Falcons on a plane: First class treatment for birds of prey

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(CNN)Have you ever boarded a flight dreading who might be your neighbor for the next few hours?

Maybe they'll snore, or encroach on your personal space, or perhaps it'll be a screaming baby.

Passengers flying on Qatar, Emirates, Etihad or Royal Jordanian Airlines, however, have a unique type of neighbor to worry about -- the pet falcon.

On these Middle Eastern airlines, the birds -- which have their own passports -- are permitted to fly, most often perching on their owners' arms.

Status symbol

In the Middle East, falcons are the ultimate status symbol.

And it's become routine for some falcon owners to have their birds join them, un-caged, aboard flights -- no matter if they're traveling in first class or economy.

This week, a photograph of a cabin full of the treasured birds went viral on social media.

Royal Jordanian Airlines is slightly more accommodating, and allows two falcons per seat and a maximum of 10-15 falcons in the cabin at one time, depending on the aircraft. But such passengers will also be charged three times the normal excess baggage rate.

German airline Lufthansa has hinted that it might allow passengers to carry their falcons on board in the future -- it developed a prototype bird stand in 2014, called the "Falcon Master", for VIP customers.

While it still hasn't been installed, a spokesman for the airline told CNN they were in talks with several potential customers.

"Our intention was and still is to offer this very special product to a small group of private and VIP customers who (are) traveling in a private jet with birds like falcons."

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Originally Published Here: Falcons on a plane: First class treatment for birds of prey
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