Airline pet transportation
 

Has anyone relocated a pet (dogs) cross country via air transportation? Does anyone have any idea what airlines have the best reputation for getting your pet safely to its destination? Also want to know which airlines to stay away from. I'm not moving yet, I'm just getting info ahead of time.

If you do a search above you will find several threads on this. One of them mentined a new regulatin that will require all airlines to report the number of pets dying annually during transport as cargo.

I can only encourage you to transport your pet in the cabin if possilbe - or if not consider another option besides flying. (But then I would no more ship a pet as cargo than I would a child. It sort of depends on if you regard your pet as disposable or not.)

A lot will depend on the time of year you are traveling.

Most airlines have very strict regulations about temperatures...both for you departure city and your arrival city.

While I agree with the previous poster that the ideal situation would be to have your dog in cabin with you, size of the animal usually prevents most of us from experiencing that comfort.

The ideal situation would be a non-stop flight, with an early AM or late PM departure.

If you could tell us where and when you'll be flying, I can offer some helpful advice.

Marion

From where to where? What time of year? Cats or dogs? If dogs, size of?

Many airlines do not take large pets that must go in the cargo hold in the summer months. Continental is an exception, and in their July inflight magazine, their CEO uses several paragraphs in his column to tout CO's Petsafe program and its safeguards.

Unfortunately, that may have backfired on them. There are at least two superlong threads on Flyertalk.com's Continental forum where pet owners described how their dogs died. [Well, one dog didn't die during transport, but it broke open its carrier's door, ran around in the Houston sun for an hour, bit an airport worker, etc... and later died of heat exhaustion.]

Anyways, my point is that you should really really think twice. Well, make it 3 to 4 times, before transporting dogs on planes in the summer, if they aren't allowed in the cabin.

There was a rather recent thread here about someone losing their dog on a flight -- and it seems like it was on Continental (maybe I'm wrong) despite their claims of their special treatment. I was standing by the luggage carousel once when they brought out a carrier and sat it down with a dog in it which was clearly dead. I got out of there fast.

Drive.

Wow, Patrick that's awful. I can only imagine the scene when the death was discovered by the owner. I would have gotten out fast as well.

I'm facing the same problem in September. While I know I'm driving and my daughter is flying, I'm torn on my little dachsund, Frankie. The thought of 5 days in a car sounds like a lot for him to deal with,so I thought I'd fly him out. Now, between this post and the other much longer post I just read through,I'm terrified to put him on a plane. Continental now charges by the pound if I send him "Quick Pak" I'm looking at 200.00 for what they used to charge 50! Looks like my little Frankie is going to do the trip with me in the car, and I'll have to plan out stops as opposed to just stopping when I was tired to make sure I can get hotels that accept pets.I couldn't live with myself if my 2 year old went to claims to pick him up and he was not 100% OK.

klr, all LaQuintas and Motel 6's allow dogs. That may help with planning a cross country trip. Pick up Holiday Inn and Choice (Comfort Inn/Quality Inn/etc) directories and that will help in planning where to stop. I mark the hotels with dog logos in the directory and it's fairly easy to find a place to stop.

No way would I put a dog on a plane as cargo.

We've been looking at this question for some time in terms of our 2 cats. We had pretty much decided to board them with a friend while we drove across the country, settle into our new home, and then fly back to pick them up. We were adamant that under no circumstances would they travel in cargo, which would have been simpler for us, but they would probably be OK in the cabin. Air Canada would have allowed it, with the right pet carrier and for a fee. However, after flying out to BC and back last month we began to re-think the whole issue. It's so stressful for an animal - you can't explain what's happening and it's probably terrifying to be around so many strange sights and smells and sensations. Dogs can probably tolerate it better than cats, but I guess it depends on the individual animal. Anyway, we've now firmly decided to drive with them in a nice big crate in the back of the car, and we've got a list of cat-friendly hotels all the way across.

That thread on here about the dead dog was pretty sad. It certainly made me change my mind about flying dogs.

As the risk of being flamed to death, we flew our cat in the pet cargo area when we moved to Hawaii and again when we moved back to the Mainland (so driving wasn't an option). Every vet we talked to said that they would put their own cat in the pet cargo area rather than the cabin, and we thought it might be better for him to have a good sized carrier rather than being stuffed under a seat for 9 hours. He came through a little scared, but otherwise just fine (quarantine was another story). His food and water weren't even upset or spilled, so I'm going to guess that he was handled very carefully. This was United.

However, if we had to do it again, we'd keep him in the cabin with us. It was stressful not having him in sight.

Has anyone here ever been sitting on a plane on the ground delayed for take off for an hour? Or have you ever waiting 45 minutes or more for your luggage which was sitting on the ground in one of those closed containers while they waited for more ground crew? Imagine your dog in those situations in a non air-conditioned cargo hold or on one of those carts in the sun in 90 % heat and you'll have a good idea of why there are so many pet deaths. It isn't about the flying part.

If your dog is small enough they can fly in the cabin (in a carrier) with you for a small fee.

There's a wonderful herbal product called Rescue Remedy, available at health food stores, that might help Frankie to relax for his car trip.

I think you've made the right decision and wish you a safe trip.

Marion

Maybe anyone planning to fly a pet should check the airline's policies and guidelines. I remember friends had to re-schedule a dog's flight because the predicted temperature at one of the airports was too high. Family recently flew with two cats in cargo on Alaska Airlines in April when they moved back to NH. No problem at all except for trying to hold two cats and a baby while the pet carriers were searched by security. Some airlines won't fly pets in cargo during the summer because of the heat even on northern routes. Their lab rode in the car cross-country but they felt their indoor cats would take one day in a plane better than 5 days in a car. Don't forget, pets can get lost during car travel too. I would not consider flying a pet during the summer and even May can be questionable.

Sharing the risk with MerryTravel...

My dog has traveled as cargo not once or twice, but 4 times. These have all been long trips (6+ hours). The first time, when we got him, he was 12 weeks old. He arrived a little depressed, but got much better after getting out of his carrier. After this, we crate trained him, so he is quite happy to go in his crate every night to sleep. He's very used to it, and feels safe and comfortable in it (or at least, that's what the vet says)

The other times, we've always "shipped" him with a little water and food in the crate's dishes. We can tell that there's never a mess. There have never been any dings or scratches on the crate, and Chester always arrives a bit nervous, but he gets over it very quickly (usually after a quick trip to the 'restroom'.

However, I wouldn't dream about doing this in the summer. If the weather's fair (below 85) at ALL points in the route, then I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Having said that, I always look for non stop flights, good weather and I always fly on American.

By law, pets transported as cargo are tracked separately. The airline MUST be able to provide information on the pet at all times. They usually have a number.

Additionally, the pressure and temperature of the pet cargo area are the same as the main cabin.

I'm sure that there are pets that have died in transit. It would be interesting to find out how many, out of the millions that travel each year.

I have a friend who flies with his pet dachshund in a carrier in the cabin for a small fee, maybe $100. You have to book early as they allow only a limited number of dogs on board.

What a terrible story, Patrick. I would also never put a pet in cargo. I don't know what you'd do if you're going overseas with a large pet, but I'd drive anywhere in the States.

Interesting - these types of threads usually attract lots of posts along the lines of "we fly our pet all the time and never have a problem"

Maybe Patrick's and rkkwans's stories/links scared some of those posters away. Any single anecdotal report that "Our dog did just fine" won't be much help if yours is one that suffers or dies.

Now - kir6773 has options. She can drive or, since the dog is so small, it could go in the cabin.

katolb90: w/o knowing the size of your dog it is hard to advise -- but if it is large enough that it must go in the hold -- DON'T do it.

(BTW I have shipped a Scottie and a cat all the way from London to the West Coast - and they eventually came out of it OK but I would never, ever do it again.)