Here s what I ve learned. The big surprise was that Southwest, an airline I love(d) and fly on const

When I first started writing this post, my main concern alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc was that most U.S. airlines won t allow you to add your pet to your reservation on-line, so either you make your reservation and quickly call to add your dog (hoping that one of the limited number of in-cabin spaces is available), or you call to make your reservation and risk being charged an extra fee, and possibly losing out on on-line-only deals or bonus frequent flyer credits. alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc I wanted to find out which airlines were doing the best job of helping passengers with this problem.
Since then, I learned about U.S. Air s wretched new first-come-first-served pet policy , and got hints from readers that other airlines alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc might have similar policies, so I decided to ask more questions: Do you keep an in-cabin pet listing for each flight? When I add my pet to my reservation, am I guaranteed that she will have a reserved in-cabin space on my flight? If not, what will happen if I learn at the airport that there are no in-cabin slots left for my dog?
Here s what I ve learned. The big surprise was that Southwest, alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc an airline I love(d) and fly on constantly, also has a first-come-first-served pet policy. I just can t tell you how disappointed and shocked I am. This, from the bags fly free airline? The no change fees airline? I ll keep on flying alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc on Southwest, because I have to, but I m a lot more nervous now and the Southwest offerings that were meant to improve my pre-flight experience (EarlyBird check-in, etc.) have lost most of their sheen, since I ll need to arrive crazily early to ensure that Chloe joins us on our flights.
The rest of the airlines fall into three camps: (1) The airlines that let you reserve an in-cabin place for your pet on-line (highlighted below), at the same time that you make your own reservation (Continental and Virgin America); (2) The airlines that don t have a phone booking fee, or that waive your phone booking fee, so you can call and make your own reservation, adding your dog at the same time, without incurring a financial penalty (Allegiant, Frontier, JetBlue and Sun Country); and (3) all the rest of the airlines, which don t waive the phone booking fee. Please note that every other major U.S. airline, aside from Southwest and U.S. Air, guarantees that your in-cabin pet will fly with you, once she s attached to your reservation.
AirTran The web site says, [T]o book pet travel, please contact the AirTran Airways reservations desk at 1-800-AIR-TRAN (1-800-247-8726). The customer service rep I spoke to told me that to add a pet to my reservation, I d either have to incur the $15 phone fee, or make an on-line reservation and then call to add Chloe to my reservation. She suggested calling first to make sure that there s still room for your pet in-cabin (AirTran allows 6 in-cabin pets) then quickly make your on-line reservation and then quickly call to add your pet to your reservation. When you add your pet, you ll be asked for payment which guarantees alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc that your in-cabin pet has a place on board.
Alaska/Horizon Space for pets traveling in the cabin or in the cargo compartment is limited alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc and subject to availability. For air travel on Alaska Airlines, Pen Air and ERA Aviation, please alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc contact Alaska Airlines Reservations at 1-800-ALASKAAIR alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc (1-800-252-7522). The agent I spoke to had the same suggestion as the AirTran agent (above) to avoid the $15 phone booking fee (and to take advantage of on-line-only alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc offers), call ahead to see if a flight you re interested in has room for your pet, book your flight on-line, and then quickly call to add your pet. Alaska and Horizon do keep a log book of pets for each flight, so your pet will indeed be attached to your reservation, and a spot will be reserved for her on board. You ll pay her fee at the airport, or during web check-in.
Allegiant "To book a reservation with a pet, please contact the Allegiant Reservation Center alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc [the best number I could find is 702-505-8888] and use option 1 and tell the agent you are booking with a pet. The per segment Booking Fees will be waived." And sure enough, when I spoke to the agent, she confirmed that the $15 booking fee would be waived because I am, essentially, forced to call to make sure my pet can travel with me. Allegiant handles the in-cabin pet situation by not having a maximum number of in-cabin pets. Their only concern is that pets be spread around the cabin, not concentrated in the same rows. She assured me that my pet would get on the plane with me.
American Pets traveling in the cabin require a reservation to ensure alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc no more than seven pets are booked on any single flight. For this reason, it is recommended that you make arrangements for your pet in advance by contacting Reservations. The customer service rep I spoke to told me that if you make your reservation over the phone, you will incur a $25 fee and it will not be waived. As above, I d call ahead, then book on-line, then quickly call to add your dog to your reservation. American does keep a log of in-cabin pets for a particular flight, so once your pet is attached to your reservation, she has a place on board. You ll pay for her at the airport.
Continental Pets can be booked online alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc or by calling Reservations for assistance. At Continental's alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc home page, click on the "Reservations" tab and select "Make Flight Reservation." The resulting "Flight Search" page is organized alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc as a list of questions; the third question is "Who is traveling," alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc and includes a box to check if you want to include a pet in your reservation. The next page ("Add Pet"), asks for the number of in-cabin pets you propose bringing, and then you're on your way.
Delta Call Delta in advance at 800-221-1212 to arrange to bring your pet on board. Delta too charges a fee for phone reservations alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc it s not waived in this situation, and the agent suggested (this should be familiar by now) calling in advance to see whether a flight has room for your dog in-cabin, then quickly making your on-line reservation and calling back to add your dog to it. Delta does keep an in-cabin alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc pet listing, so a spot will be reserved for your pet. You ll pay the pet fee at the airport.
Frontier Make advanced reservations on the phone. Pets can t be booked online so please call our Reservations alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc Department at 800-4321-FLY (800-432-1359) so we can ensure availability and reserve space for your pet. Frontier doesn t charge a fee for making your reservation over the phone, so no problem there. They do keep an in-cabin pet listing, so your pet truly is added to your reservation, and will have a place on board. You ll pay the pet fee at the airport.
Hawaiian Hawaiian is tricky, of course, because in-cabin pets aren t allowed on flights  to Hawaii (they re allowed on inter-island flights, and on flights leaving Hawaii). The agent I spoke to told me that the ticketing fee is not waived you know the drill by now but that Hawaiian does reserve spots for in-cabin pets, so once your pet is attached to your reservation, she ll get on board with you. You ll pay the pet fee at the airport.
JetBlue To book your pet, call 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583). Please note: Pets cannot be booked online. When you call, tell the rep that you're alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc calling because you're traveling with an in-cabin dog and remind them that you shouldn't be charged the usual fee. Also, JetBlue will give you the extra credit frequent flyer credit you would have gotten if you d made your reservation on-line, because in this situation you were compelled alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc to make your reservation over the phone but remind the agent to, because they won t think about it without nudging.
JetBlue allows alaska cruise travel agency wilmington nc 4 pets on each flight 1 space is set aside for pet owners who walk up to the airport s ticket counter with their pet (and that spot is first-come-first-served), but the other 3 spaces can be reserved (truly reserved ) ahead of time. You ll pay the pet fee at the time of booking, so three owners will pay over the phone, and the fourth will pay at the airport.
Southwest Reservations for small cats and dogs can only be booked by calling Southwest Airlines at 1-800-I-FLY-SWA (1-800-435-9792). I was astonished to learn that Southwest has the same lame policy as U.S. Air (see below) : You may call ahead and add your pet to your reservation, but in fact, the in-cabin slots are allotted on a first-come-first-served basis at the airport on the day of your flight. The agent assured me that the airline has never had a situation where 6 pet owners tried to board a flight (Southwest allows 5 in-cabin carriers), but that s little comfort to a traveler, especially as pet travel becomes more popular, and especially during holiday travel. What happens to the sixth, unlucky pet owner? Southwest will try to call and notify you that five other pet-owners have checked in, and will discuss with you over the phone (or at the counter, if you only learn of your fate then), what your options are. The agent mentioned, as an option, changing flights, but would not go so far as to say that you d get a refund. You ll pay the pet fee, by the way, at the airport.
The only bright spot during the conversation and this from an airline that I previously adored! was the news that Southwest does not charge a fee for booking over the phone (query, however, whether there s any real point to adding your pet to your Southwest reservation ahead of time, since the rubber only hits the road on the day of departure, at the ticket desk).
Spirit Spirit does not waive its $10 phone booking fee, so here again, you may prefer to call ahead, see if there s room on your flight for an in-cabin pet, book on-line, then quickly call back to add your pet to your reservation. Spirit does keep an in-cabin pet listing, so once your pet is added to your reservation, she s guaranteed a place on board. You ll pay the pet fee over the phone, when you add her to her reservation.
Sun Country [T]o arrange to transport your pet on your flight, please contact Sun Country Reservations toll-free at 1-800-359-6786 or 651-905-2737