Corgis fly SIA business class from US to S'pore, get celebrity treatment from airport staff

Doggos travelling in style.

Ilyda Chua | November 30, 2022, 03:53 PM

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Passengers on a Singapore Airlines flight from San Francisco to Singapore were treated to an adorable sight: a "corgi seating area" featuring two fluffy doggos.

In addition to enjoying the luxurious business class cabin, corgis Mindy and Peanut were given "celebrity treatment" by the crew.

Photo from Tommy Suriwong/FB.

Lucky doggos.

Spent flight sleeping and cuddling

The incident was shared on Facebook by their owner, Tommy Suriwong.

"We relocated from Bay Area to Thailand [and] thus had to bring our dogs on a one-way ride to Thailand with us," he wrote in the post.

The long journey included a flight from San Francisco to Singapore — an approximately 17-hour flight.

Fortunately, both dogs were seated comfortably with their owners in business class.

Suriwong said the dogs were very well behaved and "mostly just slept and cuddled".

Took measures to ensure smooth flight

While pets are generally not allowed in the flight cabin, assistance and emotional support dogs — such as Mindy and Peanut — are exceptions.

According to the SIA website, a smaller dog may sit on its human's lap, while larger dogs must sit on the cabin floor in front of the passenger seat.

A moisture-absorbent material must also be placed on the cabin floor beneath the dog at all times.

In Mindy and Peanut's case, their responsible pawrents went the extra mile, packing pee pads, poop bags, and baby wipes for the trip.

They also modified the dogs' feeding and water schedule a month in advance to reduce the chances of them needing to relieve themselves.

To get them acclimatised to flight conditions, the couple had them listen to airplane sounds on YouTube a few nights before the flight.

They also took the pair to the airport a few weeks before the flight to meet the ground crew.

"Totally worked!" he reported.

"The dogs got the celebrity treatment (as usual) with the ground crew taking selfies with them and giving them lots of cuddles and pats [sic]."

I mean, understandable.

Photo via Mindy the Corgi/FB.

Photo via Mindy the Corgi/FB.

As a final measure, the couple fed them gabapentin — a medication sometimes prescribed for anxiety in dogs — at regular intervals.

"We timed it perfectly so they’d fall sleep right as we were about to take off and land," he explained.

Additional seats not purchased

In response to Mothership's queries, SIA confirmed that the corgis were emotional support dogs.

Additional seats were not purchased for them.

A spokesperson from SIA said that emotional support dogs may travel with customers on SIA flights across all cabin classes.

This is as long as they comply with the conditions of the airline and the regulations of the departure, transit, and destination countries.

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Top image via Mindy the Corgi/FB.