delta airlines??

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andymilo

andymilo

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Messages
268
Location
Toronto
hello :)..I am traveling with my chinchilla back to canada in june and I just spoke with a representative at delta to ask whether or not they take chinchilla as carry-on. She said that they only take cats, dogs, and birds. So then I asked her about pets as checked baggage and she said the same thing. I tried to tell her that on their website it says that they take rabbits, guinea pigs, and hamsters as checked baggage, but she said no. Here is the link

http://www.delta.com/planning_reser...avel_information/pet_travel_options/index.jsp

Under "checked baggage" it clearly states that hamsters, rabbits and guinea pigs are allowed...so I am confused?? Has anyone flown with delta and their chinny before? Has anyone flown with them in cabin? The reason I ask is because I am afraid of shipping her because I am living in the caribbean at the moment and the average temp is 87 degrees. I do not know what will happen to her after i check her in, or how long she will be left outside. I would feel so much more comfortable in she were with me because then she would go straight from the ac in the car to the airport which is heavily airconditioned and so are the planes. Does anyone have any experience flying with their chinnies? Or does anyone know what happens after u check a pet in?? Any info would be appreciated...thanks :)
 
I would call back and ask for a supervisor.

Also I know of several people who have had to tell the airline that their chin was a dwarf rabbit to avoid having to ship it. Good luck with your flight!
 
Monkeys, pot-bellied pigs, reptiles, frogs, mice, rats, sugar gliders, and spiders are not permitted

I think you misread it...


sorry hun...is there another airline you could fly???:yuck:
 
yeah but thats for carry-on...and a chinchilla is none of those things lol...of course carry-on is the ideal situation but i also asked about pets as checked baggage and she said the same thing...this is what is says under checked baggage..

"Cats, dogs, household birds, guinea pigs, rabbits, hamsters, and marmots are accepted as checked baggage."

and im not sure about any other airlines that fly to where i am...thats the biggest problem...also most airlines don't list about chinnies...i guess that understandable since most people don't even know what they are lol...
 
forget that....just say he/she is a rabbit...Tell them s/he is a dwarf rabbit and you'll be fine...I doubt they'd put up a stink...


that is if all other options fail-I'd never tell you to lie to get your way:wink3:
 
hahahaha lol...i know but i am deathly scared of doing that lol...US customs scares the crappers out of me lol...what happens if they find out u are lying?? i am afraid they will take my chinny away....i am terrible at this kind of stuff..if it were my boyfreind this wud be no problem...he has no problem lying to authorities lol...
 
I've shipped through Delta twice with chinchillas and no problems. However I didn't carry them on, they went as cargo... I believe if you put them on as cargo, it should be all right.
 
ok thanks...do u know where animals are kept until they are shipped? and if the holding areas are temperature controlled?
 
As far as I know the Delta airlines in Seattle (the one I used) do have temperature controlled for the flights I used them for... you have to check with the flights, some airplanes for certain flights are not temperature controlled with some airlines(i.e. all Air Canada smaller airplanes do not have temperature control in them).
Anials are usually kept in the cargo office up till they are ready to be shipped, then they are usually put in the cargo under the plane. I've had my chins fly with me on the same plane, just in the cargo section instead of the cabin. Worked fine.
 
I had this same issue once when I was trying to bring my chinchillas with me to Florida - it did not work out with the airline. When I called Delta, they said they don't allow chinchillas at all. American Airlines said they would let me carry them on, and I called and confirmed like 7 times approaching the flight, but when I got there and went to check-in the desk people told me I couldn't bring them with me. They wouldn't even ship them cargo, and they told me the cargo area in the plane is not temp-controlled when the plane is waiting to take off on the tarmac.

I've heard a lot of conflicting information about who allows what with the airlines. Whether they let you through apparently depends a lot on what airport, who is at the check-in desk, and who is available for you to call at the time of the flight if something goes wrong. Mine was early in the morning, and they had no supervisor at check-in for me to appeal to. So even though I had the health certificates, and they were supposed to have made a note about the kind of animal I was carrying, I almost missed my flight, my dad had to drive to the airport from an hour away to get my girls, and then we had to arrange for someone to drive them halfway from MI to FL so I could get them. It was a nightmare.

It is a really long story, but suffice to say, if you manage to get someone to say it is OK, even if you are going to say they are rabbits, get it in writing and make sure they have made a note of what kind of animal it is. In writing, even if they have to fax or e-mail a letter from some manager or supervisor.
 
oh no!! so what finally happened? How did they end up getting to you?? And this is exactly what I am afraid of here...because in the caribbean it is impossible to get 2 people to tell you the same things when dealing with these kinds of issues...I always get a different answer depending who I am talking to...and i am worried because i know when i get to US customs they are extra tough on people coming from the caribbean...even though i am a Canadian citizen...
 
An option could be to have them shipped out through another airline for you to pick up after you get where you are going. Just a thought. Have a family member or friend do it. There must be another airline there to use that accepts chinchillas?
 
yeah that what i am trying to figure out at the moment...the only airlines that fly to the states from here are AA which only accepts dogs and cats, Continental (which I called and they do not accept chinchillas in cabin nor do they have a cargo station here), so my last options are Delta or a local airline that flies to Miami (I will call on Monday as they are closed now). Does anyone know of any international pet shipping companies or something of that sort?
 
I had some violets shipped once by United, and the cargo area was freezing! I was more worried about the carbon monoxide the lift trucks were putting out! I had to go outside! Everything worked out O.K. though
 
I did about 3 years ago from Ohio to CA on Delta. The chins went in cargo the cost at that time was $80.00. I would ask for a supervisor and you do have to have an approved carrier, & health certificate.
 
If you talk to their supervisor, and they do agree you can bring a chin in cargo(which they should, because honestly I had no troubles sending chins through Delta. Some of the cargo handlers would even hold the chins in their hands, while I was filling the paperwork out.), make sure and get their name - just to be on the safe side.

It's something to do with the customs too. When I brought my chins over to the US and back for shows, I would make sure and have spoken to a customs officer before going down, got their name, and then when going through customs, as soon as I mentioned, so and so said to let me through - they let me through without even looking at the chins. Very simple and no waste of time.
By the way, I had this happen with westjet once, where one of the women reps, fought with me that I could not ship chinchillas through their airline... I talked with her supervisor and they apologized for the discrepancy and of course I could ship through them with chinchillas - that woman was just being a witch.
And if you have issues with the supervisor too, then tell them to call their head office. Sometimes it could just be the airport and all it takes is one call to head office to clear up any misconceptions.
 
Yay i have great news!!! The local airline here will let me fly with him to miami on board...then i will ship him as cargo from miami to toronto with either delta or continental!!! This is great news!!!
 
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