Dog Jaunt

In an earlier post, I suggested that you pull your dog’s carrier out from under the seat in front of you and put it on your lap, after takeoff and before landing. I think the physical contact helps Chloe, and I certainly find it soothing. Southwest’s new pet policy set off alarms, however. On Southwest flights, your pet’s carrier must remain under the seat in front of you for the entire flight. Do other U.S. airlines have this same requirement? Turns out that some do, alas, so I’m providing you with two lists.

The first list below is of U.S. airlines that specifically require that your pet remain under the seat for the entire flight; the second is of airlines that either allow you to move her out from under the seat or that don’t specifically forbid it. To view the airlines’ complete pet policies, and see where the quotes I’ve provided come from, please visit Dog Jaunt’s list of U.S. airline pet policies.

In the second case, it’s never stated that you can put your dog’s carrier on your lap but it’s also not forbidden. As always, be courteous to your seatmates (make sure, for example, that no part of the carrier impinges on their space or blocks the armrest).

Please note that on every U.S. airline,  you cannot remove your dog from your carrier during flight, or allow any part of her to stick out of the carrier. At most, I will insert my arm into Chloe’s carrier, keeping the zipper closed up to my forearm so that she can’t poke her nose out.

So what will I do on airlines that require you to keep your dog under the seat? I will turn Chloe’s carrier (after takeoff) so that it’s half under the seat and half under my feet. That way, she has a bit more room, she can see me, and I can feed her ice cubes and treats during the flight. It’s no more than other passengers do with their carry-ons, and, as with their bags, it only takes up my floor space.

Airlines requiring that your dog’s carrier stay under the seat for the entire flight

AirTran (“The pet must remain in the carrier and under the seat for the duration of the flight.”)

Allegiant (“…pets must be comfortable while remaining in the carrier, under the set [sic], at all times.”)

American (“Pets must stay in their closed and/or zipped kennels under the seat in front of you at all times.”)

Southwest (“Cats and dogs must remain in the carrier (including head and tail) and the carrier must be stowed under the seat in front of the Customer (Owner) during the entire duration of the flight.”)

Sun Country (“Your pet must remain in its carrier and stowed during the entire flight underneath the seat in front of the passenger.”)

US Airways (“Pets must remain inside their approved container under the seat directly in front of you.”)

Airlines that allow you to move your dog’s carrier out from under the seat during flight (or don’t disallow it)

Please note that I have quoted the language each airline provides about in-cabin pets during flight — in many cases, the policies only say that the pet must remain in her carrier, which I regard as allowing (or at least not forbidding) me to put her carrier on my lap.

Keep in mind that flight attendants have the final say — if they tell you to stow your dog, stow her with a smile. It’s never a good idea to argue with flight attendants.

Alaska (“The pet must stay in its container (including head and tail) at all times while onboard, and be stowed under the seat during taxi, takeoff, and landing.”)

Continental (“Pet must remain in the kennel at all times on board the aircraft.”)

Delta (“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.”)

Hawaiian (“The animal must remain in the container while in the boarding area, airport lounge, during boarding and deplaning, and at all times while on board the aircraft.”)

JetBlue (“Pet must remain inside a closed carrier while at the airport and in the aircraft.”)

Spirit (“The pet(s) cannot be removed from the container during transit.”)

United (“United will allow the following pets to travel with you in the cabin if they are small enough to fit and stay comfortably in a carrier under the seat in front of you….”) Please note that this language is a bit ambiguous: It suggests that your pet needs to “stay…under the seat in front of you” for some period of time, but it could mean something less than the entire flight. I’ve been traveling a lot on United lately, unaware until now of this “stay” language, and having Chloe’s carrier on my lap hasn’t raised any flight attendant eyebrows. I think it really helps if you’re being careful to keep your dog inside the carrier and you’re not inconveniencing your seatmates in any way.

Virgin America (“Pets must stay enclosed in their kennels while onboard and in the airport terminal.”)

This entry was posted on Monday, June 29th, 2009 at 7:00 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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