Taking a pet on an airplane

[Cindyg]

Any horror stories? Our high maintenance dog is just a tad too chubby to be a carry-on pet. That means he'd have to go in with the cargo. That doesn't seem like a good idea to me, but I know people do it all the time. Any advice?

[SonshineLearner]

I'd try to squish him under the seat. Is he over the "rules" for under? If not, squishy is better than the cargo...

Carrie

[gingersmom]

My brother flew with 2 cats to Europe and one had to go in cargo.

 

I would talk to your vet about your pet and any concerns you have. My brother had to give medicine to one cat so he wouldn't flip out.

 

I would put a lock on the cage so if it is accidentally dropped the door won't open and the dog can't escape.

 

Travel during off peak hours and when it is cool out (not summer).

 

There are some sites online that give you more tips.

[Cera]

We've done it twice and had no problems at all. I think it really depends on your pet. Our (very large) dog was easy going and nothing phased her. She was also quite used to her crate. When we flew from the east coast to HI (18 hours with a layover) she came bounding out of her crate upon landing ready for the next adventure. The other dog on that flight didn't fare nearly as well. It was medicated for anxiety and had gotten sick in the air. The owners had to have it transported to the vet immediately upon landing.

 

If you decide to do it there are certain airlines that are better than others to fy with pets. We used Delta as that is the airline we have FF status with and it was fine but I know there are others that are preferred.

[fivetails]

Last November, we flew four cats as 'luggage' under the plane when we moved across the country - they were two per (huge) carrier, and they made out fine.:)

 

They weren't exactly thrilled with the trip, granted, but they were well looked after and as comfortable as they could be down there ~ we flew with WestJet here in Canada, and the airline people were fantastic about the cats. :D

 

One thing that I did - I took a piece of printer paper and put each cat's name (and colour), our names, cell phone numbers, destination, and a few other bits of info, then I had that laminated...punched two holes in each sign and used plastic ties to fasten it on the door of the cage. That way, all the needed info was right there if there was a problem, plus the airline workers could address the cats by name if they wanted to chat with them. ;)

[Aggie]

We love our pets, but I sure wish no pets were allowed in the people bin. Ds and I have horrible cat allergies and he's prone to breathing difficulties when he's even around a cat. :(

 

Anyway, we had our dog flown from guam to Hawaii where she spent the night. They put her on a flight to NY via Newark. When she wasn't at the NY airport, we called Newark to see if she got on the connecting flight.

 

The Newark people said, with a huff, "WELL. She didn't get on the flight to NY," in a real pithy tone. As if she was sitting in the bar getting drunk instead of getting ready to board.

 

Anyway, she made it to NY just fine, finally. ;)

 

Like a pp said, fly in decent weather and the animals are usually ok. I think some airlines even ban pets flying in cargo during very cold and hot months.

[fivetails]

I think some airlines even ban pets flying in cargo during very cold and hot months.

 

Which has, I've been told, way more to do with the handlers on the ground than the actual temp in the cargo hold. At 50,000 feet above ground, the air is the same temp in winter as it is in summer & the cargo hold temp is the same as it's always maintained at - the concern comes when the animals (and luggage) are unloaded from one plane to another on the ground... when it's -20C outside, suitcases can sit there outdoors for as long as they need to - delays/etc ... animals can't. Ditto for +35C in August. The handlers now have to deal with getting the animals to a safe, temperature controlled environment.

 

That's was I was told by a relative, anyway.... He said that the airlines like to present it as a 'temperature in cargo' issue, but that it really isn't. It's the ground crew/dealing with pets in cold weather. Makes sense to me. :)