Flying with puppy as a carry-on? Concerns about bag size

I bought a medium Sherpa bag to bring my puppy as a carry-on for a round trip flight.

Unfortunately, I called Delta today and it seems that the bag is a couple inches too long and about 1-1.5 inches too tall to fit under the seats of my round trip flight. (for instance the height of the bag is 10.5 inches while the height clearance of one of my flights is only 9 inches). Seems like the seats for both of my flights have less room than normal.

Anyone have experience with this? My concern is either not being allowed to board, or boarding and then having a flight attendant tell me to get off the plane since I won't be able to fit it underneath my seat.

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Permalink Reply by Vi, Justin, & Casey the Corgi on November 20, 2013 at 8:08pm

Sherpa makes a bag specifically for Delta - http://www.sherpapet.com/products/delta-airlines and they say it's "guaranteed on board" for Delta, American and United, so I'd be surprised if they won't allow you to board because of the size.

How old will your puppy be when you both fly? I don't have any experience with this yet, but we are planning to fly with Casey next month (he'll be about 20 weeks old by then) and I'm just hoping he fits in an approved bag.

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Permalink Reply by Denis J. on November 21, 2013 at 9:18am

I had the same issue last year when I picked up Wally.

I had the Sherpa Soft shell Airline approved and had the same dimensions. Just to be sure I brought it to the airport to have it checked and they confirmed as long as it could be pressed a bit to fit under the seat it would be OK.

And that's what we did, I just has to press is for about .5-1inch and Wally was in total comfort.

If it's a hardshell then I don't know how to counter this unless you get a soft one.

Best to bring it to the airline check in.

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Permalink Reply by Katy on November 25, 2013 at 11:52am

Was just going to suggest going to the airport and checking.

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Permalink Reply by Murphy on November 21, 2013 at 3:17pm

He's 11 weeks old.

I'm going to return the Sherpa and get a Sturdibag which is .5 inches shorter and I read it's a lot more flexible than the Shepra.

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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on November 22, 2013 at 10:31am

I have flown on United with the IGO2 Escort. It is also borderline (13Wx9Dx17H), but nobody has ever questioned it. I slide it under the seat with the handle part first, so the narrowest part goes under the seat and the back sticks out just a little bit,. It's not a safety issues as it couldn't, possibly go anywhere and my feet still fit fine. Once in flight I can unzip the sides to get an extra 3 inches. My dog is a Service Dog and, as such does not need to have a carrier, but I find it useful on long flights. Try for a window seat if possible, you're more out of the way there. More important is to have your pup well used to the carrier, so he will be able to stay in it without a fuss. You need to practice this, not just the staying in the carrier part, also the part where you are moving. The motion, combined with unsteady footing can be scary.