Petlife logo

Avoid Airline Restrictions For Traveling with Your Pet with an ESA Certificate

Once you read all the airline restrictions for traveling with your pet, you may begin wondering if there’s an easier way to deal with the whole situation. The answer is yes, if your dog qualifies as an Emotional Support Animal (ESA).

By Ric francisPublished 2 years ago 5 min read
Like
Yorkshire Terrier Dog Going For A Travel

Traveling with your emotional support animal without any additional fee or costs is allowed by airline carriers if you have an ESA letter. First, read through just how tough it is on a pet during the whole trip and what you would be required to do if your animal was not an ESA.

Requirements for In-cabin Pets

1. On domestic flights, puppies and kittens have to be at least 2 months old.

2. On international flights, puppies and kittens must be at least 4 months old because of rabies vaccination requirements.

3. You can’t put your pet on a plane and then board another plane.

4. If a minor is traveling unaccompanied by an adult, the minor can’t have a pet.

5. If there’s any type of in-flight emergency, there is no extra oxygen service for your pet.

6. When you first arrive at the airport with your in-cabin pet, you’ll get a bright yellow bag tag to attach to your pet’s kennel.

7. Once your pet is inside the kennel, it can’t get out of it until you are outside the airport at your final destination.

8. Dogs from high-risk rabies locations are denied boarding unless they have a CDC Dog Import Permit. This must be requested at least 6 weeks before travel. The alternative is a U.S.-issued rabies vaccination certificate. Without a permit or vaccination certificate, the dog will be returned to the country of departure at your expense. High-risk rabies locations include Belize, Brazil, Colombia, China, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, and South Africa.

Most pet owners don’t like the #5 requirement and say, “What do you mean, I can’t give oxygen to my pet? He’ll die!” is usually the response. Requirement #7 can also be a little tough on the pets. What if he has to go to the bathroom?

It’s not just the requirements but also the costs involved. It costs $125 / flight for bringing your pet onboard in his kennel. If you have a flight that has two stopovers, an additional $125 will be added for each stopover that is more than four hours within the U.S. and more than 24 hours outside of the U.S.

And if you are traveling on multiple airlines, you must meet all the rules of each carrier.

Airline Restrictions Inside the Plane

There are specific restrictions on allowing pets inside the plane, too: No pets are allowed in-cabin – even inside their kennels from or through Hawaii and any of these locations below but are allowed in-cabin on select United flights:

• Australia

• Barbados

• Cuba

• Guam

• Federated States of Micronesia

• Hawaii

• Hong Kong

• Iceland

• Ireland

• Marshall Islands

• New Zealand

• Palau

• Panama

• Philippines

• Singapore

• South Africa

• Tahiti

• Trinidad and Tobago

• UK

And if you are lucky enough to be allowed to get in-cabin ‘seating’, there are additional restrictions:

1. Because there is limited storage space under aisle and middle seats, if you are traveling with an in-cabin pet in United Economy on Boeing 757-200 aircraft, you will have to be in a window seat.

2. If you’re traveling with an in-cabin pet, you can’t be seated in an emergency exit row or in the bulkhead, or in a Premium Plus United Airlines plane seat because of the footrest limitations under the seats.

3. Each plane can only have two pets per flight in the premium cabins on select aircraft. However, no pets at all are permitted in the premium cabins on Boeing 757-200, 767, 777, or 787 aircraft.

4. Each plane can only have four pets per flight in United Economy® on Boeing 737 and 757 or the Airbus 319/320 for narrow-body aircraft. There may only be six pets per flight on the Boeing 767, 777, and 787 wide-body aircraft.

All these rules you are reading about are for United Airlines but other airlines have similar rules.

Airline-Approved Dog Carriers

After all the rules, then there are more regulations about the carriers you put the pet in.

Airlines have specific rules for how your dog can travel on an airplane.

They are listed below:

• The pet must be inside an approved kennel.

• The kennel can be hard-sided or soft-sided.

• The kennel must fit completely underneath your seat.

• You can’t take your dog out and play with him during the flight.

• Maximum dimensions: 17.5 inches long x 12 inches wide x 7.5 inches high (hard kennels)

• If your pet kennel is soft-sided, its maximum dimensions are 18 inches long x 11 inches wide x 11 inches high.

• Your pet must be able to fit inside the kennel comfortably. That means he must be able to stand up and turn around without having to bow his head down.

• The pet must fit completely under the seat in front of you.

It’s Completely Different If Your Pet is a Service Animal

The rules for service animals are much different than the rules for in-cabin pets. A service animal is any type of breed of dog that is older than 4 months and trained to do work or perform tasks for someone with a disability. The disability could be physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual or other type of mental disability.

You can travel with a maximum of two service dogs. The dog sits on the floor space in front of your seat. It can’t impede on the space of the traveler right next to you or in the aisles.

An emotional support animal (ESA) is different. It’s a pet that is offering support on an emotional level for someone who needs it. The animal may provide an immediate sense of calmness for the person, usually someone with a disability.

Check out more on this matter. It’s a lot easier to get an ESA certificate than most people think, and this could help you with all the restrictions airlines have for animals.

travel
Like

About the Creator

Ric francis

Productivity / Technology / Automation content writer

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.