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Reader’s report: Large SturdiBag on three domestic United flights (737-700, 737-800, and 757-200)

Reader Heather recently sent Dog Jaunt’s Facebook page a series of quick reports from the air about the under-seat spaces she and her pup encountered on several domestic United flights.  She kindly agreed that I could re-post them here (thanks, Heather!). Not being an obsessed dog travel blogger, Heather didn’t have a tape measure on hand, but you can get an idea of the spaces involved if you know that her pet was traveling in a large SturdiBag carrier, which is essentially 18″ long and 12″ high and wide, but will flex to fit into a space that’s, say, only 9″ tall.

United 737-700

Heather and pup were seated in the Economy section, and the large SturdiBag “fit just fine. Even on the aisle.”

United 737-800

Once again, Heather was in an aisle seat in Economy, in row 34. “I’m now on a 737-800, no issues on the aisle, but a box on the center seat. The SturdiBag fit pretty decent anyway, but only just.” She sent a picture of the partly-obstructed middle seat space:

It looks to me like Chloe's carrier would fit in that space lengthwise, but if the aisle seat works that's always a more comfortable choice. Please note that Heather did not report on the window seat space.

It looks to me like Chloe’s large SturdiBag carrier would fit in that space lengthwise, but if the aisle seat works that’s always a more comfortable choice. Please note that Heather did not report on the window seat space.

United 757-200

I added Heather’s report on this flight to a post I wrote back in 2010 about the under-seat space available on a United 757-200, because she had a different experience on her flight than I reported. I had found lots of space under the middle seat, and a workable space under the window seat, but Heather wrote that “there are electrical outlets between all the seats, so there is a big chunk from both aisle and middle seats. A good 5-6 inches is taken up. I think the window is unaffected.” She sat in row 36, in the Economy section, and she sent this picture:

Photo taken from the aisle towards a port-side window, showing the obstruction under the middle seat. The window seat space does indeed look clear.

Photo taken from the aisle towards a port-side window, showing the obstruction under the middle seat. The window seat space does indeed look clear.

I initially thought that there was an easy explanation — I was traveling international, and she was traveling domestic — but I when I re-read my post, it was clear that I’d been on both a domestic and an international flight on a United 757-200, and my domestic flight just looked different than Heather’s. It has been four years, though, since I wrote my report; it’s not unlikely that United has changed things up a bit. I’d go with Heather’s report, and choose a window seat when traveling on a United 757-200.

Thank you again, Heather, for taking the time to let other travelers know what you encountered! I’ve added this post to Dog Jaunt’s ongoing series recording under-seat measurements of the various planes we fly on. Keep in mind that most domestic and international airlines have rules about the maximum size of in-cabin pet carriers they allow on board (see Dog Jaunt’s handy charts under the “Taking your pet on a plane” tab above).