A Comprehensive Guide to Traveling with Pets

This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.

Traveling with a pet, especially for the first time, is a daunting and stressful task — for both you as well as your furry companion. (That’s why we typically suggest only traveling with your pet when necessary.)

Of course, some animals don’t mind the jet-set life and make great travel buddies. Just like humans, each pet is a unique individual that adapts to the world differently. Whether it’s your pet’s first flight or they’re a seasoned, four-legged world traveler, these tips will help guarantee you and your furry friend have a seamless journey.

To read more on this story, click here: A Comprehensive Guide to Traveling with Pets

FOLLOW US!

Bored Puppy Keeps Himself Occupied Entertaining Other Passengers On Flight

It’s almost safe to say that long flights are boring and most people (if not all) hate it, wouldn’t you agree? Not to mention the flight nightmares a lot of people have been sharing online.

There’ll be some inevitable circumstances that you’ll come across during a flight and the only thing that you can do is to ignore them. But how often do you see a dog on a flight?

Pretty much all airlines require pets to fly below deck with all of the luggage. It’s rare to see a dog enjoying a flight together with human passengers. And it’s exactly what this story is all about.

To read more on this story, click here: Bored Puppy Keeps Himself Occupied Entertaining Other Passengers On Flight

FOLLOW US!

Pet Travel - Bringing Five or Fewer Pet Birds into the US

The USDA APHIS Veterinary Services (VS) defines a shipment of pet birds as five (5) or fewer birds brought into the United States (U.S.) that are not intended for resale. This does not include birds classified by VS as poultry (chickens, doves, ducks, geese, grouse, guinea fowl, partridges, pea fowl, pheasants, pigeons, quail, swans, and turkeys).

If you are bringing six (6) or more pet birds or any number of birds classified as poultry into the U.S., view the requirements for importing commercial birds and zoological birds and importing live poultry.

To read more on this story, click here: Pet Travel - Bringing Five or Fewer Pet Birds into the US

FOLLOW US!

Airlines and Cruise Ship Operators Have Announced Tighter Restrictions on Such Animals Traveling by Air and Sea

Anyone requiring an emotional support animal may need a few moments with that pet now: Airlines and cruise ship operators have announced tighter restrictions on such animals traveling by air and sea.

Southwest Airlines said Tuesday it is limiting the emotional support animals (ESAs) allowed on its flights to only dogs and cats, while Royal Caribbean is prohibiting all such creatures, reports said.

That means no emotional support ducks, peacocks or hamsters.

Southwest's policy requires that all such dogs and cats be restrained by a leash or kept in a carrier, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Dallas-based airline will also limit each passenger to one emotional support animal, according to the report.

Well, that didn't fly! United airlines refused to allow a woman, and her emotional support peacock, to fly.  You have to see it to believe it.

For service animals that are trained to assist with passengers' physical disabilities, the carrier will accept dogs, cats and miniature horses, the paper reported.

“We want to make sure our guidelines are clear and easy to understand while providing customers and employees a comfortable and safe experience,” said Steve Goldberg, Southwest's senior vice president of operations and hospitality, according to the Times.

Southwest's new policy, which takes effect Sept. 17, requires travelers with an emotional support animal to present a letter from a medical doctor or licensed mental health professional "attesting that the passenger must fly with the animal," the Times reported.

Several other airlines, including Alaska, Delta, JetBlue and United have also adopted stricter rules on pets boarding planes.

For travel by sea, cruise ships are tightening restrictions on ESAs, with Royal Caribbean prohibiting all emotional support animals aboard its international ships effective immediately, according to Miami's WFOR-TV and the Royal Caribbean blog, an unaffiliated industry site.

"We are updating the policy to differentiate emotional support animals from service animals that are trained and certified to perform a function for a person with a disability," Royal Caribbean said in a statement, according to the blog.

The cruise ship company also said it's "important to us that all our guests enjoy their vacation, which is why we put into practice this new policy," adding that the policy for service animals traveling with guests who have a disability would remain the same.

Reservations of travelers with ESAs noted on bookings prior to July 30 would be allowed to sail, the report said.

Other cruise lines Norwegian and Carnival also do not allow emotional support animals onboard, but does permit trained service animals, MarketWatch reported.




FOLLOW US!

United Suspends New Bookings for Pets in Cargo After Loading 3 Dogs Onto Wrong Flights

United Airlines is suspending new reservations for pets traveling in the cargo compartment after three dogs were loaded onto the wrong planes last week and a fourth died in an overhead bin.

United will honor reservations that have already been confirmed for PetSafe, its program for pets traveling in cargo, the airline said Tuesday. The suspension does not affect pets traveling with their owners in the cabin.

“We are conducting a thorough and systematic review of our program for pets that travel in the cargo compartment to make improvements that will ensure the best possible experience for our customers and their pets,” United spokeswoman Maggie Schmerin said in an emailed statement.

The airline said it would complete the review by May 1.

To read more on this story, click here: United Suspends New Bookings for Pets in Cargo After Loading 3 Dogs Onto Wrong Flights

FOLLOW US!

United Airlines Pauses Cargo-Hold Pet Transport After Missteps

NEW YORK (Reuters) - United Airlines is halting the shipment of pets in airplane cargo holds while it studies improvements, the carrier said on Tuesday, after the death of a puppy and mistakes in handling other dogs last week sparked negative publicity.

"We are conducting a thorough and systematic review of our program for pets that travel in the cargo compartment to make improvements that will ensure the best possible experience for our customers and their pets," United said in a statement.

United did not give a date when it would resume the PetSafe transport program, but the carrier said it expects to complete its review by May 1.

The move does not affect travel for pets flying in-cabin.

United's decision follows incidents last week in which dogs were mistakenly sent to incorrect destinations.

To read more on this story, click here: United Airlines Pauses Cargo-Hold Pet Transport After Missteps



FOLLOW US!

Dogs Get Their Day: Amtrak To Be Required To Allow Pets On Trains

Washington -- Dog and cat owners of America, rejoice: A five-year highway appropriations bill that Congress reportedly agreed to on Tuesday instructs Amtrak to develop a policy allowing pets on passenger trains.

The provision, tucked into page 877 of a 1,300-page bill, would create a pilot program for the government-subsidized rail system. According to the legislation, Amtrak will have to dedicate at least one car per train “in which a ticketed passenger may transport a domesticated cat or dog in the same manner as a carry-on baggage.”

There are some restrictions.

The dog or cat would have to be “contained in a pet kennel” that complies with Amtrak size requirements for carry-on bags. The passenger transporting the pet will have to pay a fee, which would offset Amtrak's cost of accommodating pets. The authors of the bill made clear that “no federal funds may be used to implement the pilot program.” The government is facing a debt crisis, after all.

To read more on this story, click here: Dogs Get Their Day:Amtrak To Be Required To Allow Pets On Trains

FOLLOW US!

Delta Passengers Will No Longer Be Able to Transport Pets as Checked Baggage in a New Policy Effective March 1, 2016

Delta passengers will no longer be able to transport pets as checked baggage in a new policy effective March 1, 2016, the airline announced in a statement on its website. Customers may also ship pets for travel within the United States as freight through Delta Cargo.

According to a New York Post analysis of U.S. Department of Transportation data, Delta recorded the highest number of pet deaths between May 2005 and September 2015. 74 pets died on Delta flights during that period, accounting for approximately 25 percent of airline pet deaths in the U.S. Additionally, 14 pets have gone missing. In 2011, Delta banned snub-nosed dogs and cats from traveling in the cargo compartment after incidents involving breeds with respiratory problems. After March 1, American Airlines will be the only U.S.-based airline to allow pets to travel in the checked baggage compartment.

Delta's new policy will have one exception: Members of the military with active transfer orders will be allowed to transport a pet as checked baggage. 

Additionally, Delta will continue to accept service and emotional support animals that comply with federal regulations, including proper documentation.

Delta has said it will contact customers with bookings after March 1 that are known to include pets as checked bags. Delta is also advising customers that choose to ship pets via Delta Cargo that:

• A separate booking from their flight itinerary is required.  Additional fees and charges may apply.

• A pet shipped domestically via Delta Cargo cannot be booked until 14 days prior to departure.

• Pets are not guaranteed to be shipped on a customer’s same flight or flight schedule.

• Shipping a pet requires dropping it off at a Delta Cargo location at least three hours before departure time at a location separate from passenger check-in.

• Picking up a pet will also occur at a Delta Cargo location.

• Delta Cargo will only accept international pet shipments from International Pet and Animal Transportation Association members. International customers should visit ipata.org to find an approved member to assist with their transportation requirements.

Delta has said that pets transported via Delta Cargo are monitored closely by customer service teams during their travel. While at airports, pets are handled in temperature-controlled holding areas and vans. Also, Delta Cargo enlists professional kenneling services if overnight stays are required.

Members of the military with active transfer orders will still be allowed to transport a pet as checked baggage.

FOLLOW US!

Delta Air Lines Inc. Will Offer the First Pet-Tracking Device: Customers Will Be Able to Monitor Their Pets in Real Time

Delta Air Lines Inc. will offer what it says is the first pet-tracking device to reassure passengers who are separated from their beloved furry companions during flights.

Delta customers will be able to monitor their pets in real time, with data on the surrounding temperature and whether the animal is right-side up or sitting askew. The gadget was developed by Sendum Wireless Corp. and will be available for $50 per flight from 10 U.S. airports.

“When things go wrong with a pet, it often goes horribly wrong,” said Neel Jones Shah, an airline adviser to Burnaby, British Columbia-based Sendum and former Delta cargo executive.

The new GPS gadget wasn’t specifically meant to address the airline’s past trouble with animal shipments, Delta spokesman Morgan Durrant said. United Continental Holdings Inc. said it’s also testing a pet tracking device. Sendum’s PT300 has uses beyond monitoring live animals, including temperature-sensitive organ transplants, Durrant said.

It’s the furry friends that make the headlines, however, and transporting animals can be a tricky business. The Humane Society of the United States urges people not to ship their pets by air “unless absolutely necessary,” according to its website.

English bulldogs, Pekingese and other dogs with short snouts have may have trouble breathing during flights, so much so that some airlines ban the breeds, said Walter Woolf, a veterinarian and owner of pet mover Air Animal Inc. in Tampa, Florida.

The number of animals that die while in an airline’s care has been dropping in recent years.

Delta has had the most animal deaths among U.S. carriers in the past five years, with 51, though it has had only 6 since 2013, Transportation Department data show. In 2014, U.S. airlines reported 17 animal deaths, including some that were out of the airline’s control. That’s down from 39 in 2010.

Delta, based in Atlanta, will offer the new GPS-based device to owners who bring animals to the Delta Cargo facility at New York’s LaGuardia and nine other airports in Atlanta; Cincinnati; Detroit; Los Angeles; Memphis, Tennessee; Minneapolis/St. Paul; Seattle; Salt Lake City; and Tampa. The service is not available for pets sent by checked baggage at the passenger terminal.

Placed on the animal’s crate, the device notes location, ambient temperature and other factors, including how the crate is positioned. If the temperature rises above 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 Celsius), for example, it will shoot an an alert to Delta’s call center, Shah said. The pet owners also can check on their animal’s stats by visiting a website, he said.

A caveat is that the system only sends alerts before and after a flight because restrictions on cellular communications prevent it from sending notices while airborne, Shah said. Still, many of the accidents that cause an animal to go missing or die occur at the airport and not in the air, he said.

Woolf, the animal shipper, regularly plots round-the-world flights for pets, recently shipping a dog from Sydney to London and another animal from San Francisco to Zurich. He’s not convinced people will pay extra for real-time following of pets, since all animals already get a tracking code called an airway bill.

Sendum is hoping pets offer a new venue for its monitors, which more often are used to keep tabs on alcohol and tobacco and to make sure seafood is kept cold, founder Wayne Chester said.


FOLLOW US!

Transportation Department Strengthens Pet Safety Rule

Travelers who fly with their pets will have access to more information about the loss, injury or death of an animal during air transport under a new rule finalized by the U.S. Department of Transportation on Wednesday.

The rule, which will go into effect Jan. 1, will change the number of carriers required to report incidents from 14 to 27, according to Reuters. Previously only the larger airlines had to provide the information.

The rule also expands the definition of "animal" to include all cats and dogs transported by a carrier, including those being shipped by a breeder. Previously, only pets traveling with owners were taken into account.

All carriers that the rule applies to will now have to file a calendar-year report that will include the total number of animals transported in addition to the total number that are lost, injured or die.

The Transportation Department has been publishing such incidents in its monthly Air Travel Consumer Report but the new rule will provide much more information.

"This rule will provide consumers with a fuller picture of an airline's safety record when it comes to transporting animals," U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a written statement. "Consumers deserve clear and accurate information when choosing among air transportation options."

FOLLOW US!