Leaving pets at home while traveling isn’t always practical, and many airlines accommodate for pets by offering carriers and special passenger areas for animals – all at a fee, of course.  Still, as Americans try to balance the budget for regular roundtrip and one-way airfare, many are realizing that pet travel fees are also on the rise.  Major airlines across the country are hiking up pet travel costs in addition to baggage handling fees, the cost of food and even imposing restrictions on ticket purchases.

Fees for traveling with pets can be as much as $100 each way, and while these include baggage handling and food costs, they don’t help the budget-sensitive traveler looking for ways to cut expenses at every opportunity.  Airlines such as JetBlue, Continental Airlines and U.S. Airways are just a few major carriers that are imposing higher fees this summer and Fall, and even charging extra for kennels and other pet carriers.

Still, some airlines are taking the lead on making air travel more pet-friendly with incentive programs and bonuses to help travelers make the most of their trip.  Continental Airlines offers a PetPass Program that allows travelers to earn rewards based on miles traveled with their pets; this can offset some of the fees and costs associated with pet travel, and make it easier to stick with just one airline in order to cash in the rewards at a later date.  Midwest Airlines runs a similar program with its Premier Pet Program, offering free trips for frequent travel and allowing pet owners to rack up travel miles on each trip.

For pet owners that insist on only the best, Virgin Atlantic Airlines offers an exclusive specialty package for all pets; their ‘welcome aboard’ pet package provides a special passport, a Virgin collar tag and even pet toys to keep pets happy and satisfied throughout their trip.  Pet programs may not be the ultimate solution for lowering pet travel costs, but do make it easier for pet owners to enjoy freebies and attractive options for future travel.

Tags: pet fees, pet travel, traveling with pets

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 at 4:55 pm and is filed under Travel Planning, Travel Tips, budget travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.