United Airlines has had a rough couple of weeks following a slew of controversial incidents including the forcible removal of a customer from an overbooked flight and banning a pair of teens from boarding because they wore leggings.

The airline has barely had time to recover from the bad publicity and they're already being hit with another public relations disaster.

Simon, a 10-month-old giant rabbit reportedly died during a trans-Atlantic flight between London's Heathrow Airport and Chicago's O'Hare airport.

The son of the world's biggest rabbit was en route to meet his new celebrity owner when the unfortunate event took place.

Breeder Annette Edwards from Worcestershire, U.K told The Associated Press that prior to travelling the 35-inch bunny was given a clean bill of health by a vet.

"He was fit as a fiddle," said Edwards. "Something very strange has happened and I want to know what. I've sent rabbits all around the world and nothing like this has happened before," she added.

According to Edwards, Simon was expected to surpass his father Darius and become the world's largest rabbit.

United sent a statement to the BBC, it read: "We were saddened to hear this news. The safety and well-being of all the animals that travel with us is of the utmost importance to United Airlines and our PetSafe team."

The company added that they have offered assistance to the involved parties and incident is under investigation.