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Air travel with a dog

Hi,
I have a dog which weights 35 lbs and would like to take her to Florida from San Francisco by air. Does anyone know of any airline that will take a dog inside the passenger cabin? If not what is the best way for air travel with her? My last choice is to take her by auto across country.

Posted by
2355 posts

Can't help with your question but suggest you post this on the transportation section, you might get an answer there.I am pretty sure Southwest does not allow animals on their flights.

Posted by
492 posts

Most commercial airlines have an in cabin limit of around 20-22 pounds. The are small private airlines that specialize in pet transport, like flypets.com that you may want to check out.

Posted by
11294 posts

I don't have dogs, but my sister does. She has lived abroad for several years at a time in various places, and so has lots of experience moving her dogs internationally. What follows is what I've learned from helping her book this-I hope it helps. You should check every airline individually for their most up-to-date rules and regulations, as well as their fees. These change frequently. The usual restriction is that a pet must fit in a carrier under the seat to be taken in the cabin (in addition to weight restrictions as mentioned above). If your dog is too big, you can either take her as "baggage" (meaning she travels on your flight) or as "cargo" (avoid this). You have to have the correct kind of carrier for the airline, no matter what way you fly her (my sister once had to buy a new carrier just for this). If you are planning to take your dog on a plane (by whatever means), there are tight restrictions on how many pets will be carried per flight. Be sure to make your reservations early enough so that both you and your dog get space on your desired flight(s). When my sister flew from the US to India via Frankfurt, with her dogs as baggage, they were taken off the plane and brought to her during the layover (even though her other bags were checked through). She could comfort, walk, and water them, and both she and the dogs appreciated this. I don't know how it would work on a domestic flight, but you might want to investigate flying in two or more short segments, rather than one marathon non-stop. She found the personnel at both CDG and FRA to be very helpful with her dogs (I know this doesn't help you, but it may help others). I don't believe she's flown them domestically, so I can't help you with which airports might be better for stopovers.