Airline puppy shipping

[GSP7]

Who is better Delta or American Airlines ?

[reba]

DELTA!

BUT NOT IN THIS HOT WEATHER>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[GSP7]

Yea,, hope its cools off for next week end.

AA seemed better , from what they told me on the phone...?

[Brazosvalleyvizslas]

AA lost one of the most expensive dogs ever and cost everyone to pay twice as much for shipping dogs.

[ohmymy111]

I have used Delta for most puppies that I ship. The last 3 puppies that flew out 3 weeks ago went to MA, OH and TX. Texas was going to be to hot to ship via Delta so I used United for the 1st time. They flew out of Fargo, and I could tell United's staff must not get a lot of puppies there, as it took forever for them to figure out the paperwork. But other than that it went well, and I will probably fly with them in the future, as they are all climate controlled and cost less than Delta to boot.

[mlittle]

I have used Delta. They have pressure, and temperature controlled areas that they ship the dogs in now. It is not like it used to be. I had one shipped from AZ last summer, and it was a great experience. When I got to the airport to pick it up, the Delta cargo attendents had the pup out and were playing with it. Good experience. I am not sure I would use anyone else to ship by air.

[GSP7]

Cool, thanks guys, Looks like I have several flight options

Im thinking earliest AM flights might be best for shipping a pup for chances of hot weather...What do you think

I was wondering about late evening flights to avoid hot weather but it doesnt look like there are any late evening flights just about 5pm flights when it will still be hot out

[RichK]

When are you planning on shipping the dog? This month?

[ezzy333]

Cool, thanks guys, Looks like I have several flight options

Im thinking earliest AM flights might be best for shipping a pup for chances of hot weather...What do you think

I was wondering about late evening flights to avoid hot weather but it doesnt look like there are any late evening flights just about 5pm flights when it will still be hot out

R4emember the heat is only a problem before take off and after landing. It will be cold while in flight. Air cools 2 degrees Celsius every 1000 feet you go up. The air at 30,000 feet will normally be 70 degrees colder than the surface temperature during flight.

Ezzy

[Moulders Farm]

I have been ask to ship puppies several times but I live over 100 miles from major air lines does any one know of a way in hot weather to ship with out having to go & fight with the air lines . The only way i have found was the new owner flue in & took puppy back as carry on . that worked great they picked puppy was satisfied with it then paid cash & flue back with there puppy . other wise so far I have to sell my puppies cheaper . but so far it has worked out , plus I get to meet & know where my puppies are going I would reather deliver part way than ship

[RichK]

I have been ask to ship puppies several times but I live over 100 miles from major air lines does any one know of a way in hot weather to ship with out having to go & fight with the air lines . The only way i have found was the new owner flue in & took puppy back as carry on . that worked great they picked puppy was satisfied with it then paid cash & flue back with there puppy . other wise so far I have to sell my puppies cheaper . but so far it has worked out , plus I get to meet & know where my puppies are going I would reather deliver part way than ship

There are a few companies that offer pet transport via vehicle for a fee.

[deseeker]

I have been ask to ship puppies several times but I live over 100 miles from major air lines does any one know of a way in hot weather to ship with out having to go & fight with the air lines . The only way i have found was the new owner flue in & took puppy back as carry on . that worked great they picked puppy was satisfied with it then paid cash & flue back with there puppy . other wise so far I have to sell my puppies cheaper . but so far it has worked out , plus I get to meet & know where my puppies are going I would reather deliver part way than ship

Buckeye Dog Haulers out of Ohio isn't to bad--They deliver and pick up in the eastern 1/3 of the US if you live in that area. They are a little higher than the airlines and they don't get them there as fast---but it is another option to flying the pup. They pick them up at your door and drop them off at the buyers door.

[ohmymy111]

I feel for you on the distance to the airport. I am 150 miles from Fargo. I have checked into ground transport, but it really isn't convenient as the times they can pick up dogs really just doesn't work with when I need the puppies going.

I always do early a.m. flights, so the new owners have a good afternoon worth of time to get to know their new buddies. It means getting up and being on the road by 2:30 or 3:00 am, but so be it. I just make sure the new owners get their puppy on the same day, so I don't have to keep driving back and forth. If someone needs something special for a delivery date, they know they be charged extra for the gas and time.

[art hubbard]

I have used Alaska Airlines several times and have had nothing but positive experiences with them...

[remmy]

[/quote]Buckeye Dog Haulers out of Ohio isn't to bad--They deliver and pick up in the eastern 1/3 of the US if you live in that area. They are a little higher than the airlines and they don't get them there as fast---but it is another option to flying the pup. They pick them up at your door and drop them off at the buyers door.[/quote]

Higher than the airlines? I don't think so. I've been using Buckeye for a couple of years because they are a lot cheaper than airlines.

United and AA wanted about $250-300 more than Buckeye. I'm talking adult dogs though. I don't know what the price difference is for a puppy.

[RoostersMom]

A lot of the beagle guys use the dog haulers - you can check out their reviews of the different companies on www.rabbithuntingonline site - just check around there for dog transport - those guys regularly use those companies. I don't know any of the beagle field trailers that ever fly dogs or puppies.

[roaniecowpony]

Just a point about temperature and pressure. All of the large, high altitude jet airplanes are temperature and pressure controlled in the cargo compartments. All.

The floor of an airliner has panels that will allow air to push them open if there is a different pressure on the passenger vs cargo sides. There are cargo compartment heaters. But heaters in the cargo compartment might be inoperative. Airlines are supposed to have procedures to prevent animals from being carried in a compartment if the heaters are inoperative to protect from freezing them. But if no animals are onboard, regulations allow them to fly with a carg heater inop. Sometimes maintenance personnel will not know a flight has animals or they may not know heaters are broken.. Its up to the flight crew to read the airplane maintenance status and manifest before taking off. It is routinely -60ºF at cruise altitudes.

Now here's something you probably didn't know. Following the ValueJet accident in the mid 90's, the FAA issued a regulation that required all cargo compartments to be equipped with halon fire extinguisher systems. Prior to that, it was only the jumbo jets like 747, DC-10, 777, 767, that were required to have them. In the event of a fire or even if the crew suspects a fire (nuisance erroneous fire/smoke warnings are very common) they may discharge the halon into the cargo compartment. Halon will suffocate a fire or an animal just the same.

The restrictions they have on temperatures is because of the hangars, ramps, and cargo compartment temperatures on the ground.

[Brazosvalleyvizslas]

Buckeye Dog Haulers out of Ohio isn't to bad--They deliver and pick up in the eastern 1/3 of the US if you live in that area. They are a little higher than the airlines and they don't get them there as fast---but it is another option to flying the pup. They pick them up at your door and drop them off at the buyers door.[/quote]

Higher than the airlines? I don't think so. I've been using Buckeye for a couple of years because they are a lot cheaper than airlines.

United and AA wanted about $250-300 more than Buckeye. I'm talking adult dogs though. I don't know what the price difference is for a puppy.[/quote]


I fly with my adult dogs all the time and it costs about $300 round trip so I don't see how Buckeye could be $300 less. I can buy a crate and ship a puppy to Canada for $400.

[remmy]

I was quoted $550 from United and $575 from AA on two different occassions. WTH??

[Brazosvalleyvizslas]

I was quoted $550 from United and $575 from AA on two different occassions. WTH??

Sorry for your bad luck but I just bought a crate and flew a puppy to Canada from Texas for $380. Unfortunately, I know why the airlines raised their prices.

[gotpointers]

We just had a pup from a co-owned litter go from Albuquerque to Austin for around $200. Health certificate was $68. They are pretty picky about the kennel that had a front and a top hatch though. I used to ground ship a lot but my carrier became really unreliable.

[ezzy333]

It is routinely -60ºF at cruise altitudes.

Where did you get this from?

Ezzy

[hi-tailyn]

I ship 2-4 pups each year. I only use Continental, now joined with United. Climate control cargo areas.

AA has temp regulations that prevents me from shipping her in Dallas many times during the year. Never a problem with Continental.

Have lost dogs on Delta. Pup sat in Dallas for 6 hours till new owner from Savannah GA called and they couldn't find pup anywhere. It never even got on plane. It sat in Dallas loading room all day. Lost a stud dog in Atlanta cargo area for 12 hours. They had no idea where it was. It just showed up some how. Then they shipped it next day back to Dallas.

For puppies in med crate they ship for $240 anywhere in the 48 states. It just can't weigh over 45lbs. total. Adults go around $340.

[roaniecowpony]

It is routinely -60ºF at cruise altitudes.

Where did you get this from?

Ezzy

Industry data gathered by actual in flight measurements. For example, in your neck of the woods, the stations this morning report a lot of mid -50s C at FL390 which is in the mid-upper -60s F. Temps in your area at FL340 are around the low -50s C which is around -60F. Why do you ask?

[ezzy333]

Because it isn't that cold.

Ezzy

[roaniecowpony]

What isn't that cold?

[roaniecowpony]

Sorry Ez,
I see that you were asking where I got this. When I posted my statement about routinely being -60 at cruise altitude, it was from memory of information I picked up along my piloting and my career in aviation. So, I double checked it this morning.

The data has been available for decades to pilots, known as a "winds aloft" report, which is generated for pilots by NOAA/NWS. We used to have to call into the nearest Flight Service Station or visit one of the stations in person to get the report. Over the phone was easy, because you could ask the FSS specialist to decipher the tables which were constructed in a sort of code when teletype machines had limited character space available. For the life of me, I can't understand why they haven't made the tables more user friendly in today's computer environment. I doubt any FSS, FAA, NOAA, NWS or any other entity has teletypes anymore. Everything is web-based.

Anyway, here's the winds aloft link. click on an area of the map and a page with a table will open. If you click on the JOT location on the map you'll get a table. Look for JOT, which I beleive is closest to your location. At FL340, I see 201052, which I beleive translates to wind from 200 degrees at 110 knots, and -52 C temperature.
http://aviationweather.gov/products/nws/winds/

I hadn't had my coffee this morning when I read it, so I also found another source much simpler for the specific temp at altitude data here. You have to select the altitude or FL, the time (UTC), and "temperature", then a map of the US pops up with some regional temps (C) at the selected altitude.
http://aviationweather.gov/adds/winds/

[Brazosvalleyvizslas]

-60 degrees? No way.

[RoostersMom]

I'm guessing that some others know a heck of a lot more than me on this subject - but a quick google search produced this nugget:

From 11 to 20 kilometres (36,000 to 66,000 ft), the constant temperature is −56.5 °C (−69.7 °F), which is the lowest assumed temperature in the ISA.


Wow - I had no idea that it was so cold up there!

[roaniecowpony]

-60 degrees? No way.

Yes, really. I've seen some of our daily problem reports where the airplane was in -70F conditions at altitude. Go to those links above and check out todays forcast. Airliners typically cruise in the mid to upper 30, 000 ft region, if the flight is over an hour and change.

Personally, I avoid traveling by air with my dogs. Not that I won't . Between the reports I read every morning about problems and the handling of pets by airlines, I just prefer to avoid the whole process if I can.

I pulled this quote from an online article about airline lost pets.
"Since the monthly tallies began in 2005 to March of 2010, there have been 135 animal deaths, 59 animal injures and 34 animals have been lost."

Compensating an owner for losing, injuring or killing a pet is pretty poor as well. Don't expect the airline to compensate you fairly for a champion bird dog worth thousands of $.

[jetjockey]

Roanie is actually pretty darn close with all his data. The cargo compartments all have fire extinguishing systems, if there is a fire, or even a bad indication, anything alive in the cargo compartment is toast. Not only is there a "knock down" spray of halon, there is a second bottle that typically sprays for hours to keep the fire from flaring up as well. Standard temperature at sea level is 15 degrees C. Standard temp drop is then 2 degrees per thousand feet. In other words, at 30,000ft, the standard temperature is -45 degrees, and -64 at 40,000 ft..... Now, with that said, flying animals on the airlines, especially gun dogs, is pretty safe. The dogs you have to worry about are the flat nosed dogs like Boston Terriers and Bulldogs. However, because of their issues, those dogs aren't typically allowed on airlines anyways. The airlines have become pretty good at shipping dogs. But the only worry onboard the plane would be a fire, or a possible depressurization. Even then however, an Emergency descent will get a plane down to 10,000 ft pretty darn quick. I fly for the airlines, and have felt comfortable whenI have shipped dog.

[roaniecowpony]

JJ
C'mon now, its not my data. Thats NWS actual measured temps.

[KwikIrish]

I fly frequently with dogs. Delta is the only way I will go.
They have never done me wrong.

[mister2]

I know the airlines say climate controlled cargo area but about what temperature is it controlled to? Just curious that's all. I am having a puppy shipped to me next week so I can't wait!!! Going through Delta and very reasonably priced.

[roaniecowpony]

I know the airlines say climate controlled cargo area but about what temperature is it controlled to? Just curious that's all. I am having a puppy shipped to me next week so I can't wait!!! Going through Delta and very reasonably priced.

I asked a former manager in our environment control systems group. He said all our airplanes have the capability to heat the lower cargo compartments with what's called a jet pump. Basically, it's super hot engine air with a mixer that will control the temp to about the same as the cabin.

The cooling is a different story. It was a customer option on most of our planes. Operators that knew they were hauling animals in the lower cargo cmptmt would opt for the cooling ducting and system control. This may be another reason why some airlines restrict animal carriage during hot weather.

[jetjockey]

Typically 60-75 degrees. Many Cargo compartments have a "blanket" that surrounds the compartment that will augment the cabin air to keep the desired temperature. The cooling is the issue, and that's why most airlines have temperature restrictions.

[roaniecowpony]

JJ
What are you flying?

[mlittle]

I shipped 2 pups in 1 crate from Arizona to Kentucky. I think it was $240 on delta. The ground transports that I checked were higher. Price was by crate dimensions. This was a medium size crate.