Pets Travel ‘Fur-st Class’ With New Airline Program

Pets can travel a number of ways on a variety of airlines. Most accept them as a carry-on, some allow them as a checked bag and others allow pets to be shipped as cargo. Up until now, the process was to get a health certificate for the pet, book the flight, bring the pet and that was about it. Now, a new program has partnered a major airline with a leading veterinary practice to add a pre-flight program that promises to improve the whole experience.

Partnering with 800-hospital strong Banfield Pet Hospital, Alaska Air customers traveling with or shipping their pets in its new “Fur-st Class Care” service, get a free office visit, travel consultation and $10 discount on the health certificate required for all pets traveling in the cabin, as baggage or as air cargo.

“We know pets play an important role in our lives and we share Alaska’s commitment to fostering the human-pet bond by being one of the leading airlines for pet travel,” said Dr. Karen Johnson, vice president and client advocate for Banfield Pet Hospital. “When it comes to pets, there is nothing more important than ensuring their health and safety whether at home or on a trip. We’re proud to partner with such a well-respected organization that has a great track record of pet safety during travel.”After completing the pre-flight program, Alaska Airlines allows passengers to travel with their pets in the cabin as part of its “Fur-st Class Care” service. The airline also offers “PetStreak Animal Express” service for shipping animals via air freight in a safe and caring environment when their owner isn’t traveling with them.

“Alaska is one of few airlines that still welcomes pets onboard – both in the cabin and the cargo hold – and we’re committed to pet care and safety,” said Torque Zubeck, managing director of Alaska Air Cargo. Alaska Airlines employees receive specialized training in safely transporting pets and now exceed government guidelines by implementing new, safer kennel standards for animals traveling in the airplane hold starting in May.

Alaska Airlines should know what they are talking about. The airline, named most pet-friendly by Smarter Traveler, flew nearly 83,000 pets throughout its route system last year.



[Flickr photo by Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI)]

Traveling with dogs: Portland tops the list for pet-friendly travel

Your four-legged friends are part of the family, so it’s no surprise that they want to come on summer vacation too. Many hotel chains (such as Ritz-Carlton and Kimpton, whose hotel, The Alexis, is featured at right) ensure that some or all of their properties are able to accommodate pets, but they cannot guarantee that Fido or Fifi can come with you once you choose to leave the hotel.

As all pet owners know, a bored dog is a destructive dog, and so we often choose to take our pooch to destinations where they can join us on sightseeing excursions. According to DogFriendly.com, the these top ten cities were chosen for their high quantity of pet-friendly accommodations, transportation, beaches, park, attractions, stores, dining and more.

The winner this year? Portland, Oregon, where dogs can explore Rose Gardens and the Lucky Lab. Other winners?

[Flickr via Jeffrey Beall]

Chicago
Home to the Navy Pier, pet-friendly boat tours and many parks.

San Diego
The country’s best dog beaches and trails and world class pet-friendly shopping centers.

Seattle
Here, you can take public transportation with your leashed dog.

Philadelphia
Get a famous cheese steak. See historic early American sites and stay in a downtown luxurious hotel.

Minneapolis
Great hiking trails and parks, pet-friendly dining. A pet-friendly atmosphere throughout.

Austin
Dog-Friendly parks. Outdoor cafes. Take tours and see the sites. See the Zilker Gardens and the Congress Street bats.

Alexandria/ Washington D.C.
See the capital’s sites, walk in charming Old Town, take a dog cruise on the Potomac.

New York
Luxury hotels welcome dogs, Central park beckons, off-leash parks everywhere. Shop the famous stores with your dog.

Indianapolis
Many historical sites, Nature preserves, trails and parks. Many of the cities tourist sites can be viewed with a dog.

Honorable mention cities include Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando and Raleigh.

Touring Disney World’s new ‘luxury pet resort’


Tongues (and tails) were definitely wagging as Walt Disney World Resort opened the doors to its newest addition: Best Friends Pet Care.

Billed as a “luxury pet resort,” this pet kennel facility is definitely more luxurious than any I’ve ever seen. I have used a couple of the five existing pet kennels at Walt Disney World, and I would describe them as clean and utilitarian, but certainly lacking in Disney magic.

The new digs for dogs range from a standard suite that is all indoors to a VIP (Very Important Pet) suite that has a 16×9 tiled bedroom, raised platform bed, flatscreen TV and a private, covered outdoor play area.

You can treat your dogs to add-ons such as a playgroup ($15), an ice cream break ($4) or a bedtime story ($6).

Although this pet resort is run by Best Friends and not by Disney, there are Disney touches everywhere. Pluto’s paw print graces the front lobby. Lady and the Tramp was being shown on the TVs in the dog suites during my visit, and I’m told that the bedtime stories read to dogs feature 101 Dalmations in heavy rotation.

A 25,000-square foot dog park includes grassy areas and water sprays for puppy play, as well as benches where owners can come to sit and visit with their pets.

%Gallery-101549%Cats can stay in their own 2-level condos in “Kitty City,” where they all have their own so-called “private relief area.”

You can treat your feline to cookies and milk ($3) or tuna on a Ritz cracker ($3).

And unless your small pet is venomous, exotic or a primate, ferrets, rabbits, hamsters and the like can even hang out in the pocket pets room during your Disney trip.

Best Friends Pet Care is offering daycare rates for pets, as well as overnight accommodations. That’s because even nearby residents often choose to use the Disney kennels during a long day at Walt Disney World, rather than leave their pets at home for 12 to 16 hours.

The new pet resort opened Sept. 1 at Walt Disney World, and the five existing kennels at the resort were closed over Labor Day weekend.

But all this new luxury does come with a price. Overnight rates for cats start at $23 and doggie lodging starts at $37. A VIP suite will run you $76 per night. For comparison’s sake, a night in a standard room at one of Disney’s value resorts (for humans) will run you $82 during slower weeks this fall.

Disney says the VIP suites are already booked up on weekends through the end of the year, so I guess that price is not a deter

There are small discounts on the pet lodging for guests staying at Disney resorts.

Best Friends Pet Care is on Bonnet Creek Parkway, directly across from Disney’s Port Orleans-Riverside Resort.

Galley Gossip: Captain A-rod and the cat lady from hell!

I should have known it was going to be a weird flight when the captain introduced himself as A-rod. Short, round and graying, he stood in the galley massaging the shoulders of a tense looking flight attendant. When the agent walked on board with paperwork, the flight attendant quickly slid out of A-rod’s reach and eagerly asked. “Ready to board?”

Boarding, for a flight attendant, is the most hectic and difficult phase of flight, and would you believe we’re not even getting paid until the aircraft door is closed and the airplane backs away from the gate! It’s true. What makes it stressful is the pressure to get full flights staffed with minimum crew out on time. No longer are there extra flight attendants floating around to help passengers the way there once was years ago. Either we’re setting up a galley or keeping an eye on our exit doors. And by the time a full load settles into their seats and flight attendants can finally move freely up and down the aisle, we’re usually just a few minutes away from taxiing out.

Enter the cat lady. I spotted her right away during the boarding process. Now I love cats. I even own a sixteen pound Maine Coon named Gatsby, so I’m a bit of a cat lady myself. What I don’t love are – not passengers who bring on board pets that don’t fit under the seat in front of them (it happens), but passengers who don’t tell us when their pets don’t fit under the seat until the last minute, like a woman did on a flight a few years ago! That cat wound up in the first class coat closet for take off. So when I spotted this newest cat lady with a large hard case carrier, I asked if it would fit under the seat in front of her.”It should,” she said matter of fact. “I went to the airline’s website to check the measurements under the seat.”

Sounded good to me.

Well not only did the carrier not fit under the seat, an aisle seat, nobody with a middle seat wanted to split from their traveling companion. Cat lady turned red. In the aisle she stood yelling at me because my airline had “lied” to her and now I needed to make things right! Honestly, I was trying, but she wasn’t making it easy screaming at me like that. To make matters worse, the agent started making a PA asking everyone – her – to take their seats. That’s when it seemed like just about everybody seated in a five row radius began claiming to have severe cat allergies.

Quickly I walked up the aisle to report what was going on to the captain and the frazzled agent, but along the way a passenger waved me down to ask if his dog had been boarded. He’d seen it sitting in its crate on the tarmac and was worried. I told him I’d be right back.

“If the guy with the dog is wearing a red baseball cap, I already told him his dog was on board,” said A-rod. “It’s a big brown dog, right?”

I had no idea what it looked like, and was just about to tell him so when the agent interrupted us and asked, “Are you going to take the delay Captain?”

A delay is bad news at an airline. And someone has to take the heat. This is why flight attendants and agents start making back to back PA’s asking passengers to step into the aisle when stowing their bags and to take their seats as quickly as possible for an on time departure. Otherwise fingers start pointing. Flight attendants, gate agents, mechanics, cabin cleaners, we’re all guilty of trying to place the blame on another department. Get docked with too many delays and one could very well lose their job. It’s that serious.

I didn’t wait to hear A-rod’s response, I quickly walked back to coach and asked the dog owner if his dog was big and brown. He just looked at me. Then he told me the breed, as if that meant something to me. I tried again. “Is that breed of dog normally big and brown?”

He smirked. “Yeah.”

“Your dog is on the plane.” One down, one more to go.

Only when I finally reached the cat lady, I couldn’t believe what I saw. Somehow, I don’t know how, the other flight attendants had moved passengers around in order to accomodate the cat under a middle seat. In doing so, the cat lady now had an entire row all to herself.

Just as I started to relax, a passenger tugged on my sleeve. “Excuse me, Miss, I want to know what that woman paid for her seat!”

I started to tell him I had no idea what she paid for her seat, or what anyone paid for that matter, when another passenger piped in with, “Did she buy one seat or three?”

Across the aisle a woman yelled, “I don’t think it’s fair that she gets her own row while the rest of us have to suffer!”

On the verge of a mutiny, I tried calming the passengers down. It wasn’t easy. Did I happen to mention we hadn’t even taken off yet? And that boarding sets the tone for the flight? Oh yeah. Welcome aboard. Now where the heck was A-rod when you really needed a massage?

Tips for traveling with pets on the plane:

1. Book flights early. Only a certain number of pets are allowed in the cabin at one time.

2. Check the airline’s website for pet policies and maximum dimensions for carriers. (21 inches long X 13 to 16 inches wide X 9 inches high seems to be the standard)

3. Purchase a flexible pet carrier or “bag” as these tend to fit better under seats than hard case carriers. (If checking a pet in cargo, only hard case carriers are accepted.)

4. Choose a middle or window seat, as the space under aisle seats tend to be narrower.

5. Pets are required to stay inside their carriers throughout the flight. Make sure it’s ventilated on both sides.

6. Line the carrier with an absorbent material like “puppy pads” in case of an accident.

7. Make sure your pet is wearing an identification tag.

8. Personalize your pet. Put a sign on the carrier that reads, “Hi, I’m a cat and my name is____ . This is my first flight.”



Photos courtesy of Erica.Hargreave

Twelve tips before making your pet a world traveler

The story about the U.S. soldier who was granted permission to bring the dog she rescued from a trash pile in Baghdad to the U.S reminded me of the friends I’ve known who have brought their pets with them when they have moved to another country.

In the case of the U.S. soldier, the issue was with military regulations that needed to be worked out. In other cases, bringing a pet has to do with airlines and the regulations of the country to which you are moving.

Depending upon the country, regulations differ. Knowing what to expect right off can save you time and frustration in the end. For example, if you move with your dog or cat to Singapore, there is a lengthy quarantine process. One set of friends brought their two cats. Other friends brought their dog.

Every other day or so, both sets of friends would head out to the place where their pets were being held to visit. Along with the time and expense it took to get to the quarantine location, they had to pay several dollars a day for their pets’ lodging and care.

With pets offering undivided devotion, the desire to include them in a move is compelling. If you’re so inclined, here are tips to consider before turning your pet into a traveler:

These 10 tips are from the Website Living in Indonesia, but most of them are not Indonesia specific.

  1. Find out from the airline the regulations for the country to which you are moving. Also find out what you need to know about bringing your pet back with you.
  2. Consider the costs for both going overseas and coming back in your decision making. Getting there is only the first part.
  3. If possible, bring your pet along with you as access baggage which will allow you to check on your pet throughout the journey.
  4. Sending your pet via cargo may be more practical and cheaper.
  5. If you can, schedule layovers so your pet can have a travel break.
  6. Make sure your pet carrier meets regulations
  7. Clearly mark the carrier with the name of the pet, your name and your destination.
  8. Before your trip, put your pet into the carrier for long periods of time to get your pet used to being in the carrier.
  9. Put one of your pet’s favorite blanket or toy in the carrier to create a sense of familiarity
  10. Don’t feed too much
  11. Don’t give tranquilizers because they put your pet at risk
  12. Attach a water bottle to the cage that can be filled from the outside.

For more details for taking your pet along, click here. Some are Indonesia specific, but they give an idea of those things you should be thinking about.

Here are the guidelines for traveling with an animal on American Airlines. I chose this one for no particular reason. Other details are listed that are worth reading if you’re considering taking a pet on your move.