Airline travel carrier... please help.

WinstonToBC · Jun 5, 2018

I am finally going to transport my dad's Eclectus (Winston) from Florida to Canada. I am going to be flying. What is the minimal measurements for a travel carrier, keeping in mind this is an all day trip.

Is the hard or soft better? Any thoughts or suggestions?

Everything has been smooth except the port of entry as airlines are limited from the states to Canada that allow pet birds.

So, I am using a different airline for the last flight.

the small size is:
Length: 17
Height: 7.5
Width: 11

Is this doable? Please help.

Inger · Jun 5, 2018

Go to the airlines website, search pet policies and they will have dimensions for carriers. If you’re taking him in the cabin, he’ll have to fit under the seat for takeoff and landing, so the dimensions will be the same as other “personal items.”

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WinstonToBC · Jun 5, 2018

Inger said:
Go to the airlines website, search pet policies and they will have dimensions for carriers. If you’re taking him in the cabin, he’ll have to fit under the seat for takeoff and landing, so the dimensions will be the same as other “personal items.”

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks! We did and it is the height I am not sure of. They say 7.5" for hard carriers and 9" for soft carriers.

Do you know how tall a typical male is? I found the length of 14" but not height.

wrench13 · Jun 6, 2018

Make doubly sure that all the legal issues have been taken care of. Recent bill of health from your Avain Vet, and any import papers are in order. Traveling over national borders with birds can be a traumatic issue. Does Canada have a 30 day quarantine period?

WinstonToBC · Jun 6, 2018

wrench13 said:
Make doubly sure that all the legal issues have been taken care of. Recent bill of health from your Avain Vet, and any import papers are in order. Traveling over national borders with birds can be a traumatic issue. Does Canada have a 30 day quarantine period?

I am in direct contact with the Canadian Food Inspevtion Agency. As I own him, no quarantine or import is needed. I have my CITES U.S. export, will be getting an International health certificate from a Florida vet, will be meeting someone at the Seattle point of entry, and I have proof of ownership.

I am just wanting to make sure the travel carrier is fine as the max height is 9". I have never travelled with a bird.

Dopey · Jun 6, 2018

WinstonToBC said:
the small size is:
Length: 17
Height: 7.5
Width: 11

Is this doable? Please help.

If you can find a carrier that you can expand from the minimum size to a larger size after take off and landing that would be ideal. This will give the bird more room while in airports and on the plane. If you sit in the back you may get more cooperation from the attendants.

An Ekkie will be able to travel in that size.

Sunnyclover · Jun 6, 2018

https://www.celltei.com/products/in-cabin-airline-travel-bird-carrier.html

This is what we use for plane travel for our sun conure. We used it last summer for a trip from NYC to Seattle and it worked well and is the regulation size. We plan another trip in August with more legs to the journey!

WinstonToBC · Jun 6, 2018

Sunnyclover said:
https://www.celltei.com/products/in-cabin-airline-travel-bird-carrier.html

This is what we use for plane travel for our sun conure. We used it last summer for a trip from NYC to Seattle and it worked well and is the regulation size. We plan another trip in August with more legs to the journey!

This is so funny. I was just going to post this link:

https://www.celltei.com/products/in-cabin-airline-travel-bird-carrier.html

It is what you have.

I am going to do this one. Does your bird chew it or is it durable? Winston is not a huge chewer.

WinstonToBC · Jun 6, 2018

Dopey said:
WinstonToBC said:

the small size is:
Length: 17
Height: 7.5
Width: 11

Is this doable? Please help.

Click to expand...

If you can find a carrier that you can expand from the minimum size to a larger size after take off and landing that would be ideal. This will give the bird more room while in airports and on the plane. If you sit in the back you may get more cooperation from the attendants.

An Ekkie will be able to travel in that size.

Thabks! Great point. I am going to get one that adjusts. This sounds like it is the way to go.

Sunnyclover · Jun 6, 2018

The Celltei one has a foldable tail compartment as an add-on.

Scott · Jun 7, 2018

What airline are you flying? Some are more restrictive than others, in any case you'll need to avoid the emergency exit rows and forward "class divider" bulkhead as the carrier must fit below a seat.

WinstonToBC · Jun 15, 2018

Thanks for all the tips. I am flying Delta and Alaska. The carrier will fit for both airlines and I am bot in an emrgency row. Both airlines assigned me my seat and put me wjere the space is the largest for the carrier. I think the carrier is going to be perfect. Both airlines allow hard and soft carriers. The one I am getting is for airlines.

Inger · Jun 16, 2018

Excellent! Now-do you want airport tips? Because that was the most stressful part really.

Make sure that every TSA agent you see knows you have a live animal. Different airports have different procedures. I flew out of SeaTac and I think Reagan. SeaTac wanted me to have a TSA escort but I didn’t know it. All in all they were still very organized. They had me hand her carrier over the screening checkpoint, I went through, and they escorted me to a private screening room. I took her out of her carrier and they took the carrier back and scanned it.

At the other end, i didn’t need an escort to security, they were very disorganized (dare I say it - bumbling about? [emoji23]) so I told them how we did it at SeaTac and that we would be doing the same. They did follow directions pretty well.

And-if people know you have a bird, you will get lots of attention. I have the xs pak o bird so I opened the flaps so she could see, and people were fascinated!

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WinstonToBC · Jun 16, 2018

Inger said:
Excellent! Now-do you want airport tips? Because that was the most stressful part really.

Make sure that every TSA agent you see knows you have a live animal. Different airports have different procedures. I flew out of SeaTac and I think Reagan. SeaTac wanted me to have a TSA escort but I didn’t know it. All in all they were still very organized. They had me hand her carrier over the screening checkpoint, I went through, and they escorted me to a private screening room. I took her out of her carrier and they took the carrier back and scanned it.

At the other end, i didn’t need an escort to security, they were very disorganized (dare I say it - bumbling about? [emoji23]) so I told them how we did it at SeaTac and that we would be doing the same. They did follow directions pretty well.

And-if people know you have a bird, you will get lots of attention. I have the xs pak o bird so I opened the flaps so she could see, and people were fascinated!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks so much! Very helpful! I read that birds should never go through the scanning machines and to let them know. Going from Fl to BC involves a short layover in GA and a longer one in Seattle. The Seattle layover works great because I have plenty of time for the Port of Entry check. Was yours stressed at all when travelling? I am not sure how Winston will be. I suspect he will sleep if he is feeling stressed.

Inger · Jun 16, 2018

She didn’t seem to be, but honestly she is very laid back. As long as she can see me, she’s happy. We did the flight from Seattle to DC, put her in a strange cage that was criminally small (I had planned to take her good sized travel cage but it didn’t come apart like i thought it would so I had to punt), surrounded her with strange people and dogs, then packed her and 7 people in the car for a 5 hour each way road trip, more strange people and dogs, and she never missed a beat, charming people all over the country [emoji23]

If you can, have a flap open so Winston can see you when you have to put him under the seat. I didn’t do that the first time and I don’t know if she cared, but I felt better when I could see her LOL

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Scott · Jun 16, 2018

WinstonToBC said:
Inger said:

Excellent! Now-do you want airport tips? Because that was the most stressful part really.

Make sure that every TSA agent you see knows you have a live animal. Different airports have different procedures. I flew out of SeaTac and I think Reagan. SeaTac wanted me to have a TSA escort but I didn’t know it. All in all they were still very organized. They had me hand her carrier over the screening checkpoint, I went through, and they escorted me to a private screening room. I took her out of her carrier and they took the carrier back and scanned it.

At the other end, i didn’t need an escort to security, they were very disorganized (dare I say it - bumbling about? [emoji23]) so I told them how we did it at SeaTac and that we would be doing the same. They did follow directions pretty well.

And-if people know you have a bird, you will get lots of attention. I have the xs pak o bird so I opened the flaps so she could see, and people were fascinated!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Thanks so much! Very helpful! I read that birds should never go through the scanning machines and to let them know. Going from Fl to BC involves a short layover in GA and a longer one in Seattle. The Seattle layover works great because I have plenty of time for the Port of Entry check. Was yours stressed at all when travelling? I am not sure how Winston will be. I suspect he will sleep if he is feeling stressed.

Passing through a magnetometer (old-style TSA scanner) is not bad, but the conveyor-belt "baggage" machine seems harsh. Not sure about the newer-style whole-body scanners, though. Practically speaking, you can't hide much inside a live Eclectus! I would recommend researching official TSA guidance for screening animals and have a copy available. Unfortunately policies have a way of morphing from one airport to another.

WinstonToBC · Jul 2, 2018

Thanks so much for all the airport tips!

charmedbyekkie · Jul 2, 2018

Glad to hear he's coming home to you soon

Hope your trip goes well when the time comes!

Inger · Jul 3, 2018

Scott said:
WinstonToBC said:

Inger said:

Excellent! Now-do you want airport tips? Because that was the most stressful part really.

Make sure that every TSA agent you see knows you have a live animal. Different airports have different procedures. I flew out of SeaTac and I think Reagan. SeaTac wanted me to have a TSA escort but I didn’t know it. All in all they were still very organized. They had me hand her carrier over the screening checkpoint, I went through, and they escorted me to a private screening room. I took her out of her carrier and they took the carrier back and scanned it.

At the other end, i didn’t need an escort to security, they were very disorganized (dare I say it - bumbling about? [emoji23]) so I told them how we did it at SeaTac and that we would be doing the same. They did follow directions pretty well.

And-if people know you have a bird, you will get lots of attention. I have the xs pak o bird so I opened the flaps so she could see, and people were fascinated!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Thanks so much! Very helpful! I read that birds should never go through the scanning machines and to let them know. Going from Fl to BC involves a short layover in GA and a longer one in Seattle. The Seattle layover works great because I have plenty of time for the Port of Entry check. Was yours stressed at all when travelling? I am not sure how Winston will be. I suspect he will sleep if he is feeling stressed.

Click to expand...

Passing through a magnetometer (old-style TSA scanner) is not bad, but the conveyor-belt "baggage" machine seems harsh. Not sure about the newer-style whole-body scanners, though. Practically speaking, you can't hide much inside a live Eclectus! I would recommend researching official TSA guidance for screening animals and have a copy available. Unfortunately policies have a way of morphing from one airport to another.

They were pretty chill at both ends when I said she could NOT go through x-ray. At first the girl said I’d have to take her out and walk her through with me (that’s probably what you do with a dog or cat). I also refused that, because she’s fully flighted. The girl asked “isn’t she tame?” Well yes, but this is an airport with a jillion people and a lot of noise and confusion. If she gets startled she might fly off. She was very understanding after I explained. It seemed obvious to me, but I guess the average non-bird person wouldn’t know.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

WinstonToBC · Jul 4, 2018

Thanks for the tip. Winston will definitely hop about and I am sure he is going to be stressed. Are birds allowed to go through the walk through x-ray? The last time I travelled I went through the walk through thing where it beeps if they detect metal on you. And I also went through the actual x-ray scanner thing. As you can tell, I don't travel much!!!

Airline travel carrier... please help.

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