Hi all, looking for advice on air travel with pets. What happens if you check your pet and there is a connecting flight? What if there is a delay? I have a travel situation with a short layover, but wondering what happens if there is a delay. Does someone take the dog out? I'm guessing from an animal welfare perspective it's possible to access the pet but wondering if anyone has lived through this.

Don’t complicate your life. Pets are happy at home.
It is the people who do not understand this.

Just to clarify... is the pet traveling in the cargo hold?

Marie Yes he'd be checked.

I have read TOO MANY stories to think about putting my dog at risk. Direct flights only.

My in-laws fly westjet with their 50 pound dog. They live out here half the time. They do change planes. They’re given a coloured piece of paper with info on it and it gets shown to the flight crew on board. They then check with the ground crew, match up that paper and the plane leaves with both dog and people on board. They haven’t flown in a year though, so not sure how things are handled atm.
I got a puppy from Ontario in February and I arranged her transport through a company I use in my other business. She was unaccompanied so it was handled a bit differently. But she went Hamilton to YVR, and then transferred to a Harbour Air Sea plane. She was the only “passenger” other than the pilot on that HA flight.

Michelle This is helpful, sounds like they have it figured out!

Andrea I imagine each airline has its own procedures. They’ve only ever flown with her within Canada. Hope the airline is able to answer questions. They’re so hard to get ahold of.

I would never assume anyone would take your dog out.