Help! Advice needed for bringing your dog on cabin from LAX to S. Korea
 

Hello everyone!

I am in need of advice for traveling with my dog from LAX to S. Korea via KAL or Asiana Airlines. I have a Shihtzu who is around 9 years old and around 14 lbs. I have already rcv'd his rabies titer verification lab results and he was properly microchipped. However, I'd really like to have him ride in the cabin with me because my dog has major anxiety when it comes to loud noises and movements. I took him around 7 years ago to Korea via cargo and he was very traumatized after. Now, since he is old and his anxiety issues got worse, my vet suggests I don't bring him with me unless he can ride in the cabin or else, he would recommend leaving him behind. That would devastate me so I am trying to look into getting him ESA certified, but I do not have a therapist of my own. Any recommendations? I need to travel by next week due to my mother being sick. Any input will be of major help! Thank you!

Hello!

I am in desperate need for some answers. Im taking my dog to South Korea from Los Angeles via Korean Airlines or Asiana Airlines. My dog is 14 lbs and has already rcv'd his rabies titer lab results and was properly microchipped. However, he has major anxiety when it comes to loud noises and big movements. I had taken him 7 years ago to Korea by cargo and he was very traumatized when I was reunited with him after landing. My vet says since he is 9 years old now, it might be unhealthy for him to fly with me unless its next to me in the plane cabin. Is there any recommendations on how he can fly cabin?

Both Asiana (OZ) & Korean (KE) have weight limits of 5 kg for both animal & carrier.

For OZ the carrier dimensions allowed when the sum of width, depth and height of the cage is less than 115cm and the height is 21cm or shorter(Up to 25cm for soft cases).

Seems your pet falls outside of their policy.

added: Connecting via a, relatively, nearby airport may make your travel more possible. You could fly, drive, take a train or even possibly a cruise to get to the connecting airport.

AC via YVR may be possible as AC allows up to 22lbs for both animal & carrier but would have to be able to legally bring the animal into Canada also.

DL via SEA seems to not be an option as they do not allow pets on flights with an average flight time of 12 hours and it is blocked at 11h59m.


There is a Traveling with Pets forum here on FT that may provide you with good information.

Sorry, didn't mean to come off as a scammer or liar as my dog does have really bad anxiety everytime I leave his side but I do not know if I can find a therapist and meet with them enough on such a time crunch :confused:

You are aware it is meant to be the animal that provides the Emotional support... not the other way round?

Well it goes both ways, when my dog has anxiety or is scared, it gives me anxiety knowing this and not being able to hold him and make him feel at ease....

Thanks for your help and kind advice Yoshi212! :)

"American Airlines accepts small cats and dogs in the cabin of the aircraft (no other animals are allowed). The fee for pets traveling in the cabin is $125 per carrier (each way), and the combined weight of the pet and carrier may not exceed 20 pounds." (Flight must be under 12 hours.)

American Airlines cabin pet policy (link)

BringFido.com airline policy pages link

From the AA link you posted: " Transpacific Carry-on: You cannot travel with a carry-on pet when traveling transpacific."

You can tell them you brought your own food? But seriously, with your circular logic all dogs would be ESAs. My suggestion is to pick the non-stop and medicate your dog - in the hold if necessary. I've read KE might be flexible if you manage to fit the carrier under the seat but yours is pushing the limits. It will be less stress for the both of you. KE and OZ are not US carriers and are highly unlikely to allow an ESA.

Welcome to Flyertalk Jsong84.

Please follow the redirect as we send this to our Travel with Pets forum.

~beckoa, co-moderator Information Desk

Shih tzus are brachycephalic (snub-nosed) dogs. Travel in the hold is not recommended for those, and even banned by most airlines these days. In-cabin travel is the way to go here.
In my (limited) experience, Korean is not overly strict with weight limit enforcement. I have successfully taken overweight dogs in the cabin with them (6.6 kgs plus carrier). However, you cannot count on this - it basically all depends on the person you get at check-in.
If you don't want to risk being turned away by KE (Korean) or OZ (Asiana), you have three options with other airlines:

- Fly Delta via Seattle. Delta allows carry-on pets to ICN and has no weight restriction, just a size restriction. Economy only (not allowed in business class).

- Fly Air Canada via Vancouver. They allow animals up to 10 kgs (22 lbs) in the cabin. Taking him/her for a walk outside in Vancouver is not a problem at all if you can provide current rabies vaccination documents. However, you don't even need to go landside as YVR has recently opened an airside pet relief area.

AC is flying a 787-9 on YVR-ICN. Should you plan on traveling in economy, be aware that this plane has very very tight seating in economy - I would strongly advise to book Premium Economy with a pet carrier.

- Another, but less desirable solution is flying via Europe on Lufthansa (via Frankfurt), Air France (via Paris), KLM (via Amsterdam) or Turkish via Istanbul. All those airlines allow pets in the cabin up to 8kgs.
This will mean 20+hours in the air, though, and you will need to adhere to EU animal import rules (microchip, USDA-endorsed health cert) if you want to take him for a walk at a connecting airport within the EU.

Hi - I know ur post is over 3 mo old so Im not sure you will even get this. BUt I am desperately seeking info and advice as well.
Have you completed ur travel yet?? I have posted on several forums and made numerous calls not only to Korean Air but USDA export as well as Pet relocators and still cannot get clarification. I will be traveling in August with two pets from US to Malaysia, ONe is 16 y/o and I need to have her in the cabin with me, The other will travel cargo bc she is over the weight limit. ( I sure understand the anxiety issue :(((( and I am sooo stressed)
I finally discovered that even if u can have a pet in the cabin (Korean AIr and Asiana) you CANNOT land in Malaysia with a pet in cabin!! So now I am trying to figure out
if I can travel from LAX to ICN with my pet in cabin and then transfer her to the cargo after I land in ICN. ANY experience with this ??

THANK YOU!!!

Unfortunately, the thread starter never came back here to report back on their trip.
I am not aware of any Malaysian regulations prohibiting importation of animals transported in the cabin. Where did you see that? But as Malaysian regulations require the use of registered agents for processing live animal import permits anyway, any one should be able to give you a definite answer.

From where in the US are you departing? There are no nonstop flights to Malaysia (I assume KUL) from the US, so you will need to connect somewhere anyway. From the East Coast, going via Europe makes sense as flight times are OK for in-cabin animals (under 12 hours). Also, there's a choice of airlines allowing pets in the cabin going via Europe - KLM, Air France, Turkish Airlines.
From the West Coast, going transpacific limits your airline choice to Korean Air (Asiana with a 7kg weight allowance does not fly to Malaysia anymore), who have a 5kg weight limit for in-cabin animals. Also, the flight beetwen LAX and ICN takes about 13 hours plus at least 90 minutes between having to go through security in the US and stepping out of the airport in KUL) which may be too long for your older dog to 'hold it', especially if she refuses to use the airside pet relief area at TBIT.

If you are concerned about the safety of your 16-year-old dog and it is really not possible to bring her to Malaysia in the cabin, transferring her to travelling in the hold as checked baggage in Seoul is possible (the dog will need to pass import requirements, and you will have to enter Korea and re-check her landside, so plan for a longer layover). But I`d advise against doing this: it's a 6.5-hour flight between Seoul and Kuala Lumpur, which means your dog will be in her crate for a minimum of eight hours.
I`d look into flying into a nearby destination that allows animals in the cabin like Phuket or Singapore instead and connecting from there or even go over land. Unfortunately, animals are not allowed on trains in Malaysia at all, even guide dogs.
Flying into Singapore first has the added advantage of potentially getting around the Malaysian quarantine requirement. I was able to get my (Swiss) dog into Singapore with no quarantine (arriving on Finnair in the cabin).

Korea is AOK
 

Yes, you can transit through ICM with your pet in a carrier, unlike certain airports (like Hong Kong). We did it with our 2 dogs. There aren't any pet relief areas, but the pets are allowed.

Spelling error
 

*ICN not ICM