pet travel

As in-cabin pet travel fees rise, pet owners are finding themselves resorting to smuggling to keep costs down. A recent report from Christopher Elliott at the Seattle Times found that more pet owners have been caught sneaking their pets on planes as a way to avoid airline fees.

"When I asked why I had to pay a fee in order to stuff my dog under the seat in front of me, I was told it was their policy," [Boggs] said. "I concluded that it's really just a ploy to charge another fee."  A lot of travelers have been arriving at the same conclusion lately, although exact numbers are difficult to come by. Instead of paying extra "pet fees" to hotels or airlines, they're spiriting their animal companions into their bags or under blankets in the hope of saving a few bucks. They also are bending the truth when it comes to their pets, said Ami Moore, a Chicago-based canine behaviorist. One wealthy client recently offered Moore $10,000 to "certify" her dog as a service animal, which would have given the animal a free ride.

What do you think?  Have you ever smuggled your pet into a hotel?  What about onto an airplane?

The first ever social media conference for pet lovers, called BlogPaws, was held over the wekeend in Ohio.  While we weren't able to make the trip, we kept up with the tweets and attendees through Twitter and their blog posts.  There were some great posts to come out of it, including the Daily Dog Scoop's video recap and a nice overview by Doggies and Stuff.  Doreen, who writes the Doggies and Stuff blog, said the best takeaway she got was "to connect with other pet bloggers and companies that share her passion for pet welfare.  It's all about how we can make a difference."

We noticed a few tweets about people who had considered taking their pets with them but weren't sure how to arrange their pet's travel.  Next year, if you need help with pet travel arrangements, drop us a line on Twitter or Facebook.  We're happy to give you and your pet some advice on pet-friendly airlines, the best routing and how to get your pets ready for their big trip!

Better yet, download our free MyPetRelocation ebook which helps you move and travel with your pets!  This book will walk you step-by-step through the pet travel booking process and keep everything organized throughout your trip.  Rescue organizations can also use this book to help create low-cost travel arrangements for foster dogs or pets that have to be moved from state to state.

We hope to see everyone at BlogPaws in 2011!

We occasionally get questions from visitors who are planning trips with their pets.  Since we specialize more in air travel for pets, we asked Leila Coe, dog travel enthusiast and blogger on AndASmallDog.com, to tackle the following question about taking pets on road trips and how to plan for the big move:

Depending on the cost to fly my dog from Georgia to Wisconsin, we may drive our dog up during our move (June 1-14 time frame)...Do you have a list of hotels that would take our dog along the way?

-Dan P.

Taking a road-trip with your pet can be a fun and less stressful trip than flying with your pet. There are pet-friendly motels and hotels along the highways - especially in or near major cities - so that finding a hotel should be fairly easy. You may have to stop in at a few different hotels before you find one that accepts pets, if you haven't pre-planned your stopovers.

Some things to keep in mind:

• Budget-friendly hotels such as La Quinta will most likely accept dogs and many don't charge any extra fee. There are a lot of new La Quintas and rooms can be less than $100 including breakfast and internet. Motel 6 is now completely pet-friendly with no fee and no weight limits.
• If you are traveling with a family as well as your pet, and want more room, then many Residence Inn's and Hawthorne Suites will accept pets.
• If your dog is less than 25 lbs. you'll have an easier time finding hotels at the spur of the moment. If your dog is over this weight, pre-planning is recommended. Hotels often have weight limits which can vary a lot - but general rule is the smaller your pet, the easier it will be to find accommodations. This rule isn't necessarily fair and is something I'm hoping to change.  Check out my new initiative, Give Dogs A Break.
• There is often a pet fee - sometimes charged per pet, per night or sometimes a one time charge. Always ask before you make a reservation what the pet fee is, and if its per night. Pet fees can range from $10-$100+ so you will want to avoid a nasty surprise on your bill.

There's a good article up on MSNBC.com by Harriet Baskas about travelers with pets whose behavior can sometimes get hairy:

According to the 2009/2010 National Pet Owners Survey, more than 71 million U.S. households own a pet. Many people consider their pets to be part of the family, and when it’s time for a business or leisure trip, many dogs, cats and birds go right along.  While there are an increasing number of hotels, attractions and even bars and restaurants with policies welcoming pets, some travelers still feel the need to chew up the rules.

The article goes on to list several examples of people pushing the pet-friendly limits, everything from sneaking in monkeys to letting their dog swim in the hotel pool.  If pet travel was a puppy training class, that behavior definitely wouldn't pass the test.

We've mentioned before (see: "Pet Travel Etiquette:  Mind Your P's and Oops!") that pet owners who take their pets along with them on trips are ultimately ambassadors for the entire pet travel industry.  Picking up after your pet, making sure you are aware of the local rules and regulations and planning well in advance are all part of making sure that Fido gets a return invite to your favorite pet-friendly chateau.

Pet travel to China just got a little easier.  Pet friendly KLM Airlines will launch scheduled service between Amsterdam and Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport in China beginning May 8, 2010. KLM is the first airline to offer direct service between Hangzhou and Europe, where their pet hotel is located at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. 

The new roundtrip service will be operated three times a week, departing from Schiphol on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and returning from Hangzhou on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Flights will be operated with a Boeing 777-200ER, which has pressurized, climate controlled cargo holds for pets.

Hangzhou is the capital of the province Zhejiang, which, together with the neighbouring province Fujian, is home to more than 80 million people. Via Hangzhou, passengers can catch connecting flights to other destinations within China once their pets have cleared through customs for entering the country.

"KLM is proud to add this 63rd intercontinental destination to its network. KLM has thus improved China’s connection with Europe and the rest of the world,” said KLM President & CEO Peter Hartman in an email to pet-friendly pet travel companies. "Furthermore, KLM has hereby given an enormous impulse to Schiphol’s mainport status. The KLM network is crucial to the Dutch economy, contributing to a favourable business establishment climate, generating employment and creating opportunities for Dutch businesses."

We received a  question from a reader named Rauni regarding her upcoming move from California to Arizona.  She was having trouble finding out information regarding whether she needed a health certificate to enter Arizona with her two cats.

Last year, we were ranked as one of Inc. Magazine's fastest growing privately owned companies in America.  We're hoping to make the list again this year, and our entry caught the eye of the editors who featured PetRelocation.com as their "Applicant of the Week" this week. Reporter Josh Spiro discussed the rise of pet travel trends with our CEO Kevin O'Brien.

From the write-up:

Kevin O’Brien’s profession might not be the oldest, but it’s up there. “The animal transportation industry has been around since transportation,” he says laughing. That said transporting pets is a much more nascent field, having only taken off in the past five to 10 years. While the company focuses on transporting dogs and cats for corporate employees who relocate for work, its motto is “any pet, anywhere, any time” and so far it hasn’t had to turn down a job.

Last year, Pet Relocation was ranked No. 777 on the Inc. 5000 list and this year, according to O’Brien “we hope to break the 500 barrier.” With a prime domain name and a growing number of people “starting to accept the idea of live animal relocation,” business has never been better.

Read more of the article here.

Today we released the second "webisode" in our video series Pup in the Air!  We're following a Chihuahua and his travels from New York City to Tokyo, Japan.  Check it out below and then head over to Pup in the Air to watch all of the videos of Mocha's international pet travels!

Airports have come a long way with regards to pet-friendly areas.  Here are the top 10 pet-friendly airportsPet friendly airports like JFK are perfect for travelers with pets! that have improved their pet features over the last year.  Have you traveled to any of these airports and visited their pet areas?  Email us a picture or post one on our Facebook page of you and your pet!

Missing from this list is John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City.  Their Pet Relief Area that we recently visited was quite spacious and even offered benches for pets and owners to stay a while.

1. Atlanta: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) The 1,000-square-foot fully-fenced Poochie Park includes flowers, grass, rocks, and benches to set the scene for dogs to sniff around, get a bit of exercise, and do their business. Being the world's busiest airport, it has seen its fair share of pets pass through and wanted to better cater to their four-legged passengers.

One of our specialists was recently lucky enough to get to visit the American Airlines Pet Relief Area at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport (check out our previous post on the topic - American Airlines Opens New "Pet Relief" Area at JFK Airport) and chat a bit with the American Airlines staff.  Cara, one of our International Pet Relocation Specialists, was transporting a very small Chihuahua named Mocha from New York to Tokyo. 

Pet friendly travel at the Pet Relief area: John, Cara, Mocha, Joseph and Liz from American Airlines

The American Airlines Facilities Manager, Joseph Daly, took some time to talk with us about the new facility.  We got tons of great video footage that we'll be releasing soon in a special miniseries on traveling with pets.  In the meantime, here some interesting facts we picked up: