Pets

Pet hotel opens at Austin-Bergstrom Int’l Airport

Pets, ,

 

It almost makes you want to get a pet – just so you can leave it at the airport.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport now has a ‘pet hotel’ combined with a covered parking facility, making it easy for travelers to park their cars and drop off their pets for boarding.

So everyone gets a vacation.

Bark&Zoom is being operated by Austin’s own Taurus Academy, and offers dog and cat boarding, a pet pool (!), and indoor and outdoor play yards.  Both scheduled and emergency veterinary appointments are available.

Parking services, offered by the company’s sister organization, Park&Zoom, include valet services and car car services.

Better yet, the facility will be open 24/7, so people and their pets can get reunited right away.

 

 

 

Animals at the airport – why so many?

Animals, Pets,

Airports are going to the dogs – and to the pigs.

More than 30 airports around the country now have regular programs that bring certified pet therapy dogs and their handlers into the terminals to mingle with passengers and help ease the stress of traveling.

And during 2016, some airport pet therapy teams broadened their membership beyond dogs.

Last summer, when passengers were encountering excessively long lines at security checkpoints at many airports around the country, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport began welcoming miniature therapy horses and their handlers to visit several times a month.

And as the winter holiday travel season went into high gear, two airports announced that pigs were joining their pet therapy teams.

LiLou, a Juliana-breed pig, joined San Francisco International Airport’s Wag Brigade.

And a pot-bellied pig named Bacon Bits is now part of Albany International Airport’s Canine Ambassador program.

More animals in the air

Of course, not all the animals you see in airport terminals these days are just there to be petted.

According to the American Pet Products Association, there are around 77 million pet dogs and 85 million pet cats in the United States — and a growing number of their owners take them along when they travel by air.

And when they fly as carry-on passengers in the cabin, those pets need to have tickets.

On Alaska Airlines and JetBlue, the domestic fee for a pet in the cabin is $100 each way. On American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, its $125 each way. Frontier Airlines charges $75 each way, and on Southwest the fee is $95 each way.

In some cases, more than one small pet can travel in a pet carrier (and avoid an extra fee), but some airlines will tack on an extra fee if there’s a stopover of more than four hours.

Emotional support animals

The costs to take a pet on a plane can add up, which may be part of the reason an increasing number of passengers are claiming that their animals aren’t just pets but official service or “emotional support” animals which, by law, get to fly for free.

Like Frontier Airlines, which had an issue earlier this year with a passenger’s emotional support marmoset, each airline website lists very specific conditions under which they will accept service animals or therapeutic/emotional support animals on their plane.

An official identification card and/or a written statement from a mental health professional is usually required, but many websites make it easy for pet owners to acquire ‘fake’ documentation — for a fee.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a duck or a mini horse, as long as a passenger has the correct paperwork, they’re allowed to fly with an emotional support animal and nobody can say anything about it,” said veteran flight attendant Heather Poole, author of Cruising Attitude.

Poole says it’s not a flight attendant’s job to determine which passengers are flying with true support animals or which ones have simply secured paperwork to avoid paying a fee for their pet to fly, but “I can spot a fake emotional support animal a mile away,” said Poole. “It’s usually growling or barking at other support animals. That, or it’s dressed nicer than its owner.”

2017 may bring changes — or at least some clarification — in how airlines and passengers define service or emotional support animals.

While noting that its ACCESS Advisory Committee was unable to reach agreement on updated rules regarding service animals, the U.S. Department of Transportation recently said it intends to draft its own rules.

“The guide dog and animal training groups all agree this is a problem, so does the community,” said Eric Lipp of the Open Doors Organization. “One solution floated is to have a national registry and certification for service animals so they are given ID. The DOT could also fine a passenger and make big news. That would help, but who wants to do that?”

(A slightly different version of my story about animals in airports and on airplanes first appeared on NBC News Travel.)

Now there’s a pig on duty at SFO Airport

Fun Stuff, Pets, , , ,

sfo-pig

An increasing number of airports now have teams of therapy dogs on duty in the terminals to help ease the stress of travel.

Back in May, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport added a miniature therapy horse to the mix.

Now comes LiLou the pig – who joins the Wag Brigade at San Francisco International Airport on Monday.

sfo-pig-2

LiLou is the first pig to be certified in the SF SPCA’s Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) program and was a perfect fit for SFO, which was determined to expand the type of animals in the Wag Brigade.

LiLou is sure to be quite the hit. In addition to be being a pig at the airport – she does tricks.

According to the stat-card Wag Brigade handlers will be distributing for LiLou in the airport, she can wave, greet you with her snout, play the piano and give a bow after her performance. She will also be twirling and standing up on her back hooves to entertain travelers.

sfo-pig-3

SFO’s Wag Brigade team has at least one dog on duty every day of the week, with up to 3 dogs at a time working their 2-hour shifts.  LiLou doesn’t have a regulars slot in the schedule just yet, but airport officials say the Juliana Pig will be on site at least once a month.

sfo-pig-1

Dogs, miniature horse, a pig. Which animal do you think will show up next in an airport pet therapy program?

(All photos courtesy of SFO Airport)

Cyber Monday flight deals

Pets, , ,

virgin-america-pups

Don’t put away that credit card just yet. Virgin America (and other airlines) are still rolling out Cyber Monday airfare deals.

Virgin America’s Cyber Monday deal is good for you – and for dogs:

The carrier’s #TinyDogsTinyFares will offer up to 30 percent off fares nationwide. Use code: TINYFARES.

In addition to giving you the discount, Virgin America is also donating $10 per ticket booked on virginamerica.com during the sale to San Francisco Animal Care and Control (SF ACC), the ASPCA and Animal Haven.

On Cyber Monday, Virgin America is also making another “Operation Chihuahua” airlift and flying 24 Chihuahuas from San Francisco to New York so they can be adopted. Seems that there’s an overpopulation of Chihuahuas in California shelters and lots of people seeking to adopt small dogs on the east coast.

Travel Tidbits from MIA, LAS & LAX

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If you’re going to be stuck at the airport, every amenity counts.

Here are a few new amenities that may come in handy, including a yoga room at Miami International Airport, a cool new floor mosaic at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas and indoor pet relief areas at Los Angeles International Airport

LAX PET RELIEF AREA INDOORS

This week Los Angeles International Airport celebrated the opening of seven post-security, indoor animal-relief stations, which join an existing one in the Tom Bradley International Terminal.

LAX officials say this brings the total number of service-animal/pet relief stations at LAX to 11 – more than any other U.S. airport.

At the Airport: year-end review

Airports, ground transporation, Hotels, Pets, Smoking, , , , ,

One of my long-running freelance projects is the At the Airport column for USA TODAY.

Here’s a list of the columns that ran during 2015. If you’ve got a suggestion for a topic I should cover in 2016, please drop me a note.

8_PHX_The carpet at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport has an aviation-inspired design

January 2015: Quirky airport carpets serve double duty

February 2015: Aerotropolis: are airport cities the wave of the future?

March 2015: Lactation stations ease grind for nursing moms

April 2015: These airports make arriving a pleasure

01_Mineta San Jose Int'l Airport - The topiary bear that greets motorists at SJC is in no danger

May 2015: California airports deal with drought

June 2015: Take a hike: airports with the longest walks between gates

July 2015: Carry-on cannabis? Oregon airports adjust to new law

SurgeonGeneral at ATL

August 2015: Should airports snuff out smoking rooms?

September 2015: Ride-hailing services make inroads at airports

October 2015: Airport amenities to make gate-huggers happy

November 2015: At airport hotels, silence is golden

December 2015: Best new airport amenities in 2015

 

 

 

 

Dogs from CATS on duty at Denver Airport

Airports, Pets, , ,
Photo courtesy Denver International Airport

Photo courtesy Denver International Airport

Denver International is the latest to join the pack of airports with a team of therapy dogs on duty to help relieve stress and anxiety for passengers.

Denver’s crew is called CATS – which stands for Canine Airport Therapy Squad – and each one of the dogs is registered with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs and is trained, certified and insured.

CATS dogs will be easy to spot: they’ll be wearing “Pet Me” vests.

Want a preview? Denver International Airport has a gallery of pooch pictures on line.

Pets on planes

Pets, ,
American Airlines first class pets

Courtesy American Airines

People fly first class, so why not pampered pets?

That’s the idea behind the specially designed travel compartments designed for small dogs and cats on select transcontinental American Airlines flights popular with business travelers and entertainment industry VIPs.

The pet cabins—two per plane—are at the front of the first-class section of the 17 Airbus 321 aircraft the carrier uses on flights between New York’s JFK International and both San Francisco and Los Angeles International Airports.

The planes’ full lie-flat seats in first class don’t allow for under-the-seat storage of a pet carrier during takeoff and landing, but the airline designed the cabin with special ventilated compartments for pets.

For $125 each way, passengers booking first-class tickets may reserve a pet compartment for their furry companion. While pets traveling first class on these flights won’t get an amenity kit, champagne or an oxygen mask in case of emergency, their tickets cost the same as those pets traveling under the seat in coach.

“Obviously, the airline understands the needs of their [first-class] passengers and has compromised by allowing a special space for their pets,” said Susan Smith of PetTravel.com. “I think it’s great.”

It’s not just first-class passengers who want to travel with their pets. Eighty million U.S. households now have pets, and a growing number of those animal lovers now take their pets along when they fly.

Domestic airlines I contacted wouldn’t divulge how many pets they ticket as carry-on passengers each year. However, each has a formal program and detailed policies for how to get a pet on a plane, at prices that can top $125 per pet, each way for a domestic trip.

For each animal allowed, the airlines list charges, size and weight restrictions for pets and pet carriers, and required travel certificates.

Frontier Airlines, for example, charges $75 per pet carrier each way and allows cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and small household birds on board. Although each passenger may only bring aboard one pet carrier, there is no limit placed on the number of pet carriers allowed on each flight.

Southwest Airlines only allows dogs and cats as carry-on passengers, charges a $95 pet fare each way and allows up to six pet carriers on each flight and sells its own carry-on compliant pet carrier ($58) online and at the airport counters.

The charge for in-cabin pets on United Airlines—cats, small dogs, rabbits and birds—is $125 each way, with an additional $125 charge for each stopover of more than four hours on domestic flights.

While some passengers take their pets out of the carriers during a flight, Barbara DeBry of PuppyTravel.com urges her clients to follow airline rules that require pets to remain in their carriers the entire flight. Otherwise, it could make for a rather unpleasant experience.

“There was a recent incident where a woman refused to put her dog in the carrier and ended up being removed from the flight in handcuffs,” said DeBry, “She may have ruined it for everyone else.”

For those whose pets are too big, too unruly or otherwise unsuitable to travel with you as in-cabin passengers, there are other options. Pets can travel as checked baggage or as cargo, with an escort or courier service. If your budget allows, you can also fly by private jet.

Cats on suitcase

Courtesy: Marco Feldhoff

“We work with charter services, which are quite expensive,” said Susan Smith of PetTravel.com, “but we’re aiming toward shared charters to bring the cost down.”

An option in the future might be transporting an animal on its own via an airline that only carries pets.

Pet Airways flew about 9,000 pets on small Beechcraft 1900 twin turbo-prop planes between 2009 and 2011, but ceased operations during the recession,” said company founder and CEO Dan Wiesel We were not able to tap into enough capital to survive.”

Wiesel says he’s working on resurrecting the airline now. “The economy is good, and pet parents still want an alternative to flying their pets in cargo.”

(My story about Pets on Planes first appeared on CNBC)

 

Check your suitcase for Chihuahuas

Pets, Travel tips, , ,

On the TSA Blog each Friday you’ll find a report on the firearms, weapons and other prohibited – and often really strange – things found at airport checkpoints and in checked bags.

TSA MEM

This week, for example, the TSA found 55 firearms at airport checkpoints. 51 of those firearms were loaded and 13 had rounds chambered.

The fact that so many people just ‘forget’ they’ve got a gun, especially a loaded gun, in their carry-on is always alarming. But Friday’s report that TSA officers at New York’s LaGuardia Airport found a chihuahua inside a checked bag is mostly amusing.

According to the TSA, officers found the dog inside the suitcase while they were resolving a checked baggage alarm. TSA had the airline track down the suitcase owner, who said she had no idea the dog was in there and that the dog – a 7 year old chihuahua – must have climbed into the suitcase as it was being packed.

2014 round-up of best new airport amenities

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Aeroplane-Hat-Alice White

Convenience is king for travelers hoping to spend as little time as possible in an airport. But for those who must hang around a while, it’s amenities that matter.

And during 2014, airports around the country introduced a wide variety of very welcome amenities for travelers.

Here’s the round-up I put together from my ‘At the Airport’ column on USA Today.

More ways to get to and from the airport – legally

Airports around the country are struggling to work out policies and permitting programs for on-demand rideshare services such as Uber, Lyft and Sidecar. The services are currently banned at several airports, but in September Nashville International Airport became the first U.S. airport to officially recognize Uber and Lyft and in October San Francisco International signed agreements with Sidecar, Lyft and UberX. A few other airports have issued permits to some Transportation Network Companies as well, and we’ll likely see this amenity added to the ground transportation options at other airports during 2015.

‘Drinks on the go’

Nashville Intl smaller

This year, Nashville International Airport (BNA) introduced “drinks on the go.” Thanks to an airport-wide beer and liquor license, passengers no longer have to sit at the bar or in a restaurant to enjoy their alcoholic beverage but can take it with them anywhere in the secure side of the terminal.

Pot and airports

Pot amnesty box installed at Colorado Spring Airport this year. Not much use, but plenty of social media mentions. Courtesy of the airport.

During 2014, shops selling recreational marijuana became legal in both Colorado and Washington and the airports in those states had to decide how – or if – they’d go about enforcing rules prohibiting passengers from taking pot to and through security checkpoints and onto planes.

Most put up signs reminding passengers of the federal laws governing travel across state lines with marijuana – or did nothing – but in January, Colorado Springs Airport installed a pot amnesty box at the security checkpoint. Few travelers seem to be using the box to dispose of unused pot, but with images of the amnesty box being snapped and shared, the airport’s social media profile is certainly higher.

Airport workouts

Travelers can rent a bike at BWI airport and ride along the BWI Trail. courtesy BWI

During 2014, SFO airport opened its second yoga room (in Terminal 3, Boarding Area E) and following last December’s opening of a yoga room at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, in September Chicago’s Midway International Airport got a yoga space as well.

In July, Philadelphia International Airport partnered with a local fitness equipment retailer to install stationary exercise bikes at several locations throughout the airport and this year Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport was among several airports adding marked walking paths inside (and sometimes outside of) its terminals.

For those who would rather exercise outdoors, in August bike-share company Zagster installed a rack of 10 reservable bikes in a rack outside the international terminal at BWI Marshall. For $5 (good for 12 hours), passengers can borrow a bike and ride it around the 12.5-mile scenic outdoor trail that encircles the airport.

Wi-Fi milestones

Travelers have come to expect unlimited complimentary Wi-Fi at airports, and in 2014, the Houston airports (IAH and HOU) and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport joined the team of major airports that provide this much-appreciated amenity.

JetBlue has offered complimentary unlimited Wi-Fi in Terminal 5 at JFK for a while now, but earlier this year the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced its intention to offer free 30-minute Wi-Fi sessions for all travelers at JFK, Newark Liberty and LaGuardia airports.

The Port Authority and Wi-Fi provider Boingo are still working on those plans, but in a statement earlier this week said that free Wi-Fi will be available in at least one terminal at JFK, Newark Liberty and LaGuardia airports by month’s end, with the free 30-minute service at all terminals anticipated by the end of the first quarter of 2015.

“Complimentary 30-minute Wi-Fi sessions are now available in JFK Terminal 4 and Newark (EWR) Terminal C, with free service on target to be available at LaGuardia’s Central Terminal Building by month’s end,” according to a Boingo spokesperson.

Events

In 2014 Reno-Taho International Airport gave out free compliments on National Compliment Day.

To show off a $10 million reboot of the shops and restaurants in the post-security AIRMALL at Pittsburgh International, PIT airport invited non-ticketed visitors to come out for a one-day holiday event in early December. More than 1,500 people attended the event, which may be repeated, and “someone tweeted us asking why the San Antonio airport can’t do the same,” said PIT spokeswoman Alyson Walls.

On National Compliment Day (January 24), the staff at Reno-Tahoe International Airport set up a booth to dispense kind words to passengers. Some travelers were complimented on their choices of glasses, colorful scarves and boots, said airport spokeswoman Heidi Jared, “and booth volunteers even admired a gentleman’s ‘confident gait’ as he rushed by.”

Let’s hope the smart, charming and lovely volunteers at RNO set up that booth again this year.

Airport trading cards

STL_TradingCard_FRONT

As a gift to aviation geeks and collectors everywhere, in September, more than 20 airports around the country teamed up to create the North American Airports Collectors Series of trading cards. Each card has an iconic image of an airport on the front, fun factoids about the airport on the reverse, and are being distributed in the terminals of participating airports. Twenty-three cards are currently in the series, with Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport set to begin distributing its trading card after Christmas.

And then there are amenities that aren’t necessarily airport firsts, but are proud 2014 additions for the airports that have installed them.

Seattle-Tacoma International, for example, is proud that during 2014, it not only added handy cup holders to many seating areas, but brought branches of two iconic local brands, Metsker Maps and indie music label Sub Pop, into the airport.

New kids play area at STL Airport has a rental car center

Lambert-St. Louis International Airport is still giggling with delight over the children’s play area that opened in May. The 1,500-square-foot Magic House not only has a kid-sized plane and an air traffic control tower with a slide, it has car rental counters, a luggage conveyor belt and an airport screening area with a pretend x-ray machine.

At Denver International Airport -Passengers interact with the new Open Windows display

Denver International Airport is proud of the popular water bottle refill stations it installed throughout the airport terminals this year, the new on-airport pet boarding facility, and its just-plugged in “Open Windows” experimental interactive digital customer experience on Concourse B that combines 128 LED rings of light and a 3D motion-detection camera to create an 11-foot-tall interactive tower of lights that react to a person’s movement.

Did I miss your favorite new airport amenity from 2014? Please add it in the comments below.