Pet fares
 

Hi, all. I just booked my wife and kids on a US Airways flight from PHL to JAX for the unbelievable fare of $118 round trip. Now, they want to bring our dog with them (they're visiting my inlaws). But, US Airways wants to charge us $200 for the dog, which will be in a small crate underneath the seat. I can't believe they're charging almost double for the dog (as a carryon item) as for the passengers. We tried to just purchase a seat for the dog at the $118 fare but the airline said that FAA regs prevented the dog from occupying a seat. Has anyone else encountered this, and does anyone have any (legal) tips for saving some $$$ for the pet fare? Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

I don't know what the USAir's regulations and prices are for transporting animals, but whatever they are and it looks like $200 and a carrier to be put under the seat, then you either hve to accept that or leave the pooch at home. It's not like USAir or any other airline will announce a fare sale for animals. There are no other ways around it, <b>except</b> if you are willing to have the wet nose travel in the pressurized cargo hold. I believe that it will be cheaper, just call USAir and ask.

Good luck!

This made me curious, so I looked on thier website. Among other things, it looks like it costs the same $100 to check Rover (or Rovette) as baggage or to carry him on:

http://www.usairways.com/customers/t...policies/pets/

The $100 is a flat fee, not a fare depending upon the flight, so I don't know what you could do about it. As AAFF said, airlines don't have pet-fare sales -- after all, the usual algorithms about filling seats to maximize revenues don't apply to that space under the seat.

<b>KT</b>,

Unfortunately it does say the following:

<i>Carry-on pets are allowed on the flight with the customer for an extra $100 charge</i><b> each way</b>.

So, for a R/T it is $200.

Going back to the original question, there is no way around it.

BTW, if you think you got a great fare, I just purchased 2 different dates, New York to San Francisco fares on AA for $134.70 (all in).

I meant $134.70 for each R/T :-)

AAFF We don't disagree -- I just said $100 but I meant that to be one-way. Sorry.

<b>KT</b>,

The <b>only</b> reason I pointed that out was so the OP didn't get a wrong idea.

It wasn't meant towards you. :-)

Five years ago, I sat across the aisle from a man and his dog on an AA flight from Philadelphia to Dallas. The man swore that he had purchased a seat for the dog, who sat in the seat the whole trip. The dog was served the same meal as the human passengers, and the owner fed it to the dog with a fork. No kidding!

Donna

P.S. The dog was very well-behaved, and never even acknowledged my cat, who was riding in his carrier under the seat.

Donna - I would bet 100 liras that the dog is a seeing eye dog for a visually impaired person. The person may not be 100% blind, but it's a guide dog nevertheless.

Thanks, everyone for your insight. Looks like it's either pay the fare or tell the kids they can't bring the dog. (Take a guess which will win out). And, I don't think I could sell a 7 lb. Terrier/Poodle mix as a seeing eye dog...

rkkwan: Please send me the 100 liras. It wasn't a seeing-eye dog. The owner said it was THE &quot;famous&quot; frisbee-catching dog. Although I didn't get to see him perform (other than eating off a fork), I did see the dog WALK through Security with the owner. :)

Donna

LOL, Donna! Bet that was a sight to see. :)