Pet carrier recommendation
May 29, 2019, 9:22 am
#2
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 3
Sorry for (cross)posting this on another question already - I couldnt access your question yesterday - but just wanted to say:
To be honest, I think the best way, if you're in doubt, and have the luxury to do so: Take your carrier (empty) to the airport, and line up for checkin at your airline and ask the actual checkin agent about your carrier and their process. Be friendly, express your nervousness, tell them you got conflicting messages so you're instead there to ask an agent that actually would make such a that decision. If you're lucky, they would be sympathetic to your concern and tell you how they would really handle your specific case.
Just consider it a dry run.
To be honest, I think the best way, if you're in doubt, and have the luxury to do so: Take your carrier (empty) to the airport, and line up for checkin at your airline and ask the actual checkin agent about your carrier and their process. Be friendly, express your nervousness, tell them you got conflicting messages so you're instead there to ask an agent that actually would make such a that decision. If you're lucky, they would be sympathetic to your concern and tell you how they would really handle your specific case.
Just consider it a dry run.
Jun 2, 2019, 6:13 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 12,588
Delta seems particularly annoying about it because they don't publish the underseat dimension restrictions. The specifics will depend on your aircraft, but I've been flying with these carriers:
on Alaska without any problems. The published dimensions are slightly larger than the limits Alaska lists, but the carrier is squishable, so it fits easily under the seats in both their 737s and ERJ-175s (the RJs have more space!). I suspect it will similarly fit underseat on any mainline and larger RJ Delta aircraft. It's safer to use a soft carrier than a hard one because of protrusions into the nominal underseat space that the airline might ignore in the dimension listings.
One thing to watch out for is that the underseat space for the aisle seats tends to be smaller than for middle and window, and in some aircraft there can be an IFE box taking up some of that space, so I stay away from aisle seats when flying with a pet.
One thing to watch out for is that the underseat space for the aisle seats tends to be smaller than for middle and window, and in some aircraft there can be an IFE box taking up some of that space, so I stay away from aisle seats when flying with a pet.
Jun 3, 2019, 5:54 am
#4
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Poland
Posts: 869
We picked up a couple that expand from an online site called Downtown Pet Supply for only $20. They are pretty lightweight, but I noticed that the Good2Go ones at Petco appear to be even lighter weight. The Sherpa ones felt heavier to us when we were looking at them. We opted for the medium sized one from that site which unfortunately is also a bit over what the airline lists for dimensions, but we're hoping that they'll treat it as they do duffel bags that can compress in some areas. We're flying out in a few hours so I'd be happy to post an update about how it all works out. We found that the collapsible bowls from Amazon (2 for $3) are pretty decent and come with a caribiner clip. In the past, we've also had good success with buying a couple of puppy pads for the inside, just in case. We called the airlines and were also told that we can take one of those throw away litter boxes that come with litter and some dry cat food in a ziplock bag.
I wish I could make a better suggestion about the carriers specifically for Delta, but I think so much depends on how crowded they are that day and who happens to be handling the gate. We've noticed that on 1/2 empty flights they often don't even glance at your baggage, so I assume that it's a similar situation when traveling with pets.
I wish I could make a better suggestion about the carriers specifically for Delta, but I think so much depends on how crowded they are that day and who happens to be handling the gate. We've noticed that on 1/2 empty flights they often don't even glance at your baggage, so I assume that it's a similar situation when traveling with pets.
