DALLAS-FORT WORTH — At a recent event for American Airlines, I found myself talking with Jim Butler, President of American Airlines Cargo. In the exciting world of travel, Cargo is usually a topic that’s considered fairly ‘dry’. That’s until we started talking about all the unusual things he and his team transport on a daily basis.

Airline passengers often don’t realize that it’s not just their luggage that travels in the hold under their seats. There’s a whole range of interesting and fascinating objects that are moved by air cargo right beneath their feet.

AA operates one of the largest cargo networks in the world, with cargo terminals and interline connections across the globe. Every day, American transports cargo between major cities in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia Pacific.

Here are some of the most unusual things that may be transported underneath your seat on your next flight:

1) Sharks

Yes, that’s right ­ sharks!

Recently AA transported two sharks from the U.S. to South America in their tanks. Butler mentioned that the sides of the tank were frosted but the top was see-through, meaning that passengers could see them being loaded into the cargo hold.

How Hollywood hasn’t jumped all over that one is beyond me.

From the side you might think this might be a water tank being delivered

But from the top and you can see you have two more guests on your flight. (Credit: American Airlines Cargo).