If you're about to take a trip by plane and want your pet to go with you, you know there are a lot of preparations to make for the animal's time on the plane. However, don't forget the transportation service that you'll use after you get to the airport. Whether you're using a shuttle service, private town car, or another service, you need to treat your pet seriously and follow the rules. It's very important to note that you should not bring your pet along on a whim.
Advance Notice
If you are going to bring your pet, you need to let the airport pickup service know that the animal will be with you. Animals usually count as an extra piece of baggage, and even small lap-type animals take up room in the shuttle. The driver needs to know about the possibility of an animal being on board, too.
One crucial reason for notifying the service before you reach the destination airport is that the service needs to be sure the driver and other scheduled passengers are not allergic to the animal. It's not fair to the driver to show up with a cat at the last minute, for example, when that driver is severely allergic to cats. Advance notice allows the service to arrange for a driver who can be in the same vehicle as your pet.
Another reason is that sometimes a special vehicle is needed for the pet. Very large animals, like large dogs, might not fit easily into a shuttle that is already packed.
Carrier Required
You also need to know about the service's required carrier policy. For many pickup services, guide and search dogs can travel without being in a carrier, but the animals have to sit on the floor. Other animals must be crated to ensure they do not get loose and distract or annoy other passengers or the driver, and that crate is treated as luggage. If you bring an animal carrier onto the shuttle or into the car at the last minute, there might not be enough room. Even if you're using a private car service and have all the space to yourself, you could still end up with not enough space if you have a lot of luggage that, with the carrier, exceeds the available space in the vehicle.
Most airport pickup services allow animals, so there's no reason to not call and let the service know one will be coming with you. Remember to give the pet a break after the plane flight; many airports now have small dog runs that let dogs blow off a little steam.
Share27 June 2017
Typically, my husband and I ask our neighbor to give us a ride to the airport when we are going on a trip. In return, we drive her when she needs a ride there. However, we were going out of town soon and she was feeling under the weather, so I decided to go about seeking other arrangements. I was surprised to learn just how many ways one could get to the airport. You could take a limo, town car, taxi or ride share. I created this website to give information about each of these options and answer some of the questions you may have about each option.