Airlines' Policies

Click the letter that matches the first letter of an airline's name for more details about their policies. If the airline's name has a jump point, then click on it to get more details directly from the airline. Unfortunately, airlines change their web sites frequently so the jump points aren't always valid. We'll try to keep them up to date as much as we have time.

Here are a few people's experiences about flying their pets via cargo. Unfortunately, not everyone's experience is good. The US Airline Transportation Association estimates that 5,000 animals are hurt, lost, or killed each year when transported in cargo. That's about 1 out of every 100 animals transported by cargo in the States every year have very serious trouble. One person recounts their experience where one of their cats was lost and another's cage had 6 out of the 8 connectors broken by the time it arrived at the destination.

If you decide to ship your pet as cargo, please do not sedate them as they cannot regulate their body temperature and most cargo holds are not temperature controlled. The Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association reported that, "Oversedation is the most frequent cause of animal deaths during airline transport and accounts for almost half of all deaths."

Also, you'll need to be careful that the outside temperature isn't expected to be too high or low on the day of travel. If the plane must sit on the ground for an extended time, the animal may have a very difficult time with the extreme temperature. If there is an unexpected delay, notify the pilot that there's a pet traveling in cargo. Sometimes the airplane has a temperature control in cargo that only operates during the flight unless the pilot specifically turns it on.