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The dogs will be cleared in Honolulu. My concern our vehicle will NOT fit 2 XL crates when we pick them up. Can I take them off the crate at the airport? If not, are there any transportation services in Kona that can possibly help us take them off the airport property where we can disassemble the crates (we will be living in Waimea).
Once you get the crates to the car at the airport, you can take the dogs out of the crate and put them in the car. Then either put the crates on top of the car, break them down, gift them to someone at the airport or whatever else you want to do with them.
It might be best to put the car in the parking lot section of the airport, I'm pretty sure you can park there for half an hour without having to pay. Then trundle the dog crates over to the car park and work on rearranging dogs and crates there. The airport security folks may not be real happy with folks doing all that at the curbside but Kona airport isn't that big or busy of an airport.
Do you have any friends that own a pickup truck? Maybe someone could help you out if you pay their gas and buy them pizza and beer, or maybe just pay them some money. It might be easy to find someone that needs a little more money that owns a pickup truck in Hawaii.
Or, you could bring some tools with you to disassemble or saw apart the crates. Although, maybe airport security or cops might not like someone making a mess in a parking lot or by the side of the road. Maybe no one would care about someone making a mess.
Have you thought about installing a hitch on your car with a trailer lights power cable? Your car would then be setup so that you could rent a small trailer. How do you deal with occasionally hauling large objects now? Maybe you could rent a pickup truck, but I think the cheapest way with the least risk of causing trouble is to pay someone with a pickup truck to haul the crates. Then the next time you need to haul some large things, you could just call the guy with the pickup truck again.
[quote=hotzcatz;34384885]The airport security folks may not be real happy with folks doing all that at the curbside but Kona airport isn't that big or busy of an airport.[/q
I can confirm airport security will not be happy if you try to do anything curbside, except quickly load and unload passengers and luggage. Taxi drivers are required to move to a side road to do so.
Security will make anyone move who, in security's opinion, is at curbside too long.
When shipping pet carriers inter-island, they may make you replace the plastic carrier fasteners with metal ones. Get metal wing nuts so you'll be able to take the crates apart without tools. Actually, since this is your own car, take a tool box wth you to the airport. Trundle the dogs in their crates to your car in the car park, put the dogs in the car (although you could probably take them on a leash to a nearby bush first) then break down the crates and stash those in the back seat, put the dogs on top of the nested kennel and you should be good to go. If you really don't have much room in the car, tie the dog crates on top.
2 XL crates- won't they be picked up at the airline cargo facility, not checked baggage? You won't have to worry about curbside action there. People take their time unpacking / repacking trucks etc at cargo.
Cargo facilities are relaxed, I wouldn't worry about it. You didn't mention which airline, but some of them will let you take the dogs with you and come back for the carriers later, especially if you talk story etc with them. Even the anal retentive carriers give you 24 hours to pick your stuff up without a fee. That would apply to the empty carriers, not the dogs.
Make sure you bring a bowl and some water. Your dogs will be very thirsty when you pick them up. And some old towels in case they're laying in their waste when you get them. And don't forget some poop bags in case they were able to hold it and are excited to see you. The folks working cargo will appreciate that.
Last edited by terracore; 04-24-2014 at 09:32 PM..
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