Plane Rides

[Coolcat]

Sorry, I probably didn't explain my situation well enough. The flight time would actually be an hour, the rest is transit time to and from the airports and waiting in the terminal. My portion of the ticket wouldn't cost me anything as I travel for work and it would come at the tail end of a work week. I opted for the drive last time and will likely do so again.

There are other factors as well as in the winter that 5 hour drive could double or get abandoned mid way and end up in a hotel. Been there, done that too many times. Also the amount of attention I can give a kitten on the drive is pretty close to zero outside of frequent stops that lengthen the trip. In the end, you try to place the least impact you can on the kitten and ideally for us the best solution would be car travel with two people although for us that might not be a reality.

Believe me, if it was only a state or two away, we'd drive.

 

[Coolcat]

Also, if you have a 5hr drive or a 4hr flight, why on earth would you go the flight route and deal with all of the drama and expense that entails? For god sakes, drive and you have a lot more freedom to pull over and deal with an emergency whereas when you are in the air, YOU are confined too with limited options available. Especially since a passenger in a car is not going to cost you an extra seat. I tried in vain to find a very cool BST F2 or F3 on the west coast that called to me so it was within driving distance, but there were none that were cool colored of the right age except an F3 female out of Monster Katz in Las Vegas and I didn't click at all the same way as I did with Isis.

I wish it were only a 5 hour drive, but we're talking Ohio to Arizona and back. Not in the cards this time.

 

[John Popp]

Yes, much different circumstances in your case and no question flying is going to be less intrusive to the kittens well being.

 

[Coolcat]

Would the seat upgrade from econo to econo comfort or what ever thet call it give better room for carrier-i thought it has more leg room.......sorry Triton no first class this trip.

 

[Sunny]

Width, yes and your legs yes, but not under the seats themselves I don't believe. I am uncertain if www.seatguru.com will give you the dimensions but it's worth a shot as well as the airline itself.

 

[Coolcat]

I dont see where the crate will go ,ive got long legs.

 

[John Popp]

Each airline is different along with which plane you are on. What I use is seatguru.com and they have an ap for the iPhone. Not sure if it's available for other smartphones, but at least you can check online.

I travel a fair amount for work and being 6'4" I don't want to end up in one of the oddball seats that has some obstruction or a seat that doesn't recline on longer flights. That's probably your best bet as actually purchasing a first class upgrade is ridiculously priced, and something best left for that special trip burning air miles.

 

[Sunny]

So on my trip I pretty much got screwed by TSA before it even began.

TSA apparently can at random select a passenger that has to check in at the counter and is not able to get a boarding pass online, it shows up as a security document instead of an actual boarding pass to print. So checking in online with Southwest earlier means you are put in a more favorable position for zone and early boarding. So I check in and I'm almost at the back of the line!

Luckily, Southwest (and probably all airlines) can only issue 2 boarding passes at one time (my flight has 3 segments in order to get my little girl). So I have to recheck in with Isis with the travel document and pay my $75 at that time from Indiana. That is when I'm going to demand an A zone or I'm going to board with the groups that have children or need extra time, zone be damned.

While that last segment with my SV is the most important, TSA did screw my travel plans a bit of getting an aisle seat so I can have enough elbow room to use the computer.

I am sure that things will work out in the end, but I am picky and this is bull___t!

 

[Sunny]

And, I need to mention the issue that happened at the counter, when you are taking a pet even though you call the airline to warn them what segment, the people at the counter see that the pet is accompanying you through all segments. And some how it turned into a dog reservation? So I pay the $75 and they say where is it now? It's in Indiana. Well do you have the carrier? Yes, it's there in Indiana. Well you can't get your boarding for that segment and have to check in again, so we need void everything and start over for just luggage and boarding pass and when you actually have the cat in your possession with the travel document, you can get your last pass.

Long story short, the people at the counter may or may not be on their P's and Q's

 

[Jacq]

I flew from Cleveland, OH to Fresno, CA with Razi at 4 mo old, and he was already 13 pounds, and when I took him out of the carrier at security, he freaked out and even though I had a death grip on him, he managed to slice my arm open with his claws and I had to drip blood all the way to the restroom and stay in there for a while to stop the bleeding. I barely made my flight. Luckily other than a few loud meows, I was able to pet him and keep him calm on the way home. I don't think I'll ever travel on a plane with a pet again, though. Of course all my cats are way too big to fit under a seat now.