Plan Ahead for Traveling with a Pet
You may bring your pet as carry-on luggage, have it fly on the plane as checked baggage or ship it as live cargo. Delta Airlines allows cats, dogs and birds to travel as carry ons for $100, while you must check in hamsters, rabbits and guinea pigs and ship reptiles, rodents and other animals as cargo. Only animals small enough to fit in a kennel that you can place underneath the seat in front of you qualify as carry on.
Arrive at the Airport Early
Between security screenings and check-in procedures, you can lose a lot of time. This is especially true around holidays, when lots of travelers clog the airport. Avoid stress by arriving early for your flight. The Air Transport Association suggests that domestic airline passengers arrive 60 to 90 minutes before their flight's scheduled departure, and two to three hours before leaving on an international flight.
Insure Your Luggage
Check in your luggage and make sure the claim check for each bag matches the destination tag that airport personnel attach to your luggage. If you carry valuables, ask ahead of time about the airline's insurance policy. You may need to consider purchasing an extra insurance policy from your airline, which provides for gap coverage between the value of the bag and the airline's liability reimbursement maximum. Airlines set domestic reimbursement limits at $3,300 for domestic flights, but only $1,000 for international trips.
Avoid Security Checkpoint Delays
Airline security relies heavily on the check stations in the airports. You can avoid checkpoint delays by not wearing clothes or jewelry containing metal that might set off an alarm, which may cause you to be individually screened. The most common items you might overlook are metal hair accessories, the wiring in underwire bras and body piercings. Avoid these pitfalls by altering your dress for travel: remove body jewelry and metal barrettes, opt for comfortable pants that do not require the use of a belt with a metal buckle, and choose a gel-filled bra rather than an underwire garment.
