United is looking at animals in cargo space

United Airlines isn’t accepting new reservations from customers who want to ship their animals in cargo compartments, but it will honor existing bookings.

United plans to conduct a “thorough and systematic review” and make needed improvements to its pet transport program, it said in a statement. The review is expected to be completed by May 1.

Meanwhile, travelers who have confirmed reservations as of March 20 can still ship their pets.

The change doesn’t affect pets that travel on board the plane, but that service also is being reviewed.

United’s announcement came after several highly publicized pet debacles.

The airline took responsibility for the death of a 10month-old French bulldog on March 12 after a flight attendant told the passenger to place the pet carrier in an overhead bin.

The next day, a dog was shipped to Japan instead of Kansas City, Mo.; it was eventually reunited with its owner.

A third dog was incorrectly placed on a flight to St. Louis, which prompted the airline to divert the flight to Akron, Ohio, the dog’s intended destination.

Last year, United transported more pets than any of the 17 U.S. carriers and also had the most pet deaths; 18 of the 24 happened on United in 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.