Planning an Airplane Trip With a Pet: Hints to Prepare for a Flight with a Dog, Cat or Other Animal

With more and more hotels becoming pet-friendly, an increasing number of pet owners are opting to take their pets along for the ride.

There’s a lot of preparation that goes in to planning a vacation with a pet. And preparing for a flight and making arrangements can be difficult if you don’t know what to expect. So read on for an overview of pre-flight considerations that cat, dog and other pet owners will have to address.

Will Your Pet Travel In-Cabin or In Cargo?

This is the first consideration for pet owners. Most dog, cat and other pet owners would prefer to have their pet with them in-cabin, but regulations require that all animals remain in an airline approved crate or carrier, that must be small enough to stow beneath the seat. If your pet can’t comfortably fit inside a small crate, then he will have to fly in cargo.

Is Your Pet Permitted in Cargo?

The cargo hold is subject to a bit more temperature variation than what passengers experience in the cabin. Therefore, there are limitations to what breeds can fly in cargo and at what time of year. These regulations vary depending on the airline, but the restrictions most commonly affect brachycephalic breeds, like the pug or bulldog, since the short snout does not allow for efficient cooling when the dog is overheated.

Also beware that airlines impose restrictions for pets traveling in cargo during the warm summer months and when flying to certain tropical destinations. This is designed to prevent injury to pets due to overheating.

Your destination is also a consideration. Some airlines will not allow pets to travel in cargo on flights longer than 12 hours.

Is Your Pet Old Enough?

Most airlines require that canine and feline passengers be at least eight weeks of age at the time of travel.

Make Reservations for In-Cabin Pets

Most airlines only permit two in-cabin pets per flight, and seven pets on the flight overall (including cargo). So if you’re planning to bring your dog, cat or other small animal on-board with you, then you’ll need to ensure that there’s availability on the particular flight. Once it’s confirmed that the pet quota has not been met, pet owners will have to make a reservation for their animal. There is typically a fee – averaging about $75 per pet – associated with flying with an in-cabin pet. This fee is usually payable at the time of check-in on the day of departure. Notably, these fees and restrictions do not apply to service dogs.

Get a Health Certificate

Airlines usually require pet owners to present a health certificate at check-in. The policy varies from airline to airline, but in most cases, the health certificate must be issued within ten days of departure. The health certificate, which must be issued by the animal’s veterinarian, verifies that the pet is up-to-date on vaccinations and disease-free.

Pack Pet Supplies for the Flight

A scared or nervous pet may urinate, defecate or vomit due to nerves. So it’s vital that pet owners take along at least two extra puppy pads and two extra towels (of sufficient size to line the bottom of the pet’s crate or carrier) in their carry-on luggage. If you plan to keep any soiled towels from the crate bottom (instead of disposing of them), bring along a plastic zip-lock bag to contain moisture and odor.

Also bring along a package of baby wipes to clean your pet following any unexpected messes. Pets are not allowed to leave their carrier during the flight, but in the event of a smelly mess, the pet owner can usually bring the carrier into the lavatory to clean-up. Dry cabin air, combined with panting that often results from stress, can lead to thirst, so also bring along a portable pet water bottle, with fold-down drinking reservoir to provide your pet immediately after the flight.

Also remember to take along your pet's leash, collar or harness, so you can take your pet for a visit to the great outdoors while you're waiting for the luggage to start emerging from the baggage claim.

In addition, pet owners should also visit the airline’s website for information on regulations concerning travel with pets.

The airline’s website will list all required documentation that pet owners must present, along with information on dimensions for in-cabin crates and carriers. In short, if your crate won’t fit under the seat, it will be transferred to cargo, so ensuring that a crate is the correct size will help pets and owners to avoid unpleasant changes in plans.

If regulations prohibit the transport of your pet due to breed, destination or other factors, pet owners can consider opting for a pet transport company. Most pet transportation companies ship worldwide and though the fees are a little more expensive than booking a flight in cargo, this is an option for families who are flying overseas, to a tropical or warm location, or on a long flight.

Related Reading:

Oct 22, 2008 11:11 AM

Guest :

I wanted to use this forum to remind pet owners that a pet carried on board a commercial flight must remain inside their approved carrier for the duration of the flight. They may not be taken out of the carrier. I am a flight attendant, and my airline's policy is: Not even the head out of the carrier. They may not be taken out to sit on your lap, look out the window, be tucked into the seatback pocket, "hang out" around your feet, sit on a tray table, perch on an empty seat adjacent to you, be carried or walked up and down the aisle of the plane or taken to the lav. Inside the carrier at all times. There are good reasons for this, and very good reasons for charging pet owners a fee to carry on a pet (even though the pet occupies space that would otherwise be occupied by your feet or a piece of carry-on luggage). I won't enumerate them here except to say that, from the pet owners' point of view, the chief reason is the safety of your pet.

Nov 18, 2008 8:25 AM

Guest :

You should also mention how Delta and NWA has recently increased their pet charges by doubling them to $300/Round trip carry-on charge
and $550/Round trip check-in charge.

Oh, and for Carry-on pets, they count as one (1) of your 2 carry-on bags!

This was to counter balance the price of fuel when it was at $133/barrel in July to... $54.40 a barrel as of yesterday.

Hey but infants under 2 still fly for free and dont count as one of your carry-ons!

Nov 23, 2008 4:40 PM

Guest :

To help explain the pet fee.....
Enough pet owners refuse to follow the rule requiring them to keep their pet in the carrier at all times that the pet fee is needed as
1. a disincentive
2 to offset the very real costs of transporting pets in the cabin...namely...the pet gets hurt (largely due to being removed from carrier) the pet pees, poops, throws up (in or out of the carrier) necessitating biohazard clean up on landing, and often replacement of upholstery and carpeting; the pet causes others on board to get sick, necessitating diversions and/or onboard medical attention and lawsuits/threats of lawsuits/settlements; pet bites or nips others, resulting in litigation; tick infestation caused the cancellation of a United flight this summer, a very costly ocurrence; animal is out of carrier (let out or escapes) and get hurt (for ex., by bev cart) resulting in lawsuit; etc. etc. etc. etc.
And yes, almost across the board, flight attendants believe that ALL people of ALL ages should have a seat to themselves, and that those under standard age/weights should fly in a car safety seat, where they should sit whenever the fasten seatbelt sign is ON.