Bulldog Kokito died after being placed in the overhead compartment on a United Airlines flight. Photo/Daily Mail.
Bulldog Kokito died after being placed in the overhead compartment on a United Airlines flight. Photo/Daily Mail.
United Airlines reached a "resolution" with a family whose French bulldog puppy died from asphyxiation when it was placed in an overhead bin.
The young pup, named Kokito, died in March.
"We are deeply sorry for this tragic accident and have worked with the Robledo family to reach a resolution," United spokesman Charles Hobart said to Fox Business.
The airline began issuing bright-coloured bag tags for customers travelling with in-cabin pets soon after Kokito died.
The dog was said to have been yelping in the overhead bin until it ran out of air and died.
The dog died in March, largely due to a move United has since said is against company policy. Photo/Daily Mail.
The airline's policy states all animals travelling in the cabin should be in a carrier and fit completely under the seat in front of the owner. It has to stay there during the flight.
In April last year, Simon, an oversized rabbit, died on a United flight between London and Chicago.
United has had to deal with a slew of embarrassing issues over the past few months.
Following the puppy's death, a flight had to be diverted after United realised that it had put someone's pet onto the wrong plane.
And a german shepherd was flown to Japan instead of Kansas City, Missouri.
United's disastrous year
APRIL 2017: DOCTOR DRAGGED
Three airport security officers at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport viciously dragged Dr David Dao off a flight to Louisville, Kentucky.
The violence was captured on cell phone camera by passengers on the United Express Flight 3411.
The graphic footage went viral and showed Dao's bloodied face after the officers dragged him down the aisle, dropped his head on an armrest, leaving him with a concussion, a broken nose and two missing teeth.
Ultimately, the airline was not punished over the incident, which sparked national outrage.
The US Department of Transportation said it found no evidence that the airline violated the 69-year-old's civil rights and there was not enough evidence confirming it violated rules of bumping passengers off overcrowded planes.
United has faced numerous scandals over the last year. Photo/Daily Mail.
APRIL 2017 - BUNNY DEATH
United sparked controversy that same month after Simon, a 10-month-old 1m continental giant rabbit, died on one of its planes.
The "fit and healthy" giant rabbit was expected to outgrow the world's biggest rabbit, but died in cargo hold of a United Airlines flight from Heathrow Airport to Chicago on April 19, its owner, Annette Edwards, said.
Bungling staff accidentally shut the rabbit in a freezer.
A mystery US celebrity buyer paid more than £2000 ($2900) to fly him to Chicago.
According to a USA Today report, United Airlines accounted for one third of animal deaths in the United States over five years.
The Transportation Department's Air Travel Consumer Report said 53 animals died on United flights from January 2012 to February 2017.
This compared with a "total of 136 animals that died on all flights".
On January 14, United Airlines Flight 1219 intended to be a direct flight from Denver, Colorado to Kauai, Hawaii, was diverted to San Francisco because the toilets had not been serviced.
About five hours into the trip, the pilot announced the flight would be diverted and when the plane finally landed in San Francisco, passengers got aboard another plane.
The flight, intended to last roughly eight hours, became a 16-hour ride.
Passenger Rich Anderson told Fox 31 that "everyone was disgusted". He was heading to Hawaii to celebrate his anniversary with his wife Kristin when the flight was diverted.
He told the outlet they were halfway over the Pacific Ocean when the announcement was made.
