Making sure that your Pet Transportation Plans go Smoothly this Vacation
Perhaps it was only a matter of time before this happened. But vacations these days are most decidedly not just for people. They can just as often be for their little pets. Hotels are bringing in room service for pets and other special facilities for them as well. Don't be surprised when you read on a list of hotel amenities about special soft beds for dogs and cats, massages and special menus. They even have pet consultants on the payroll. So what you do with your pet once you are at your vacation destination is pretty much decided. The only problem left to consider has to do with the whole pet transportation problem. How do you get your pet there? Just handing your pet over to the airline (together with a $100 fee for the flight) doesn't seem good enough anymore.
Not after a half-dozen puppies died on an American Airlines flight to Chicago. The fee that an airline charges to fly your pet can vary depending on the way you choose to fly. If you have a small pet whose cage will fit under your seat, that costs the least. Checking your pet in requires special handling charges. Sometimes their charges can be as high as $500 for a round-trip. In many cases, it's more expensive than flying a child by himself.
Airlines now are terrified of things going wrong with pet transportation contracts. They have elaborate rules for what breeds they will accept. Snubnosed dogs like bulldogs for instance, are banned on Delta. They have trouble breathing in the low-pressure environment they are subjected to in flight. In general, many airlines refuse to accept pets when the temperature outside is above 85 degrees or below 20 degrees. But that's not to be taken to mean that the airlines aren't trying hard to be pet-friendly. Delta, on some of its airplanes has a special climate-controlled section for pets. JetBlue has its jet Paws frequent-flier program for people traveling with their pets. And Frontier Airlines now does its pet transportation in the main passenger cabin as opposed to the cargo hold. Here are a few ideas on how best to transport your pets.
Before you actually make a reservation, you want to be able to speak to customer care about the exact dimensions of your pet carrier and the exact breed of pet you are carrying. If you want a pet carrier that will always be accepted on airplanes, buy an airliner-compliant pet carrier from Sherpa.
Airlines have limited space for pet transportation. So you probably need to book early and pay your pet transportation fees early so that you don't find your pet bumped. Pet Airways is a special pets-only airline (except for the crew, presumably). They have limited service across about a dozen destinations around the country. They even have flight attendants who will check on every pet once every few minutes to make sure everyone's doing okay.
No news is good news.
