Travel with Pets - Cats in cabin FROM Hawaii to mainland?

We're flying United this December direct from Honolulu to Chicago. According to United, pets cannot travel as cargo when the runway temperature is less than 45 degrees. Pretty sure we'll be under that...

I'm trying to figure out if my cat can fly in the cabin with us.

I know about all the restriction getting a pet to Hawaii, but no one has been able to answer questions vice versa. HNL airport directed me to the airline. United's website had no info. I've called the 800 number and gotten a lot of "ummms" and reading from customer service manuals without relevant info. I don't want to show up day of and only be able to say "Well Betty at 1800-United said it was okay."

Has anyone actually done this or have true knowledge of it? Thanks!

Emily Aloha, welcome to FlyerTalk. The readers of our dedicated forum on Travel with Pets may be able to help you and I'll move this thread to that forum. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

Yes, I did this recently with our cat in-cabin.

See http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-mileage-plus/749569-travel-pets-ua-tips-hidden-info.html for specific rules.

There is also a "sticky" at the top of this forum with general information.

And be sure to follow them to the letter; there are only a few pets allowed per cabin on any flight and you need to have a reservation for your cat that attaches to your reservation.

This can't be done online; you have to call.

While I realize Emily's trip has already taken place, just as an FYI, be careful when you call regarding pets to and from HI. Most of the CSR's don';t know or understand their own policies. We recently moved our dog to HI and I was told by USairand Delta that our pet could fly in the cabin. I double checked and none of the commerial carriers will allow pets in the cabin to or from HI. I got varied reasons...too long a flight...HI strict quarrantine laws etc..We didn't want to subject our dog to the cargo hold, so we drove to LA and put him on Pacific Air Cargo. They use 747's which are completely pressurized and the pets ride behind the pilots. The leave every morning at 2:30 am and arrive in Honolulu at 7:00 am. Much shorter flight for our pet.

While I realize Emily's trip has already taken place, just as an FYI, be careful when you call regarding pets to and from HI. Most of the CSR's don';t know or understand their own policies. We recently moved our dog to HI and I was told by USairand Delta that our pet could fly in the cabin. I double checked and none of the commerial carriers will allow pets in the cabin to or from HI. I got varied reasons...too long a flight...HI strict quarrantine laws etc..We didn't want to subject our dog to the cargo hold, so we drove to LA and put him on Pacific Air Cargo. They use 747's which are completely pressurized and the pets ride behind the pilots. The leave every morning at 2:30 am and arrive in Honolulu at 7:00 am. Much shorter flight for our pet.


I'm not sure that your statement that "none of the commerial carriers will allow pets in the cabin to or from HI" is correct.

Reading UA's website (and according to their phone CSRs), it seems that they do allow pets in the cabin from HI to the mainland. I'm booked for a flight tomorrow with a cat on UA from LIH to SFO, and will post an update re: how it goes.

Update: on our flight, UA #62 LIH-SFO, Feb 3, 2010, our cat travelled in the cabin with us.

Glad to hear it, Endrond. Maybe it won't be such a nightmare to take him bak to the mainland.

Glad to be the bearer of good news, and I hope your trip goes as well as ours did.

I sometimes feel bad for the cat (in between kitten & adult) that we adopted. He was living on an absolutely goregous trail along the cliffs of Kauai, and now he's confined to our condo. But now he'll live, not starve or die of FIV/Feluk. And he won't produce any feral offspring.

I sometimes feel bad for the cat (in between kitten & adult) that we adopted. He was living on an absolutely goregous trail along the cliffs of Kauai, and now he's confined to our condo. But now he'll live, not starve or die of FIV/Feluk. And he won't produce any feral offspring.Cats don't do scenery; they do regular meals and a comfy place to sleep. ;)

One of our boys is a feral rescue (was captured at 4 weeks) and you can't get that boy out the door for anything. He likes to observe nature through a pane of glass, preferably after a stop at the kibble bowl.

Cats don't do scenery; they do regular meals and a comfy place to sleep. ;)


Very true. The real thing that makes me feel better about it is that the previous feral cat we adopted (who came in to my wife's vet clinic after being hit by car) now absolutely adores us.

Reading UA's website (and according to their phone CSRs), it seems that they do allow pets in the cabin from HI to the mainland. I'm booked for a flight tomorrow with a cat on UA from LIH to SFO, and will post an update re: how it goes.Something I've been wondering: if a pet leaves Hawaii, does it have to go through quarantine when it returns? Or does it get a "free pass" when it returns?

Something I've been wondering: if a pet leaves Hawaii, does it have to go through quarantine when it returns? Or does it get a "free pass" when it returns?

I don't know, because the cat we were traveling with was making a 1-way flight to the mainland. Hopefully others know.

Something I've been wondering: if a pet leaves Hawaii, does it have to go through quarantine when it returns? Or does it get a "free pass" when it returns?

Lots of info here: http://hawaii.gov/hdoa/ai/aqs/info.

Refer to the "Hawaii Resident Pets" section for info on possibly reduced quarantine periods (5 or less days) for pets that originate from Hawaii. (The normal quarantine period is 120 days.) Note that these steps have to be commenced PRIOR to departure from Hawaii.