About Pet Travel With Cats Or Dogs On A Plane?

What are the procedures to Travel out of the country with a cat or dog on a plane? Is it possible to travel with pets on an airplane in the airplane cabin? and mostly is it safe to travel with pets on an airplane? So many questions, so many thoughts.

We’ll share information that we’ve learnt. We hope sharing our experience will help you learn more about traveling with pets on an airplane.

When we started out wondering about this very topic and searching for information, we had so many questions prior to our travel to the Dominican Republic. Today we’ve traveled at least half a dozen times with our cat. She’s the cat model in the image above, cute right? Why did we decide to bring our cat on an airplane to the Dominican Republic? Bringing your pet with you on an airplane and to a foreign country is a pretty big deal especially when your pets are involved.

Traveling with pets on an airplane to the Dominican Republic

This can make you feel very nervous for your fury family member. Let’s take a closer look at things and learn what it’s all about. Then you can make your own decision on what’s best for you and your fury friends.

Airline Pet Travel

The Health and Safety of your pet is the number one most important thing to consider. You’ll also need to consider the age and overall health of your pet.

The Health and Safety of Your Pets Traveling On Airplanes

I think this is a matter of opinion and your choice of course, however recommendations from the animal humane society should also be taken into account. The Humane Society of the United States recommends that you weigh all the risks when deciding to transport your pet by airplane and to consider all alternatives to flying. If you can’t travel by car for your vacation they mention that your pet will likely be happier and healthier staying at home with a trusted, friendly pet sitter.

Although there are times that you can’t leave your fury child at home, as in our case we were leaving for Dominican Republic for an indefinite period of time. We made the decision of course that she would travel with us in the cabin. We were very pleased to find an Airline that would accommodate this type of travel, thank goodness!

The Humane Society also mentions that if you have to travel with your pet on airplanes, the best choice is in cabin vs cargo, but again in cabin travel on the airplane is only available for smaller dogs and cats. They also warn to never ship in cargo brachycephalic animals such as Pekingese dogs, bulldogs or Persian cats.

Most Airlines Have Similar Pet Policies

If you’re fortunate enough to have the option of ‘in cabin’ travel with your pet that’s really the best way to go when you have to travel with pets on an airplane, for both your pet and your sanity. The airlines will have size and weight regulations, and certain breeds may or may not be acceptable for airline travel. Air travel in cargo can be particularly dangerous for animals with “pushed in” faces such as bulldogs, pugs and Persian cats. The short nasal passages of these breeds leave them especially vulnerable to oxygen deprivation and heat stroke.

This is another reason why in cabin travel is the better choice and why we were happy that we did purchase the pet travel carrier that has large mesh ventilation windows.

Side note: Our Cat, Valentina is a Himalayan cat but her nose is not ‘pushed in’. She is a traditional type. Her nasal passage are shorter but she’s not like the extreme face which is the pushed in ‘squashed’ face.

Not All Airlines Offer Pet Travel And Not All Airlines Accept Pet Travel In Cabin

Depending on which airline you travel with you can easily check on their regulations for Pet Travel directly on their website. If you still need clarity just calling them can be very helpful too. Remember not all airlines accept pets in cabin no matter how small they are. Some airlines don’t accept pets at all, so check up on that early on before you travel.

Book your travel with your airline early because the airline will only allow up to a maximum of two or three pets traveling on the same flight ‘in cabin’ which was a complete surprise to me. The airline also only allow a maximum of 2 pets per passenger. When I booked our flights, even though I was booking our flights one month in advance, I had to choose alternate dates as there were already 3 pets on the flight. You’ll also need to call the airline to book your flight as traveling with a pet is not an option that can be booked online.

Airport Security Procedures Traveling with your pets in cabin

On the day that we traveled everything went well. I was a little nervous about the airport procedures when it came to check in and going through airport security. It was our first time bringing a pet on a plane, naturally it was all foreign to us. I didn’t know what to expect. I searched and read up on everything I could ahead of time but to actually go through the motions is entirely different. If you’ve never traveled with your pet in cabin and gone through the airport security procedures, this is what it’s like:

First of all, remember that airports are such a busy place. If you stay calm, your pet will too.

For the airline check in: Everything is just as expected, the airline already knows you’re with a fury travel companion. When you travel in cabin with a pet, you need to go straight to the airline ticket counter. You won’t be able to use the check-in kiosks that they have now today in the airports.

For the airline security procedures: You do as you normally would in the security screening. You place everything on the conveyor belt including your shoes, purses, etc. You take your pet out of the carrier and ONLY the carrier goes through the security screening on the conveyor belt. DO NOT Leave Your Pet In The Carrier! This is very important! You’ll be holding your little fury friend in your arms and you will walk through the full body detectors together.

Be sure your pet has a leash on at this point, so you can safely contain them outside their carrier. If you feel that this is not possible, you would request a special secondary screening that won’t require you to take them out of their carrier.

Tip: Save yourself some time and nerves during the security screening. Keep your pockets empty of coin currency and keep your body free of jewelry. This saves a lot of time fussing around especially if you’re traveling with pets.

Side Note:
We didn’t have any problem with our cat. She stayed comfortably in my arms until the carrier came out the other side of the conveyor belt screening. I simply placed her back in through the top of the pet travel carrier, held her done a little while zipping the flap door closed. She was easy to travel with.

I took her leash off for the airplane travel, so she would be able to rest more comfortably inside her carrier. In no way are you permitted to take your pet out of it’s carrier on the airplane. If you do, you risk not being able to travel again with the airline. There are safety and health issues to consider. It’s a luxury to be so fortunate to have the option to travel with pets on an airplane and in the cabin! Read our review on the best airline approved affordable pet carrier here.

Tip: Groom your fury family member before traveling. A good brushing and nail clipping will make your pet feel loved and special, among other reasons.

Here’s our favorite Pet grooming tool it’s a fantastic Deshedding tool for Cats and Dogs, you’ll be happy you bought this one! We highly recommend it, and it’s worth every penny. Check it out!  This is the very one that we use for our Himalayan Cat, and she likes it! This is really beneficial to your pets health and the cleanliness of your home, you’ll definitely notice the difference. Do your friends a favor and buy them one too, they’ll be happy you did!

In a future post we’ll cover what paperwork is required for pet travel and what documents are needed to bring your pet on an airplane to another country, in our case, the Dominican Republic.

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