said more people are turning to private jets because of the high price of commercial flights which spiked during the pandemic.
To charter a private jet from Hong Kong to Singapore, a popular route, costs around US$60,000 shared between eight people, while Hong Kong direct to Los Angeles is about US$280,000 for a 10-person jet.
Commercial flights also have restrictions on large dogs and certain breeds.
Fewer commercial airlines are accepting pets, she said, and many that do have cabin restrictions, forcing animals to fly in the cargo hold or as freight – which can be traumatic for both the pet and their owners, especially on long-haul flights.
And it is not only dogs that are getting the five-star treatment.
Naudot, who founded the business 11 years ago, said one of the more unusual charters was to fly 16 falcons from Qatar to Paris. Falcons are the national bird of Qatar and much revered, having played a crucial role in its rich heritage and culture.
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“The falcons belonged to members of a very important Qatari family who were Paris-bound for summer,” said Naudot. A couple of luxury cars, Bugatti and a Ferrari, from the wealthy family’s vast collection were also on board.
“My husband piloted that jet and said the flight went smoothly,” she said, adding the birds, which wore hoods to help keep them calm, were secured to the headrests of the seats. The plane’s interior was lined with plastic to protect it from poop.
Transporting 10 cages of pet doves from Hong Kong to the United States was another unusual request: “A woman also asked if she could fly with her pet hamster in her pocket”.
As for pet travel tips, Rosalie said to make sure a dog gets plenty of preflight exercise. A night flight is recommended to fit with its natural sleep pattern.
As for Fifi, it seems she will be spending more time at an airport, in this case the Charleston International in South Carolina after she signed up for its “Paws for Takeoff Dog Therapy Programme” that was launched in 2021 to help soothe anxious travellers.
Fifi is also a graduate of Dr Dog, an animal-assisted therapy programme operated by Hong Kong-based charity Animals Asia that takes registered therapy dogs to visit hospitals, homes for the elderly, orphanages and schools.
“The ladies at the old people’s home in Hong Kong were obsessed with Fifi,” recalled Rosalie.
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