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Just wanted to reiterate that I did bring my pet in the cabin with my on an ATA flight to Hawaii.
Intothe Mystic,the important detail was omitted,since it was not the beginning of the conversation- dogs 70+.
Some airlines are/were OK with a small pet to go under the seat.So little doggies and cats were not a big issue.
This is still a huge problem for many people. We are stuck in Phoenix with no way to get our Shih Tzu back home other than paying $4-7,000 to share a chartered jet.
The only reason the airlines will not allow you to bring your pet in cabin is because they are required to have one of the airline employees bring your pet from the plane to the quarantine station. The airlines either don't want to pay an employee to do that, or don't want the additional liability. They probably don't realize that all of us would gladly pay an extra fee for this.
http: //hawaii.gov/hdoa/ai/aqs/faq#q10
"The Department of Agriculture does not have any regulation regarding where pets fly within the aircraft. It is totally up to each airline's policy. The airline is required by law to bring all incoming animals directly from the plane to the Airport Animal Quarantine Holding Facility."
My suggestion to everyone is to email and the Chairperson of the HI Dept of Agriculture to let her know this is a problem. She has the ability to change the rules and appoint a quarantine employee to take the pets from the planes to the quarantine, rather than requiring the airlines to do that.
Email and Call her here:
Sandra Lee Kunimoto
(808) 973-9560
(808) 973-9613 (FAX)
hdoa.info @ hawaii.gov
1428 S. King Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96814
That's inaccurate information. When we relocated to Hawaii and traveled with the Dogtravel Company we were able to walk our dogs ourselves through quarantine, no problems. Dogtravel Company Homewww.dogtravelcompany.net
I'm not sure why the commercial airlines aren't letting that happen, but they sure make it difficult. Our flight was a piece of cake.
FYI: I just logged on to the Dogtravel portal and they have a flight from Long Beach to Honolulu scheduled for Dec 1, 2008.
There's another flight for those returning from Hawaii on Dec 2, 2008. You do have to be a member to book travel but it's there for those of you who want to fly with your pets in the cabin..
Just to let you all know....I used Pacific Air Cargo to get my 3 dogs to Hawaii this past August. The upside for me was that they got to ride inside the plane. Not in the baggage compartment. They were the last to board....right before the pilots and I could stay with them until they boarded....the down side was that they leave at 2am and get into Honolulu at 6am Hawaii time. So, they had to go to the quarantine holding facility at the airport until the quarantine station opened at 7:30-8am.....( there is someone on duty there 24/7) so it wasn't like they were alone, it is just that they weren't with their mama (fortunately for me my husband was already in Hawaii and could pick them up as soon as they opened). It took less than 10 minutes for him to get all three of them out I couldn't get an earlier flight with Hawaiian until 8:40 and did not arrive until 11:30...so might not have worked out for me if my husband had not already been there.
I sure think that if the domestic airlines realized how much $$ they were losing by not letting our small dogs ride under the seat to Hawaii.... (I paid $$1300 for my 3---2 pugs and 1 lab with PAC) they might reconsider their rules !!
Good luck to all. We all made it fine and are living in Kailua, on Oahu and are all lovin' it!
Hi do you know what the cost would be with Dogtravel in December? I have not joined yet but definetly a possibility. The time frame is perfect. I have cats but when I contacted them last time they said they would take them in cages.
Thanks
Hi Folks,
That's inaccurate information. When we relocated to Hawaii and traveled with the Dogtravel Company we were able to walk our dogs ourselves through quarantine, no problems.
You would have been violating the law and that may have been the reason the airport put the heavy hand on this. Only service animals are allowed to leave the aircraft with it's owner, all others must be removed by ground crew and taken to quarantine. If you were allowed to walk off the airplane, go through a terminal or other facility, that's the reason for the radical changes airlines have initiated. Hawaii probably saw this and blew a gasket and read the riot act to ALL the scheduled airlines.
Just to let everyone know, scheduled airlines do have areas on many planes specifically for animals, they are not loaded like any old piece of luggage. If checked as excess baggage or cargo, they all travel in the same pressurized -climate control area of the plane.
When we transport animals to and from Asia, they stay right behind the crew area and (sshhhh) we even take them out and play with them.
Last item, in almost all cases, the dogs and cats make the trip just fine with no problems, it's the humans who become the basket cases for no reason.
Last edited by 7th generation; 09-20-2008 at 03:37 PM..
Last item, in almost all cases, the dogs and cats make the trip just fine with no problems, it's the humans who become the basket cases for no reason.
Yep, that was certainly our experience. My pup is so timid, I thought she'd freak out completely on the plane. I was so worried that I drugged myself up completely (yay benadryl) so that I could just sleep and not think about it. When I picked her up from quarantine, she was happy to see me. But no more happy or freaked out than when I leave her alone for the day and go to work!
Crate training can do a lot to help dogs travel. If they are accustomed to being in their crates then they aren't as upset on a plane as long as they are in their "home". Many dogs actually prefer to sleep in crates if the doors are off so they can go in and out of them. If their usual dog blankets, food dishes and toys are in their familiar crate with them they aren't as alarmed as if they were to be taken and put in a strange bare box and then loaded onto an airplane.
Anxiety separation can also be alleviated quite a bit by training, too. Find a dog trainer and see about how to train so that won't be as much of a problem. Between that and crate training, the dog should be fine traveling.
I would even recommend carrier training for cats. One of the things I think got our cats to Maui safety and without too much stress is that they spent a couple of hours a week prior to us leaving Phoenix riding round the neighborhood in their carriers while our house was being shown. They really associated their carriers with safety so even when they were taken out for the TSA inspection and to go through security in Honolulu, they just wanted to get back in their carriers, neither struggled to be released.
They had become very comfortable with their carriers and even settled down and went to sleep when we got delayed in Honolulu.
Last edited by rmm13; 09-23-2008 at 11:56 AM..
Reason: remove smiley
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I couldn't get an earlier flight with Hawaiian until 8:40 and did not arrive until 11:30...so might not have worked out for me if my husband had not already been there.
