Sometimes it becomes a necessity for you to accompany your pets while travelling. However, it becomes more hectic and exhausting when you carry on a pet, especially on a flight. Many scenarios are there, which are more difficult when you are more than 42000 ft above the ground. Thus passengers have to follow set rules by the Southwest Airlines while boarding a flight with a pet.
First and foremost in that you can take a pet in a carry-on, and not as checked baggage. Along with that, major pointers are there as per the Southwest Airline Pet Policy, which might be necessary for you to be aware of while making air travel reservations along with your Pet.
When booking a Southwest Flight and planning to carry a pet, passengers need to keep the following things in mind:
Dogs and Cats which are properly vaccinated, along with the documentation submitted as proof of their vaccination, are allowed to travel on a Southwest Airlines Flight.
The Southwest Airlines Flight allows a maximum of 6 pets on-board. Thus, pets on a Southwest flight are accepted on a first-come and first-serve basis. However, under different situations or circumstances, the maximum number of permissible pets can vary.
The pet should be properly trained and must not show any disruptive behavior, like the following:
1. Excessive whining, barking, or scratching.
2. The pet should not growl, bite, or lunge other passengers.
3. Pets are not allowed to urinate or defecate in the gate area.
Remains of a dead/cremated pet can be taken as carry-on items. The TSA will do some inspection on the cremated remains. Also, the cremated remains are not accepted as checked baggage.
You cannot carry a pet while travelling on an international flight.
Any customer/passenger taking a pet will is not allowed to occupy an exit row seat that does not have any under-seat storage.
The minimum age for any pet that you can carry on a flight is eight weeks.
For Any Queries Regarding Southwest Airline Pet Policy
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Other Important Mandates of the SouthWest Pet Policy
Along with no symptoms of disruptive behaviour, pets should be odourless, harmless, and not require any attention on the flight.
No additional facilities are provided to the pet in case it gets ill on an ongoing flight. Also, in case of any emergency, no oxygen mask is available for the pet.
Passengers need to keep their pet in a carrier that they cannot share with a service animal.
Passengers are advised to mandatorily come to the airport before the scheduled departure of the flight. The purpose of that is to complete the need of taking your pet to the outside relief area for toilet or roaming. The airline, in any case, will not delay the flight due to this.
One ticketed passenger can take only one pet.
Common Restrictions While Taking Pet on a Southwest Flight
The airlines does not allow to board any pet on a flight without the owner or the customer.
Minor cannot take pets with them on the flight.
SouthWest Pet Policy Cost
Passengers need to accompany their pet in the pet carrier, for which they have to pay an additional fee of USD 95 per pet carrier. Passengers have to pay the pet fares at the airport counter.
Pet Carriers Specification as per the SouthWest Pet Policy
Passengers need to carry their pets in the carrier, which should be as per the specification mentioned by the airline authorities. The following are the specifications that passengers have to follow while getting a pet carrier:
The dimensions of the allowed pet carrier are 17’ by 9.5” by 10”(17 inches in length, 9.5 in height, and 10 inches in width).
The carrier should be well-ventilated in order to avoid any chance for the pet to suffocate. Along with that, it should be leak proof.
Any pet carrier that can accumulate two pets must have two pets of the same species.
The dog or cat inside the carrier should be able to move or stand.
There should not be any kind of restricted movement of the pet inside the carrier.
Security Check While Taking a Pet
While taking a pet carrier on a flight, the passengers have to walk through the screening device. During which they have to pass the carrier with an X-ray.
SouthWest Airlines Pet Travel Policy: Documentation
Passengers mandatorily need to submit a health certificate along with proof of the vaccination of the dog. Another major document that passengers have to submit is the age certificate which will prove that the pet is not less than eight weeks old.
Southwest Pet Regulation for a Flight to Hawaii
While travelling on a Southwest Flight to/from Hawaii, you cannot carry a pet with yourself on-board. However, while travelling in Hawaii, the Southwest Airlines allows pets as long as they fulfil all the rules and regulations of the Southwest Pet Policy.
SouthWest Policy for the Trained Service Animal
Trained Services Animals need to fulfil different parameters in order to board a Southwest flight. Basic rules and regulations for trained service animals are as follow:
Passengers need to submit a complete U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Air Transportation Form at the ticket counter.
You need to keep your dog with a harness or a leash all the time while taking a pet at the airport.
Therapy and emotional support animal do not come under the category of a service animal. You can carry them only as a pet.
Exit row occupancy is not applicable for any passenger with a pet or trained service animal.
Passengers can also bring an additional pet along with the trained service animal. However, they have to fullfil certain conditions, like if the pet is larger than the child of age 2, then passengers have to purchase additional seat.
A Perfect Hub for Getting all Air Travel Related information
Passengers, if considering any other airlines passage apart from Southwest and need to know their pet policy or any other travel-related guidelines or rules & regulation, then can connect with Flightaura. Here, they can find any kind of information like baggage policy, name correction rules, flight change process, and many others. Refer to the blog section of Flightaura for any kind of travel guidelines for different airlines. Different major kind of solutions provided by Flightaura includes:
Flight Alteration
Flight cancellation (for any flight within 24 hours of booking)
Name Correction Assistance
Immediate booking of flights.
Along with that, passengers can also find the list of available flights that they can consider to confirm their travel passage.
For that, follow the Given Steps:
On the Homepage of Flightaura, you can find the section where you need to put the following details:
1. Origin
2. Destination station
3. Departure and Return Data
4. Passenger details like number of passengers and travel class.
After that, hit on the search button.
Now in the search result, first, you can find the available direct flights of different airlines. Afterward, you can find the same result in the form of a list that you can set based on preferences like cheapest, duration, or any other factor.
Select the suitable flight based on your preference and then confirm your bookings.
Final Thoughts
In the above discussion, we have listed all the available information regarding the pet policy of Southwest Airlines. Major things to keep in mind before you proceed to accompany your pet on a Southwest flight is that our pet should not be large enough and can easily fit in the pet carrier. The next thing to keep in mind is that the pet should not display aggressive behavior. Now if you need further assistance from our side, then connect with us through the helpline number given below or use the live chat to get instant solutions for any kind of travel-related information.
Southwest Airlines does not allow pets to be carried as Checked Baggage or inside air cargo. Pets can only be carried at carry-on and should be within the given specification so that they can fit beneath the passengers on the aircraft.
