Help - adopting dog in Central America travel to Michigan
Aug 14, 2018, 11:23 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2001
Posts: 3,083
Help - adopting dog in Central America travel to Michigan
Help - adopting dog in Central America travel to Michigan
We are new to dogs.
Due to a death in the family, we are adopting a dog that needs to travel from SAL to Michigan (TVC)
The dog is 8 years old 70 lbs, is up to date in shots (just got last ones 15 days ago). We have a large carrier for it.
We are thinking routings like:
AA SAL-MIA-ORD and drive the rest of the way
OR
UA SAL-IAH-GRR and drive the rest of the way
The vet in SAL stated she would give us paperwork that would be valid for 10 days to travel
We have found out routes like AA SAL-DFW do not work because AA said it had to be a Boing
Routing / Carrier
Rules airline and otherwise
Immigration
Physical carrier / dog
We are new to dogs.
Due to a death in the family, we are adopting a dog that needs to travel from SAL to Michigan (TVC)
The dog is 8 years old 70 lbs, is up to date in shots (just got last ones 15 days ago). We have a large carrier for it.
We are thinking routings like:
AA SAL-MIA-ORD and drive the rest of the way
OR
UA SAL-IAH-GRR and drive the rest of the way
The vet in SAL stated she would give us paperwork that would be valid for 10 days to travel
We have found out routes like AA SAL-DFW do not work because AA said it had to be a Boing
Routing / Carrier
Rules airline and otherwise
Immigration
Physical carrier / dog
Aug 15, 2018, 7:48 am
#2
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: BSL
Programs: AA (EXP); among others :)
Posts: 2,522
Too bad your dog is too heavy for the nonstop flights on Avianca - that would be the best option by far. I have no idea if they have different policies if you ship the animal as cargo with them
(Avianca Cargo - Special Products), but would ask in any case.
On UA, you would need to use PetSafe, which will let you fly him unaccompanied as cargo. If you want to go that route, also check out Copa; they may be cheaper (with a connection in PTY).
The only one-stop, one-airline option that lets you check the dog as baggage is AA's SAL-MIA-ORD service. Their DFW service is not an option as this is flown with narrowbody airbus (A32x) aircraft which do not accept pets in the cargo hold due to the large number of these ex-US frames in their fleet which aren't equipped with climate-controlled cargo compartments. A common misconception by uninformed AA staff - both phone agents and at airports - is that all Airbus aircraft do not accept pets in the hold. This is not true as they are accepted on the Airbus A330 fleet which operates some hub-to-hub rotations domestically in addition to their usual international routes. Incidentally, AA had an A330 SAL-PHL flight yesterday (AA 9606, likely a charter flight).
Depending on your intended travel date, build enough flexibility into your planning to account for delays caused by AA's temperature policies. They do not accept pets as checked baggage if the temperature at check-in is at or above 85 degrees. As there is only one daily flight leaving at 2:30pm and temperature is measured and checked at check-in around 12:30pm right around the hottest time of day, this may be an issue.
Getting the dog admitted into the US is very easy - basically all that's required is a valid rabies inoculation with proper documentation. El Salvador is not on any list of countries with additional restricions, and neither FL nor IL impose any requirements above and beyond what you already have with the health cert required by AA (see APHIS website for federal and state requirements).
I'd book the two-hour connection (AA 1494 connecting to AA 1627). Due to transit happening in the evening, chances are you won't run into temperature issues. At a little over eight hours of total travel time and something like nine-and-a-half hours your dog will have to spend in his crate from being carted off at check-in until you step out of baggage claim at ORD (you likely won't have the opportunity to let him out for a break at MIA when you pass through customs and APHIS inspection) he'll likely be just fine without any accidents.
BTW, provided your dog fits into a 36" kennel, there's no need to drive from ORD to TVC; AA would allow the animal on SAL-ORD-TVC all on one ticket. Max. kennel size accepted on the ERJ-145 they fly between ORD and TVC is a '400' or'large' series. Petmate's Vari kennel of that size measures 36" L x 25" W x 27"H.
(Avianca Cargo - Special Products), but would ask in any case.
On UA, you would need to use PetSafe, which will let you fly him unaccompanied as cargo. If you want to go that route, also check out Copa; they may be cheaper (with a connection in PTY).
The only one-stop, one-airline option that lets you check the dog as baggage is AA's SAL-MIA-ORD service. Their DFW service is not an option as this is flown with narrowbody airbus (A32x) aircraft which do not accept pets in the cargo hold due to the large number of these ex-US frames in their fleet which aren't equipped with climate-controlled cargo compartments. A common misconception by uninformed AA staff - both phone agents and at airports - is that all Airbus aircraft do not accept pets in the hold. This is not true as they are accepted on the Airbus A330 fleet which operates some hub-to-hub rotations domestically in addition to their usual international routes. Incidentally, AA had an A330 SAL-PHL flight yesterday (AA 9606, likely a charter flight).
Depending on your intended travel date, build enough flexibility into your planning to account for delays caused by AA's temperature policies. They do not accept pets as checked baggage if the temperature at check-in is at or above 85 degrees. As there is only one daily flight leaving at 2:30pm and temperature is measured and checked at check-in around 12:30pm right around the hottest time of day, this may be an issue.
Getting the dog admitted into the US is very easy - basically all that's required is a valid rabies inoculation with proper documentation. El Salvador is not on any list of countries with additional restricions, and neither FL nor IL impose any requirements above and beyond what you already have with the health cert required by AA (see APHIS website for federal and state requirements).
I'd book the two-hour connection (AA 1494 connecting to AA 1627). Due to transit happening in the evening, chances are you won't run into temperature issues. At a little over eight hours of total travel time and something like nine-and-a-half hours your dog will have to spend in his crate from being carted off at check-in until you step out of baggage claim at ORD (you likely won't have the opportunity to let him out for a break at MIA when you pass through customs and APHIS inspection) he'll likely be just fine without any accidents.
BTW, provided your dog fits into a 36" kennel, there's no need to drive from ORD to TVC; AA would allow the animal on SAL-ORD-TVC all on one ticket. Max. kennel size accepted on the ERJ-145 they fly between ORD and TVC is a '400' or'large' series. Petmate's Vari kennel of that size measures 36" L x 25" W x 27"H.