Diego the Travalin' Dog!: FIrst Trip!

In December 2011 Diego took his first trip to the USA from Tunisa. Before I even decided to adopt Diego I looked into the requirements for transporting a dog in cabin between countries.

Here are the basics:

Air France: maximum 6kg (including carrier)
Lufthansa: maximum 8kg (including carrier)
Alitalia: maximum 10kg (including carrier)
Delta: no weight limit, but the carrier must be within certain dimensions to be determined by the airline.
*I have always used the medium sized Sherpa bag on Delta (17 x 11 x 10.5 inches ; 3.2 pounds) Delta and have never had a problem.

There are many other airlines that accept pets in cabin. The above airlines are ones that accept pets that fly out of Tunisia (except for Delta). I looked into many different airlines including Qatar Airways and Emirates. Qatar does not allow dogs, but falcons (if hooded) are allowed in economy class. This cracked me up!

Diego was already too big for Air France and at the time Lufthansa's prices were much too high, so that left us with Alitalia/Delta.
One thing to remember about traveling with a dog in cabin is that you are better off booking directly through the airline so they can let you know if your dog can travel on that particular flight. Airlines have limits as to how many animals can be in each section (first/business, economy, the hold) so checking first is wise.

I got onto the Alitalia site and looked at flights to Houston from Tunis. We would have to go through Rome and Atlanta, but I was okay with it since there is a small dog park at ATL!

In the end I decided to call Delta directly (I would have to fly Delta from Rome to Atlanta and Atlanta to Houston). It was quite easy. They asked me about the dimensions of my carrier and if I had the proper paperwork. There was a bit of a stressful time, though. Since I had to go on two seperate carriers I had to call Alitalia before booking to make sure they had room for my dog. They did and after I purchased the ticket with Delta, I called Alitalia right away to confirm Diego in cabin.

I need to do some research about dogs in the hold or dogs as cargo and post some more info. Traveling with your dog in cabin is the easiest way to go as far as I know. You have total control over your pet and can monitor them at all times. I have friends that have checked their dogs before and have never had any problems, so I know it can be done in a safe way.

Having a pet in cabin is considered excess baggage. The good news is, you can still have one carry-on bag and a personal item. The bad news is, you have to pay for the pet both ways. Each airline varies and domestic and international travel prices vary too, but for us to go from N. Africa to the USA it cost about $500 round trip. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why so much (it's about $300 on Lufthansa), but that is the way it is.

Diego's first trip was great. He was about 8 months old and did very well. He stayed comfortably in his carrier (his favorite, safe spot) and didn't make a sound. Before we flew I read all I could about traveling with a do gin cabin. I had an emergency bag prepared, his favorite toy in the carrier (Mr. Giraffe) and a could bones. I also had a ziplock bag of dry food and a Kong with some treats. Diego is pad trained so I had some of those too!

On the day of travel we arrived with a friend at the airport at about 3:30am. The flight was scheduled to leave at 5:30am so I allowed for a bit of extra time to check in with Diego. I needed it, because I had to check myself in, go to another line to pay for him, then back in the line to collect my boarding pass and the "boarding pass" for Diego.

Right before we boarded I laid down a pee pad and he peed. I was very happy! I had read that you should stop giving dogs food and water 4 hours before the flight so that is what I did. When we arrived in Rome I took Diego to the restroom to see if he needed to go on the pad, but he didn't. I was okay with that because he pooped a couple hours before and had peed on the pad right before boarding.
On the Delta flight I chose to sit in Economy Comfort, which I highly recommend if you are traveling with a pet in cabin. We fly Lufthansa now and they do not have that option, but boy, do I miss it. It was well worth the $180! Those extra 4 inches sure do seem like a lot :)

I was so glad to have a friend sit with me on that flight. I was nervous! What if Diego barked or tried to get out? My friend had flown from Tunisia with a cat just a few months before so she was great and just said to leave him alone (I kept putting my hand in the carrier) and to let him sleep.

We arrived in Atlanta and things changed a bit. I was not allowed to have Diego out of his carrier like I could in Tunisia and Rome. We had a four hour layover so I lugged him out of there and straight to the dog park. What a great idea! If you ever have to choose between a layover in Atlanta versus another airport with your dog, I highly recommend choosing ATL. Not only is it a very organized airport, the dog park is a great place to hang out while waiting for your flight. Diego's been 3 times now!