Flying with a pet????

[goofy4tink]

It looks like I'll be flying my ds's cat down to him in Jan. It will be too cold to ship the cat as live cargo, so she will have to go on the plane with me. But, I'm a bit concerned about the amount of room in that underseat area. Have any of you flown with a cat or a small dog before? I'm not looking forward to this but it's the only way. I'm planning on sitting as far back in the cabin as possible, hopefully the very back row, on the window to be as unobtrusive as possible. Would I be better off getting one of the fabric carriers vs. the hard sided ones in order to get it to squish under there?? I'll be flying Delta/Song from Boston to Tampa. Thanks for any and all insights!!!

 

[Dan Murphy]

How about in the seat pocket??

 

[tkldisney]

First, thank you for not using cargo. I used to work for UAL and we always hated to see people ship animals cargo. No heat, air, light,& it's not pressurized like the main cabin. There is plenty of room for pet carrier under the seat in front of you. Just make sure you have the right size carrier for airlines.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I couldn't find information at flysong.com about travelling with pets, but there's a lot at delta.com. Most important among ALL of this is, call Delta for specific information.

http://www.delta.com/planning_reser...ormation/pet_travel_options/index.jsp#carryon

"Pets As Carry On
Your pet can travel with you in the cabin for a fee of $50 one-way (to be collected at check-in) when traveling within the United States (except Hawaii), Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. Pets permitted in the cabin include dogs, cats, birds, ferrets, rabbits, hamsters and guinea pigs. Monkeys, pot-bellied pigs, reptiles, frogs, mice, rats, and spiders are not permitted. The following restrictions apply:

Your pet must be small enough to fit comfortably in a kennel under the seat directly in front of you. Maximum carry-on kennel dimensions are determined by your flight. You must contact Delta Reservations to determine the appropriate kennel size.
Your pet must remain inside the kennel (with door secured) while in a Delta boarding area (during boarding and deplaning), a Delta airport lounge, and while onboard the aircraft.
Your pet must be at least 8 weeks old.
You may not carry on more than one pet.
Your pet in-cabin counts as one piece of carry-on baggage.
If you're traveling to Hawaii, your pet won't be able to go with you in the cabin, and other restrictions may apply. See Pets to Hawaii for more information."

 

[goofy4tink]

How about in the seat pocket??

Oh Dan!!!! Poor kitty cat.

I've been to the Delta site. Looks like I'll be, ah, 'sizing' it up when I fly in Nov.

 

[doombuggy]

Definately check out the type of aircraft when choosing your seat. The window seats on the jets Airtran uses have less space than the aisle seat. It's been awhile since I flew Delta (flew one of their partners from MCO to Columbus OH and it seated less than 50 people - small!). I am going home for Xmas, and have really wanted to get a new kitty, since Midora passed away. I'd have to either board here or take the cat with, and United charges $80 each way.

Do your research and you'll be ready. It's great what you are doing for your ds! aw:

 

[NeverlandClub23]

Would I be better off getting one of the fabric carriers vs. the hard sided ones in order to get it to squish under there??

I'm sorry but this just made me laugh! I pictured a cat being "squished" underneath someone's seat.

 

[Adrienne]

i don't know what sort of policies that aircraft have in the US but here in australia there are a separate section in all commerical planes that is pressurised but in the hold that is used for cats and dogs. i was shocked when i found out that you still allow them on planes in the US. our health administration here discovered that the amount of diseases and germs that can be spread by a animal in the cabin was so great that they banned them a long time ago (before i was born and i'm 26)

Adrienne

 

[DisMN]

How about in the seat pocket??

DAN! LMAO!!

Good info here...thanks to everyone who posted. Needing to know this stuff soon for a relative of mine.

 

[Letsbgoofy]

There was a girl with her cat in a carrier on one of our flights last year. The cat was in a small, hard sided carrier. She didn't have to put him under the seat because the seat next to her was empty, but she said that she has put him there before.

They came around before the flight making sure that nobody sitting near her was allergic to cats. If you check with the airline rep. at the podium before you get on, they will help you get a back seat if you don't have one already. I have been on very few flights where every back seat was taken, maybe you won't have to put the cat under the seat longer than for take off and landing.

Thank you for not checking the cat as cargo.

 

[goofy4tink]

There was a girl with her cat in a carrier on one of our flights last year. The cat was in a small, hard sided carrier. She didn't have to put him under the seat because the seat next to her was empty, but she said that she has put him there before.

They came around before the flight making sure that nobody sitting near her was allergic to cats. If you check with the airline rep. at the podium before you get on, they will help you get a back seat if you don't have one already. I have been on very few flights where every back seat was taken, maybe you won't have to put the cat under the seat longer than for take off and landing.

Thank you for not checking the cat as cargo.

You know, I realize a lot of animals are shipped cargo and I'm sure it all works out, but I just can't do it for some reason. Delta says they have a pressurized, heated/cooled area for 'live cargo' but still....unless someone can tell me that it truly is okay to stick the cat back/under there, I can't do it. I wish I had a better feeling about shipping her as live cargo but I don't, so it looks like she's going as my carry-on and I hate the thought that I'm going to make the flight miserable for someone else.

 

[VLee]

I flew to Vegas once with my Schnauzer (who tends to be quite vocal at times). I used a soft-sided carrier, kind of a tight fit though since he is 25 pounds. The vet gave me some "la-la-land" pills to give him about 30 minutes before boarding. It worked like a charm...he never made a sound, just looked kind of drowsy.

On my layover, he began to muffle a few sounds, so I gave him 1/2 more slipped into a weinee I had brought along. He ate it and was in dream land the rest of the trip.

I would never fly an animal in cargo though!