Having a panick attack regarding airline approved carriers!

white cat lover

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Wow, not at all freaking out here!


Gotta find 2 carriers to transport PJ & Punky in. NWA says carriers must:

  1. be 17"L x 12"W x 8"H or smaller
  2. Leakproof
  3. Ventilated on at least 2 sides
  4. carrier + pet must not weigh over 15 lbs
http://www.nwa.com/travel/animals/carryonpets.html

I don't dare go much smaller the boys are 12 lbs 2 oz & 12 lbs 6 oz. Ideally trying to find soft sided carrier as they weigh less considering the boys are a bit on the hefty side. Checked out Petco, Amazon, looking on eBay right now. The sherpa ones they reccomend cost like $100 each!


Ideas on where else to look? Suggestions? Anything is appreciated!
(I'm easily freaking out about this whole thing, me on an airplane, my boys leaving me....
)
 

laureen227

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i'd get the hard ones. they're safer, for one thing, & i think they weigh less. plus, less expensive, too!
but i found a sherpa one for $40!
sherpa kennel
 
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white cat lover

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Originally Posted by laureen227

i'd get the hard ones. they're safer, for one thing, & i think they weigh less. plus, less expensive, too!
but i found a sherpa one for $40!
sherpa kennel
It's too big.
That's my problem...nothing is small enough.

And man, I'm feeling very guilty about cramming them into those little carriers, cuz it's a 3 hour flight. They'll be OK, but ya know...they're like little kitty jail cells.
(Mostly just freaking out that I'm getting on an airplane, don't suppose they make Feliway for people?)

The ones I'm seeing that are the maximum size are these Cabin Kennels:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...US254%26sa%3DN
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

It's too big.
That's my problem...nothing is small enough.

And man, I'm feeling very guilty about cramming them into those little carriers, cuz it's a 3 hour flight. They'll be OK, but ya know...they're like little kitty jail cells.
(Mostly just freaking out that I'm getting on an airplane, don't suppose they make Feliway for people?)

The ones I'm seeing that are the maximum size are these Cabin Kennels:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...US254%26sa%3DN
well, the site says it's approved...
Sherpa Pet Delta Air Lines Deluxe Pet Carrier

\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t \t\t\t\t\t
Luggage quality, deluxe Sherpa pet carrier for small pets is airline approved for underseat use. Stylish, lightweight design conforms with commercial airline carry-on specifications.

the other one there said for pets under 5 pounds only!
& yes - there's a 'feliway for people'! rescue remedy - it's not just for animals!

 
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white cat lover

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That's what's worrying me, that the Cabin Kennel says for pets under 5 lbs. only. I'm calling NWA tomorrow & expressing my concerns. I want to know if I can get one that's 15 x 10 x 10 or something & just smash it a bit under the seat or something.
 

meow meow

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8" high is pretty ridiculous!

My friend travels on NWA with her maltese all the time with no problem. I wonder if they are flexible on that size.

You could always take a carrier to the ticket counter ahead of time and ask if it passes.
 

goldenkitty45

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Try Walmart for a soft-sided one. I'm not sure where I got mine but it was only like $30-40 at the most. That's what my rexes travelled in all the time I flew.

Are you going with the cats? If they are going alone, you cannot use the soft-sided carriers; they have to be in hard-sided in the cargo area. And you can only have one cat per person.
 

jellybella

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Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Are you going with the cats? If they are going alone, you cannot use the soft-sided carriers; they have to be in hard-sided in the cargo area. And you can only have one cat per person.
She's traveling with someone so they can each take a cat into the cabin with them.

The hard-sided ones seem safer, but the soft sided may make it easier to fit them under the seat (you can't expect a certain amount of space unless you know exactly what kind of plane you'll be on).

It will be a few tough hours, but they'll be so happy to get home for a safe trip.
 

goldenkitty45

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I do know a hard sided carrier will NOT fit under the airline seat. I had one that was flat but only used it once for a kitten. An adult cat would not be able to fit into it and be comfortable. I got rid of it and went to the soft-sided ones. Besides you can sling them over your shoulder and carry the cat (under 10 lbs)
 
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Originally Posted by GingersMom

I used a Samsonite to bring Penny home under the seat in front of me. You can fnd them here: http://www.designerproducts.com/
Even those are too big.
Thanks for the link Betsy, they are some I've been looking at. Going to call the airline shortly. I e-mailed them & basically got a worthless response.
 

goldenkitty45

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Mine is 16" (long) x 10" high. But it doesn't have a name on it to tell you what brand. The airlines NEVER measured my carrier.
 

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I got my soft sided carries at Wal-Mart the brand name is Bergan and it says right on the tag that they're airline approved.

ETA: I don't remember how much I paid for them but they weren't that expensive.
The have two handles..one you can carry by hand and the other to carry it on your shoulder.
Both ends un-zip...BTW...that's the only carrier that Annabelle isn't afraid of and they are much lighter then the hard ones I used to have.
 

laureen227

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Originally Posted by white cat lover

Even those are too big.
Thanks for the link Betsy, they are some I've been looking at. Going to call the airline shortly. I e-mailed them & basically got a worthless response.
when you call, ask them specifically if the carriers approved by other airlines for pet in cabin are too large. if they say no, make sure they notate that in your PNR [passenger name record, btw]. also, make sure they are aware that their requirements are drastically different from competing airlines [i.e. Delta] & ask if there's any particular reason why that is so.
[used to be a travel agent]
 

graciecat

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Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Gracie - can you go meausre yours? That's probably where I got mine (had it for more then 10 yrs
)
Sure,
They're 17 inches long.
13 inches high and 10 inches wide.
When I got mine they had smaller ones and bigger ones...I bought the middle sized ones...I really should have got a bigger one for Elliott...that boy is rather "fluffy"
 

littleraven7726

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I have a Samsonite soft-side that was $20 at Big Lots and said it was Airline Approved. I have taken Stimpy to the vet in it and he's 17 lbs.


Our other one is a Petmate that my sister didn't want, but I don't know if it's Airline Approved. It's actually a bit taller than our other one, so it's been designated as Stimpy's new carrier.


Raven
was 12 lbs when he was healthy and travelled in the Samsonite just fine. It was always in the car though.
 
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I just called & talked to someone @ NWA. She herself has flown with cats on NWA. Told me that the sizes are more "guidelines". Basically, any carrier airline approved should be OK. She reccomended a soft sided ones as the plastic solid ones sometimes don't fit under the seat (and then kitty doesn't fly). She told me they won't measure, but obviously if the carrier is way too big I won't get on the flight. She did say they will check to be sure that it is under 15 lbs, they will be weighed.
I'm worried that they will weigh too much, so I'll be keeping a close eye on food intake for awhile.

I saw some in Wal Mart for $18. Might go pick a couple up.....or else there's a few really cute pink ones of eBay I like.
Might get my guys some new pink carriers.

(As a side note - there are like $600 carriers on eBay!? WHY would someone pay that much for a carrier?
)
 
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I just called the pet store nearest to me (an hour away). They have the Sherpa carriers & that's about it. $55 for the medium size, which is 18"L x 11"W x 10.5"H. Smashable size to fit in the plane, I think. That's for pets up to 16 lbs.

With all the bells & whistles, it weighs 3.8 lbs. Without the handle & bottom pad that makes the bottom solid, it weighs 2.8 lbs. That's pushing it size wise with PJ's weight especially.

Going to try to get one of the Wal Mart carriers if they're OK sizewise....and get the boys weighed in it to see where we stand with those. Esp. considering those carriers are $18 vs. $55 for the Sherpa.
 
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