Anyone flown their pet on board a SW flight?

[FINFAN]

I may be flying into Ft. Myers to get my mom and her little dog too....(hee hee hee ) and then bring them back to Il. This is an iffy trip so planning on booking SW because of the liberal cancel/change policy. The dog is small enough to put in a FAA approved carrier under the seat, but I am not sure how SW works theri animal rules. My mom also uses a walker, and most likely a wheelchair for the length of the airport. Can you store the walker on the plane or must it go into the luggage underside? I am just a litttle concerned as the walker can get bent out of alignment and it will be rough if that happens and trying tohandle the dog and all. Also, any opinions of how traveling w/a pet goes? Do you need to arrive even earlier...any special /extra steps, stages to go thru? Pretty much gonna knock the dog out as he will be scared, but I do know he will need to go "out" at some point!


Thanks,


Pam

 

[Brikate]

from the Southwest site ...

"Southwest Airlines does not accept live animals in the aircraft cabin or cargo compartment other than fully trained service animals accompanying a person with a disability or being delivered to a person with a disability.

For more information regarding Southwest Airlines policies, please see the Contract of Carriage."

While I Love SW, this does make me sad as I would enjoy taking my tiny pupster along sometime but I totally understand. Good Luck!

 

[FINFAN]

Thanks Brikate...that pretty much changes everything. ATA allowed pets on board, but they no longer fly that route...sigh...this is gonna be complicated. I really appreciate your post.


Pam

 

[debster812]

Spiritair flies from O'Hare into Ft Myers, and according to this copy/paste


Traveling with Pets & Service Animals

Pets are defined as dogs, cats and domestic birds. The number of pets allowed in the cabin or as cargo is subject to space availability. A fee of $50 each way per pet is charged at check-in at the airport ticket counter. These fees cannot be prepaid prior to the day of departure.

Carry-On Pets

A maximum of 4 pet containers is permitted in the cabin on all domestic flights including San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The animal must be in a container subject to inspection and approval by Spirit. The passenger is responsible for assuring that the container meets all government requirements for safe and humane transport.

Dimensions of container must not exceed 18" length + 14" width + 9" height and must fit beneath the seat. Soft-sided containers are allowed in the cabin.

One or more similar animals may be in the same container so long as each pet is free to stand in an upright position and freely move about the container. Animals must remain in the container at all times while on board the aircraft.

The fee to transport pets in the cabin is $50 each way per container

They might be another good option for you to look at.

 

[allonte]

I would tell Mom to take the dog to a vet and get a throurough health check before the flight and to get the results in writing. My friend does that before traveling with her cat and it makes life easier for the both of them.