Question by evil_weezel: Pet Carrier Airline Questions… HELP!?
Well, I really wanted my 6 month old Schnauzer puppy to go with me when I fly to my childhood home in a couple of weeks, but perhaps now it may not be possible! This puppy is very small… but she is also very TALL, (hadn’t realized how much she’d grown when I originally bought the carrier..) her legs are almost as long as her body! She’s only 10lbs.
Anyway, the soft-sided bag I got her was 10.5″ high, and she appears to be too tall for it, (perhaps it was also because of the bed in the bottom adding height?) So I returned it and kept searching.
I called the airline’s reservation department and they said their restrictions for kennels were 23″LX 9″HX 13″W. Anyway, I asked if that was for the hard plastic or soft sided, and she didn’t seem to know, but that was what was listed on their site.
She is just a little -TOO- tall. If she lays down the entire time she will be fine, but I know the website also says they must be able to stand up and turn around. Has anyone flown with a pet to know how picky they are about that???
I found a Sherpa brand carrier that says “DELTA” on it, which is 11″ which is still just a smidgen tighter for her head than I’d like it when standing up, but she fits just fine, but it says on the tag “Airline Approved, The airlines quoted dimensions are for Plastic Kennels” Is this really true??
In addition, I found this carrier called the Sturdibag: http://www.sturdiproducts.com/4111/xcart/product.php?productid=124&cat=10&page=1 which would be absolutely perfect dimension wise, but says that it is 12″ High. It also says, though “Weight: 2 lbs 10 ounces (1,2KG) Weight includes washable fleece pad and 4-point shoulder strap
18”L x 12”W x 12” Height Flex™ (designed to flex down without collapsing to conform to all under seat Heights)” Even their extra large says this and that one is 16″H.
Has anyone had experience with these bags? Oh, and I am flying American Airlines.. anyone know how strict they are?
Is this really true? Has anyone used one of thses before?? How much can soft sided carriers collapse?? Would 3 inched be appropriate?? HELP I need to know if I need to cancel her reservation or not. I am NOT willing to check her as cargo, it is carry on or not at all..
Best answer:
Answer by Patricia C.
Right after I bought my Pomeranian puppy, I was faced with a family emergency and had to fly (on AA) to Kentucky. She was too young to board, so I had to take her with me. After reading all the strict pet requirements on AA’s site (they say you must get there early to sign paperwork on the dog, the pet carrier has to be only so big and the dog has to be able to stand up in it, etc, etc), I was worried that I might have trouble because she was younger than eight weeks.
So when I got to the airport, I thought I’d have to go through a lengthy process of filling out paperwork and them checking on the dog.
Well. it turned out that nothing could be further from the truth! There was NO paperwork at all, and they didn’t even glance at the pet carrier! I could’ve had a half dozen rabid weasels stuffed into that pet carrier and they would’ve never been the wiser!! All they were interested in was getting my $ 100 pet fee, which is a rip-off in my opinion, seeing as how the carrier counts as a carry-on and it has to fit beneath the seat, meaning it’s not taking up any extra room. But, I digress…. Anyways, my point is, I could’ve sat the carrier on the floor, checked in my other luggage, and not even mentioned I had a dog with me!! It doesn’t say anything about the dog on the ticket and no one questioned me about it anyways. Which is why, on the return flight, I did exactly that and saved myself a $ 100 bucks! The ticket agent didn’t even mention anything about me having a dog, so I didn’t either! Just make sure that when you make your flight reservation, you tell them that you’re bringing a pet with you, because they only allow so many pets per flight. Good luck!
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