Kahuna Travel Blog

My sister wants to carry her pet rat on a US Airways flight — is there any way she can do that? She called and was told that they didn’t allow rats (I’m not sure if that’s true), and now she wants to strap him on to her somehow to get him home. Any ideas of a better way to get him across? Thank you!

Here is an exact copy of their pet page, which you can look at at http://www.usairways.com/awa/content/traveltools/specialneeds/pets.aspx :

"Pets in passenger cabin
The number of pets that may be carried in each cabin is limited. In order for your pet to travel with you, you must make your reservations on flights with cabin pet space available.

Call 800-428-4322 to coordinate your travel plans. If your itinerary includes a codeshare flight, please check with the originating carrier regarding carry-on pet policies and fees.

Rules and regulations
-1 small domestic dog, cat or bird per passenger is accepted in the passenger cabin for an $80 fee each way.
-Carry-on pets are not allowed on transatlantic flights. Only dogs and cats are allowed to/from Mexico and Costa Rica. Call 800-428-4322 for additional requirements for international travel.
-If you are traveling to an international destination or Hawaii, there may be restrictions. Restrictions vary by destination, and customers should contact the appropriate embassy or consulate at least four weeks before the trip. For travel to Hawaii, customers should contact the Hawaii Animal Quarantine Branch directly for quarantine requirements.
Pets in cabin count toward the carry-on baggage allowance. Pets must remain inside their approved container under the seat directly in front of you.

Contact an embassy or consulate [ http://www.embassy.org/embassies/index.html ]

Approved carriers
US Airways accepts hard-sided carriers up to 17 inches long x 16 inches wide x 8 inches tall and soft-sided carriers up to 17 inches long X 16 inches wide X 10 inches tall. On US Airways Express flights, pet carriers must not be more than 15 inches long x 17 inches wide x 8 inches tall on CRJ aircraft, more than 16 inches long x 17 inches wide x 8 inches tall on DH3 aircraft or more than 15 inches long x 14 inches wide x 8 inches tall on BH1 aircraft.

-Carriers must be leak-proof and escape-proof.
-Carriers must be ventilated on at least 2 sides, but not allow any part of the animal to protrude outside of the container.
-Carriers must provide room for the animal to stand up and turn around.
-Carriers can be made of metal, wood or hard plastic/composite. Exceptions are made for soft-sided containers made specifically for pet carriage.

——————————————————————————–
Pets in cargo compartment
Our hub cities of Phoenix and Las Vegas have extreme temperatures that regularly exceed 100 degrees. For the safety of your pet, US Airways does not accept any animals in its cargo compartments.

Exception cities
US Airways accepts dogs, domestic cats and birds as checked baggage on nonstop US Airways Shuttle flights in the BOS/DCA/LGA markets only. Connections are not permitted. The customer must travel on the same flight. Customers should advise US Airways when they wish to transport a pet as checked baggage on a US Airways Shuttle flight.
Hawaii pet quarantine information
Hawaii is a rabies-free state. To prevent rabies from entering the state, the law requires that dogs, cats and carnivores complete a mandatory rabies quarantine. US Airways will not accept cabin pets for travel to/from Hawaii. US Airways will only permit service animals and emotional support animals in the cabin for travel to/from Hawaii. The Honolulu International Airport on the island of Oahu is the only port of entry for dogs and cats entering Hawaii. This includes service animals and emotional support animals.

For information on requirements for allowing service animals and emotional support animals to enter Hawaii without quarantine, please contact the Hawaii Department of Agriculture.

Hawaii Department of Agriculture
Animal Quarantine Station
99-951 Halawa Valley Street
Aiea, HI 96701-5602
Phone: 808-483-7151
24-hour phone: 808-837-8092

Visit the Hawaii Department of Agriculture’s website [ http://www.hawaiiag.org/hdoa/ai_aqs_info.htm ] "

If they don’t allow rats, you will need to either find another airline, ship it somehow, or leave it behind. Don’t try and sneak stuff on board, you can get in big trouble. You should knowbetter thant o try and sneak anything on a plane nowadays.

I would like to send a complaint to US Airways but not through there customer service but directly to some higher employees at that company. So, im looking for either exact email addresses or the email nomenclature (the part after the @). Like name@usairways.com or something like that.

While I understand your intent, your e-mail has a greater chance of getting ignored, lost or bounced around without any resolution if you try to send it to an executive.

I know that customer service departments are not always the best. They can be (not always, but can be) indifferent or take a little while to handle an issue. But their job is to resolve complaints so their company can earn your business again in the future.

Give them all of the information they need, as many specifics as possible, so they can more effectively look into your complaint. Avoid sending long rambling messages about your experience, be critical but don’t resort to threats and name calling. You can be demanding of your rights as a customer and still take the high road. Do that, and they will be more responsive.

http://www.usairways.com/awa/content/contact/customer_relations.aspx

I head up the PR department for a national transportation company (not US Airways). Customers contact us sometimes to complain and we send them straight to customer service for handling, since we’re not in a position to effectively help. It irritates them more when they get transferred…again…usually because someone transferred them to us beforehand. It’s better to start at the right place to avoid additional frustration.

Finally, if you do not get an answer to your e-mail complaint in a reasonable period of time, follow up with a phone call to their customer service 800#. If you don’t get any resolution with the agent, ask to speak to their supervisor.

Here’s an article I found about your exact topic:

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/102656/What-Airlines-Do-When-You-Complain

I have been to their site, they are not clear about this.. I Will be flying multiple flights, and figured out Virgin airlines is 13 pounds for a carry on. Does the same go for US airways???

I Will be leaving in two weeks! So I would like some help with this, or any suggestions thanks!

For each ticketed customer, US Airways will transport:

1 checked bag free of charge, and
1 bag as a carry-on

Checked bags Under 50 pounds/23 kg 51 - 70 pounds/23-32 kg 71-100 pounds/32-45 kg
First checked bag Free $50* $100*
Second bag $25* $75* $125*
Third - ninth bag(s) $100* $150* $200*

Carry-on baggage
You are allowed one carry-on bag and one personal item. Personal items include a purse, briefcase, laptop or diaper bag. Carry-on baggage must be stowed in carry-on compartments of the aircraft, under a seat, or in an overhead compartment.
Size requirements
US Airways: Up to 51 inches/129 cm (11×14x26 inches or 28×35x66 cm).
US Airways Express: Up to 45 inches/114 cm (19×15x11 inches or 48×38x28 cm).

Going to be using them this weekend. I’ve only flown with JetBlue, which is great. I’m guessing US Airways isn’t as nice. Anybody know anything?

Well JetBlue is great if everything goes smoothly or there are no bad weather delays. JetBlue does not have any partnerships, they are a low fare airline and if their flight does not arrive they can not transfer you to a partner airline.

You are probably better off with US Airways if the price is the same. They have more affiliations with Other Airlines and can transfer you to other airlines if they are experiencing delays.

I have had good experiences with both.

I am flying US airways tomorrow and I didn’t know if I could take my knitting or not.
I called US airways and they said NO you cannot have knitting needles or anything else that could be used as a weapon on their airplanes.

They will not allow you to take knitting needles into the passenger compartment, but you can check them with your luggage.

On that US Airways flight, I heard all the passengers got out. But did they let the plane sink to the bottom of the river?

the plane didnt sink

I’m planning to fly one way from Burbank,CA to Milwaukee on US Airways. First I would be flying from Burbank to Phoenix and then I would have to change plans to get to Milwaukee. US Airways uses an Airbus 320 for both flights. Many people say that US Airways is a screwy airline with poor customer service. On this flight does anyone know if any food or snacks is served?
Another option I’m considering is flyinh Southwest from Burbank to Las Vegas and then flying Midwest Airlines from Las Vegas to Milwaukee.

If you have to go to Vegas. Jet Blue. US Air is thumbs down. I took a short flight should have been 1 hour, 7 hours later we were finally aloud to board. I could have walked, next time I will. It took my 9 hours for a 1 hour flight. Driving in rush hour traffic is only 5 hours. Never again. No matter how much it cost. About food you should get a soda or water, maybe chips. Call the airlines they will tell you.

ALso, do they have a dress code at the US Air club at the hub? We have a pass to it for the day.

No no dress code, just dress comfortabley

I have flown many times with different airlines but never US Airways, I have been doing some research and it seems a lot of people have had bad experiences… Im not the kind of person to ever be nervous or scared before a flight but I honestly am scared that they will lose my luggage or that we will crash. Im flying out from SFO (san francisco) to PHX (phoenix) and then to GDL (Guadalajara) tomorrow… should I be as worried as I am?

Can anyone please give me some peace of mind or am I doomed?

If you want to focus on the negative, check out: http://www.airfleets.net/crash/fatalities_airline.htm

But if you want to focus on the positive, you have a 1 in 8.47 MILLION chance of being in a fatal crash. Your chances are better for winning the lottery.
http://www.planecrashinfo.com/cause.htm

The universe has a way of bringing to you that which you focus on the most. I would focus on more positive energy than negative.

Sorry, I forgot to actually answer your question. Yes, I have and still do fly US Airway. I look for the best price. I’ve never had a problem with US Airway or any airline except a few delayed flights.

Will I be on a US Airways plane, or United? What does this mean?

It’s called a code share flight. US Airways and United do this often. Instead of paying for two half-full flights, they combine and offer one flight between them. You will have a US Airways boarding pass but fly on a United Airlines airplane.