Travel with Pets - 777 bc pet travel

booked a flight last week in bc for international travel, called this week to make a pet reservation and found out there are no pets allowed in bc because of the configuration of the equipment. I'd be fine with the pet on my lap but apparently that is not an option. Flight is now full so no economy seats available (pet OK in economy). Anyone else successfully deal with this issue? Seems like my alternatives are -

1 fly economy w/pet (try to swap my bc for an economy seat at the airport)
2 try to find a pet friendly economy passenger who will allow the pet to sit with them
3 walk on as if there were no pet involved
4 claim I was misinformed, am outraged, etc.
5 send pet as cargo (elderly animal, not the best option for summer travel)

all replies appreciated...:confused:

What airline are you traveling on?

booked a flight last week in bc for international travel, called this week to make a pet reservation and found out there are no pets allowed in bc because of the configuration of the equipment. I'd be fine with the pet on my lap but apparently that is not an option. Flight is now full so no economy seats available (pet OK in economy). Anyone else successfully deal with this issue? Seems like my alternatives are -

1 fly economy w/pet (try to swap my bc for an economy seat at the airport)
2 try to find a pet friendly economy passenger who will allow the pet to sit with them
3 walk on as if there were no pet involved
4 claim I was misinformed, am outraged, etc.
5 send pet as cargo (elderly animal, not the best option for summer travel)

all replies appreciated...:confused:

You might have to rebook on another flight to get into Y with your pet. The airlines have a limit on number of pets available in each cabin, in your case they will still have a limit on pets that can be carried on in Y so you will need a reservation for them, would hate for you to chance showing up to try and trade cabins and find out they've already reached the limit in Y. Walking on trying to pretend you don't have a pet won't work either, because in front cabins where there is no underseat stowage the only option is to put all of your carry-ons in the overhead bin...obviously you wouldn't put a pet up there. Also wouldn't try to claim you were misinformed, chances are they noted in your records that you called a week after you booked the ticket to add the pet on.
Hope you can find a reasonable solution that doesn't break the bank.

What airline are you traveling on?I'll hazard a guess that it's United.

OP, I think your best and surest bet is to simply rebook to a different flight. None of the options you presented are good... while you can probably find an economy-class passenger who would be delighted to have your business-class seat, you end up paying for business-class for no reason, and as GalleyWench noted, the in-cabin pet limit may have already been reached for that flight. I would not ever recommend trying to put your pet in someone else's seat, if you can even find a taker. Options 3 and 4 are unlikely to work, and option 5 is, as you said, not recommended for your pet.

If you can find a different flight, that would be best. You might even be able to get the agent to waive the change fee (if there is any) because of this issue.

(I will note that if you are on UA, none of their 777s [except one] have been reconfigured with the new C class, and therefore you technically do have underseat storage for your pet... however, because of the possibility of equipment swaps, they do not allow pets in C. If you are at the airport and get an understanding gate agent who knows that the old configuration still supports pets in C, despite the policy, they may allow you to board... but I wouldn't count on this at all. Your strongest recommendation is to find another flight in advance.)

Hope this helps.

I'll hazard a guess that it's United.


It could also be CO. From their website: Pets are not permitted in the BusinessFirst cabin of Boeing 757, 767 or 777 aircraft due to inadequate storage space under the seat.

indeed, it is UA. Thank you, one and all, for all the words of warning, wisdom and advice.