In the News: Flying With Pets: How to Ensure Their Safety

With the holiday travel season in full swing, it's a good time to consider expert advice on how best to manage your itinerary. After all, Thanksgiving through New Year's spans some of the busiest days of the year for commercial flying in the United States.

But for those whose family includes furry members, it's also a good time to consider whether four-legged loved ones should fly at all. It's an issue that has been back in the news in recent weeks, after passenger Frank Romano's dog was lost by Delta Air Lines in Los Angeles in October, allegedly after chewing through a plastic kennel.

Can some animals travel safely, either in the cabin or the belly of an aircraft? Yes. But it's a more complex issue than many pet owners realize, so do your research.

Some pets should never fly. The American Humane Association advises: "As a general rule, puppies and kittens, sick animals, animals in heat and frail or pregnant animals should not travel by air." Furthermore, the Humane Society of the United States warns "air travel is particularly dangerous for animals with 'pushed-in' faces," such as bulldogs, pugs and Persian cats; some airlines will not accept them.

During this holiday season, some regions of the United States will be too cold for pet travel, while other regions will be too hot, making the booking process quite difficult. Minimum and maximum temperature guidelines apply, and they also apply to connecting cities along the way.

There are so many dangers, concerns and nuances involved in flying with pets. In doing your research here are some good references:

• The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' Air Travel Tips 
• The Humane Society's Travel Safely 
• The American Humane Association's Traveling 
• The American Veterinary Medical Association's Traveling with Your Pet 

All four of these organizations also provide advice for those who travel by alternate modes, such as car, bus, train and ship.

Before you query individual airline policies, you need to review governmental restrictions. The U.S. Department of Transportation provides guidelines on Transporting Live Animals for both owners and shippers at its site. In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration features a Flying with Pets page; it includes critical information on security screening and rules for pets in the passenger cabin.

For those traveling with pets in foreign countries or importing or exporting pets, there are specific requirements, detailed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For a rundown on foreign rules, country-by-country regulations are provided by the industry's global trade organization, the International Air Transport Association.

Once you've addressed all these issues, you'll need to learn the specific policies of the carrier you'll be booking, since they do vary. Each airline has its own rules on which animals it will and will not carry, specific regulations for cabin and belly travel and policies on containers.  Fees can vary for such services.

Let Rawhide Travel and Tours help you with all your reservation needs. Call us at (602) 843-5100 or visit our website: rawhidetravel.com.

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