Eleutherian

Here's a more lighthearted story than what is usual for this site. A new airline has started with a unique clientèle. Pet Airways offers flights to five major U.S. cities, exclusively to pets. A husband and wife started the company four years ago with flights from their five modified aircrafts beginning recently (and seats on all flights are booked for the next two months). That's enough to make any airline jealous.

Pet Airways will fly a pet between five major cities—New York, Washington, Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles. The $250 one-way fare is comparable to pet fees at the largest U.S. airlines.

For owners the big difference is service. Dogs and cats will fly in the main cabin of a Suburban Air Freight plane, retooled and lined with carriers in place of seats. Pets (about 50 on each flight) will be escorted to the plane by attendants that will check on the animals every 15 minutes during flight. The pets are also given pre-boarding walks and bathroom breaks. And at each of the five airports it serves, the company has created a "Pet Lounge" for future fliers to wait and sniff before flights [emphasis added].

I mention this story to highlight the brilliance of the free market. The United States allows anyone (even a husband and wife team) to enter into (almost) any industry. When you hear of the "free market", the "free" means the market can be "freely" entered and entrants are "free" from coercion (yes, other definitions exist).

There was no government authority trying to create demand for an all-pet airline. Rather, an average American couple recognized the existing demand in the market and set out to meet it through competitive pricing and improved services.