If you plan on flying the great blue skies anytime soon with your pets, there are some things that you should know as well as know the policies of particular airlines.  Every airline is different when it comes to animals, so make sure you know who’s going to be best for you and your animals.

Usually no matter what airline you fly, there are going to be guidelines that you have to follow.  Here are some of the guidelines that you should follow in order to fly properly with your pets.

• Make sure you pet is older than at least 8 weeks old.
• Your pet has to be healthy.  This means no diseases, health problems or anything else that may disastrous to other animals.
• Make sure you always bring all the necessary paperwork to go alongside with your pet.
• Make sure the crate is large enough for your animal and always put your name and contact information on it.

Now that you have the main rules set out, I checked out a few major airlines and will give you a short note on how each airline runs it’s pet policy.

American Airlines – Pets are accepted in the cabin and will count as checked baggage.  You can only check up to 7 pets (this shouldn’t be a problem for most).  Cats and Dogs are the only pets allowed.

Delta Airlines- Delta allows pets in the cabin as well as the cargo area.  Their restrictions are a little more lenient when it comes to animals.  They allow dogs, birds, hamsters, frogs and others.  Make sure you call to see if you can bring your type of pet on board.  Keep in mind that there is a size limit to particular animals.  If you do bring your pet on board, they must be able to fit under your seat.

Northwest Airlines – You’re able to bring pets on board but are only accepted on some flights.  You can’t take them to Hawaii or most International flights in the cabin.  According to most reviews that I have seen, they have had one of the best ratings when it comes to handling pets.

United Airlines – United allows pets in the cabin as well as the cargo area.  United will prohibit some pets from coming on board during certain months.  Make sure you call ahead of time to figure out their policy with the certain breeds.

These are just some short notes on how the major airlines work with pets.  As you can see, every one of them is different.  Just make sure you know ahead of time on how the airline works and you should be okay.