Fly with Cats: Layover/Change Airline to AA - carrier weight check?
 

Hi, I am planning to fly with my cats in one carrier. I've done this before, as they are very close, but have gained a little weight and with the carrier are 22-23 pounds total. I have the first leg of my flight with Alaska and they don't have a weight limit but then transfer to American Airlines that does have a weight limit. AA told me I'd have to pay a pet fee with Alaska and again with AA - so during my layover I need to pay the pet fee to AA but I am wondering if they will weight the carrier inside the terminal when I pay?? Can someone tell me if that's the case? Do they weight pet carriers inside the terminal? Or just upon checking in at the gate? Please advise.

American only imposes a 20lb weight limit for carry-on pets if you'd want to bring them on board in the premium cabins on the three-class Airbus A321T which flies select transcontinental routes only: https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...ontinental.jsp All other cabins and routes only have carrier size limits but no weight limit, the same as with Alaska.
Depending on the airport you transfer from Alaska to American, you will have to exit security and go to an AA check-in desk in order to process your cats with AA and pay the fee. Normally there is no weight check, just a visual check..