5khours

Take it with me of course!

Cohall

Does anyone know if you are still required to have a "Certificate of Health" when you travel with an in-cabin pet domestically? The old United had specific verbiage about the paperwork you needed from your vet, but the new site doesn't say anything about it. Anyone have a recent experience that knows the answer? I'm flying with my dog on Thursday and want to make sure I have everything needed.

Thanks in advance.

octeckels

Since the merger we reserve and pay for our in-cabin pet online when we buy the ticket. We are never asked anything about the pet at check-in. I'm still carrying a health certificate just n case, but we are never asked for it.

octeckels

It's a great idea, but you'd have to fly in coach. Almost all the UA international planes have been converted to lie-flat seats, and you can't fly with a cabin pet in these seats. We brought a dog back from Sweden this summer and I had to downgrade my business class ticket to coach.

Most dogs can be trained to go 8-12 hours without a bathroom break. But you'd want to look for shorter connecting legs rather than long non-stop flights.

A dog is indeed a great companion when traveling but also a lot of extra work. While I certainly miss the dog, I always notice how easy travel is when I'm not traveling with a dog.

nycsfo

I'm in the process of booking petsafe reservations for my two dogs. I already have a ticket on United and am now adding them to one leg of the reservation.

The dogs are 15 pounds each but too big to fit under the seat. United will not let me transport them in together in one kennel because they are older than six months - but it would let me transport two younger dogs of the exact same size in the exact same kennel. Delta has let me transport the dogs in one kennel before, but I can't use them now because I already have the United ticket.

Is there any way to convince United to let me use one kennel? I am even willing to pay the fee for two kennels, so it's not about money. The dogs will be much happier if they can travel together. I am not optimistic that I can convince United to make an exception, but if there are any tricks that might work, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks.

bdraco

I think its just as likely they would make an exception in proportion to your ability to convince them the dogs are under 6 months old.

ensensens

My kitty is flying LAS-ORD without me, and he's booked at that level below coach aka cargo -- oh the indignity, over 3 hours, it's even worse than an E- middle! I'm a 1K, 1m+ lifetime. Any ideas how I might use a regional upgrade to bring the little guy (my family member) up from cargo to Y? Maybe even 2 upgrades to bring him up to F, so the flight attendants can fawn over him and give him a snack? Or perhaps I can name him as my partner?

exerda

I'm in a bit of a conundrum here. I am in the NRT area and have a puppy to bring home. We're talking a very small, very young puppy (about 12 weeks old); very well-behaved, but still a puppy.

Problem is, I'm booked in C on a UAA 747 NRT-SFO-DEN.

I am hesitant to book the puppy as cargo. Very hesitant (as is the breeder, too; she really would prefer I fly with her in the cabin).

I see a few options; what do you think?:

• Try to convince UA that there is plenty of stowage room on the 747 UD window--a soft-sided puppy carrier would definitely fit in the storage cubby!
• Try to talk UA into a downgrade on the 747 to E+ and suffer through 9 hours of the worst E+ seat. [This is the most likely outcome IMHO.]
• Change my routing to NRT-SEA-DEN and get the barcalounger C (I don't know that UA allows pets in C on the barcaloungers, though they should).
• Book a one-way award ticket in Y for myself for the puppy. (Allowing me to get her onboard and on the upper deck with me.) Least likely IMHO due to logistical problems.
• Change my ticket to an ANA flight for the return. This is the most expensive option, and I'd lose my upgrade in the process. But ANA seems more accommodating of pets in the cabin on TPACs than does UA.
• Book a new trip for a few weeks from now, planned to include Y sectors on the return. Probably on the nonstop IAD-NRT.

Thoughts?

coolcoil

exerda

Thank you for the thoughts!

Round one: PetSafe is claiming she will cost $1500 to ship on UA, and advised using ANA because "they are much cheaper than United." The local agent also claimed I would have to ship her all the way to my final destination and that it could take "up to a week to go through outgoing quarantine at NRT." (?) I don't believe they deal with non-military pets very often from the way he talked. The UA agent I spoke to on the phone said I could check her for NRT-SFO and pick her up at SFO, and transfer her to in-cabin then (FWIW--I wouldn't want to subject a small puppy to that kind of experience, though!).

I called Reservations and found space in Y to bring her as a cabin pet. I had no luck talking the agent into letting me stay in C; she said the rule was "under the seat, not beside the seat." I am awaiting hearing back as to whether the puppy will be ready (she is getting her vet inspection, pedigree, etc., ready today, hopefully) before I downgrade to Y and go that route, in case for some reason there is a delay and I have to make a return trip to pick her up.

I suppose I can then try to wheedle another agent into letting me bring her into C, but I think the computer just won't let her add a pet to a C res regardless of the seating situation. (That was the reasoning behind my cockamamie notion of a separate award ticket in Y, anyway.)

I can manage a longhaul Y flight to bring this puppy home with me, though.

bdraco

Maybe you can find a friend who want to go to the states in Y+ on an award ticket?

exerda

I was going to have my wife do that ( you say!), but it was too short of notice for her (though she was the one saying I might come back with a puppy, while I kept telling her it would be another trip--and she's still in the States, too). She actually doesn't mind Y+ over C, claiming the lie-flats are uncomfortable for her. To each her own, I suppose.

I had a great phone agent who tried her best; she and her supervisor both wanted to put me in C, but SHARES wouldn't let them. Well, them's the rules, after all, even if IMHO the cubby on the 747 UD is a better place for a small pet than under a seat in Y. She's definitely getting a compliment sent to her supervisor for all her effort. ^

beltim

I wanted to post to the "Travel with pets on UA" thread with a good summary on the first post, but since that thread is closed, I'll add it here.

I just booked my 45 pound Australian Shepherd on PetSafe from SAN to CMH through ORD, and the ORD-CMH leg is on an ERJ 170. Coming back I originally booked a flight that used an ERJ 145 for one of the legs, and PetSafe told me that flight wouldn't work and gave me 3 suggestions that would - all of which had ERJ 170's on the itinerary. So I can vouch that ERJ 170's are fine for use in PetSafe, but for my pet (who was in a 400 series kennel) the ERJ 145 wouldn't work.

OnePassenger

Dear FT friends: I have a 6 month old Lhasa Apso puppy. I need to take her from Kathmandu to Portland, Oregon (PDX), via DEL, on UA83. [B] Can I take her in the BF/F cabins? She will surely not make it in the hold for 14 hours

sannmann

Good luck!

See link: http://www.united.com/web/en-US/cont.../in_cabin.aspx