Home › Forums › Costa Rica Living Forum › Where to buy an airline approved dog carrier?
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June 21, 2007 at 12:00 am #184692fhmorozMember
Does anyone know? I didn’t think of this when I posted my message yesterday regarding US customs. I stay in Atenas which is very close to anywhere else in the Central Valley area.
All suggestions are welcome.June 21, 2007 at 6:22 pm #184693DavidCMurrayParticipantThe very safest way to buy an airline-approved dog carrier is to get it from the airline. Then they can’t say it doesn’t comply with their requirements.
June 21, 2007 at 6:26 pm #184694fhmorozMemberThat’s an excellent thought. Do you know where the airlines (US Airways specifically) sells them in CR?
June 22, 2007 at 1:24 am #184695JosieMemberI’ve transported my cats to and from CR twice. The last trip to the US I purchased a new carrier at a pet store in the shopping center kitty corner (no pun intended) to the National Registry building. The packaging had the words “Airline Approved” on it to be sure. They had several different sizes.
June 22, 2007 at 10:51 am #184696jmhardyMemberThe airlines all seem to have different guidelines, which adds credence to what David said earlier. Anyway, in case it’s helpful to anyone, here are a couple of airlines which fly to C.R. and their kennel regulations. That said, these things are not cheap, and if you can buy one from your specific airline, guaranteed to be acceptable, that’s what I’d do.
Delta:
Kennel Requirements
To transport your pet as checked baggage or cargo, you must use a shipping kennel approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The kennel must have enough room for your pet to stand and sit erect without the head touching the top of the container and turn around and lie in a natural position. These kennels are available at most Delta Cargo locations, as well as many pet supply stores. You should check with the local cargo facility for availability of the size kennel you need in advance of the date of travel. Kennels are for sale for booked Delta passengers and shippers only, not the general public.
Due to seasonal weather conditions, we do not accept pets as checked baggage from May 15 through September 15. You can, however, ship your pet as cargo with our Pet First® program.
All kennels must be capable of loading upright in the aircraft bin as required by the Animal Welfare Act and the International Air Transport Association Live Animal Regulations.
Also, USDA rules state that the kennel must:
* Be constructed out of rigid plastic, wood, metal, or material of comparable strength with solid roofs. No cardboard kennels.
* Have wheels that can be removed or made inoperable [applies to wheeled kennels only]
* Have functional handles on the kennel’s exterior to prevent tilting and any direct contact with the animals.
* Close securely, but not lock, allowing personnel to open it in case of emergency.
* Have labels with the words “Live Animal” in letters at least 1-inch tall on the crate’s top and on at least one side.
* Have upright arrow labels indicating kennel’s correct Delta Air Logistics can provide these labels.
* Contain some type of bedding, either shredded paper or towels, to absorb any “accidents.”
* Contain two dishes (one for food and one for water) attached to the inside of the kennel door. They must be easily accessible to Delta agents without opening the kennel door.
* Display feeding instructions and food, if applicable. These instructions should be affixed to the top of the kennel, along with shipper and consignee information.
* Not be made entirely of welded mesh, wire mesh, wicker, cardboard or collapsible materials.US Air:
Approved Carriers
US Airways accepts hard-sided carriers up to 17 inches long x 16 inches wide x 8 inches tall and soft-sided carriers up to 17 inches long X 16 inches wide X 10 inches tall on all flights.* Carriers must be leak-proof and escape-proof.
* Carriers must be ventilated on at least two sides, but not allow any part of the animal to protrude outside of the container.
* Carriers must provide room for the animal to stand up and turn around.
* Carriers can be made of the following materials: metal, wood or hard plastic/composite. Exceptions are made for soft-sided containers made specifically for pet carriage.June 22, 2007 at 3:24 pm #184697DavidCMurrayParticipantIf you call your airline´s ticket agent at the airport and ask for information about shipping your dog, they will put you in touch with a baggage manager who can help sell you a crate.
When we were shipping our Labrador, we were told that international crate standards are more stringent than domestic — U.S. — standards. For one thing, the crate must be ventilated on all four sides.
June 22, 2007 at 4:37 pm #184698terrycookMemberI just read today that as of July 15th Air Canada will no longer allow pets on passenger planes. However you can still ship on cargo planes. This may become more common as they state that the requrements for “air space” around these cages takes up to much valuable space for regular baggage. Also last fall they stopped allowing any pets on board (in the cabin) as they had a Dr. die from pet allery attack.
Terry From Texas
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