Dog on a Plane

[ramama]

How do you do this? Do they come on the plane with you, or go to the cargo area? Do you buy them some sort of dog ticket? How much does that cost? Seriously, I have no idea LOL! We are going out-of-town for about 3 weeks and need to take our little dog, but I have never done this before. Any advice or tips?

[Ola_]

It depends on the size of your dog and the airline. I think dogs over 20-25 lbs generally need to go in the cargo hold while smaller dogs can be kept in their carrier under the seat in front of you. I'd call the airline asap to find out the details as most have a limit on how many dogs can be on the plane. You have to pay a fee which again depends on the airline (here I believe it varies from $50-150/each way).

[Annie Mac]

Call the airline. They will give you the rundown on their procedures.

[KalamazooMom]

Yes, definitely best to call the airline or check their website. We moved cross country several years ago and I ended up flying with the dog rather than subjecting him to the multi day trip in the car. We had to buy a carrier that fit the airline requirements and he had to go cargo because he was too big to be under the seat. He was pretty high strung as it was and we ended up getting him a tranquilizer for the flight and he did fine.

[KalamazooMom]

Forgot to say that I do remember we had to buy him a ticket of some sort. Partly because they can't go in regular cargo with the suitcases because that is not heated. At least that's how it was explained to us. I can't remember what we ended up paying but my memory is that it was about half of a passenger ticket.

[Sarah W]

Call the airline. Everyone has their own rules. You also need to check ahead to see if there is space available on your flight. Many have limits on how many dogs can be in the cabin.

If you want to bring them into the cabin with you, they have to be below a certain weight and you have to have a certain sized carrier. (It's pretty small) They usually require you to have a health certificate (that's w/in 10 days of the flight), but I've never been asked to show it.

I've paid betwen $75-$150 each dog each way.

My dogs rode in the area below the cabin for the first time on our last flight and it was a HUGE PITA. The dogs needed to be checked in at least 1 hr before the flight (that no one told us when I made their reservations) so we missed our flight. But you can't turn them in more than 90 minutes before the flight.

[lifeguard]

I agree with pp - each airline is different. You may also need to have health certificates & rabies certificates depending on where you are going.

I also dosed my pups with rescue remedy when we flew them to help with their anxiety.

[treemom2]

I'm flying in June from Fukuoka, Japan to Tokyo, then Tokyo to LA, then LA to Chicago, then Chicago to Belgium. I am flying on American Airlines. American will not allow any animals to be in the cabin during international flights. The Japan airlines also will not allow animals in the cabin during these flights. So, our little 9lb poodle will have to be in cargo for all the flights except for the flight from LA to Chicago. All the flights (even the US flights) require a vet health certificate for her travel. She also will require a rabies vax and a microchip (we are also getting a FAVN test done for our trip to Europe). The Japan flights require almost $500 as a fee. All the other flights are requiring $150 per flight. There are three ways to send your pet. You can fly with your pet in the cabin under your seat in an airline approved carrier, cargo, or as an extra baggage. When we called the airline, they kept telling me I had to call cargo. . .and I'd say well, I just want it known that I'm bringing a pet; then they'd tell me to call cargo. Finally the man at cargo explained the different ways of bringing pets and told me that reservations always tries to get everyone to send their pets cargo. Sending cargo is more expensive and from what I can tell, it isn't any better than flying with your pet as extra baggage. The only thing is you have to be with your pet if they are going extra baggage. In the summer, airlines will not let your pet fly (except in the cabin) if the temp at either location is over 85 degrees. Also, most airlines will not allow pets to fly if they've been drugged at all since breathing can be a problem. . .in fact, AA says I will have to sign a form saying our dog hasn't been drugged with anything. Oh, if your dog isn't fixed, and is female, they don't want her flying when she's in heat since it can be more stressful on her body.