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FORUM HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Lancelots airplane ride

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    • vanessa
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        So i thought i would write about lancelots airplane ride, incase anyone else has a trip comming up 🙂
        Pretrip: i booked with united and called to make the booking. They allow 4 pets per flight. Their website stipulates caarry bag dimensions. I went with the soft carrier coz it can be larger than the hard carrier. 18x11x11 inches. His ticket cost $125 each way. The first flight was 3 hours, the way back was 5 hours. It is a 2.5 hour drive to the airport. All in all, the first travel day including driving, airport parking etc, was 9 hours. The return day was 11 hours. I made sure he had drank water each morning, and brought with his favorite foods. I packed his dry food in daily baggies, and bought veggies along the way. I also bought veggie juice to flavor his water to keep him drinking. In his carrier, i packed a food bowl for veggies, his stuffy, and a blanket. I got an interstate health certificate from the vet.

        The car rides: luckily he has done many car rides with me, so they dont stress him. He eats and sleeps and grooms while the car is moving. He is most comfortable on my lap.

        The airport: i put his bag thru the xray machine with the rest if my carry on items and hand carried him thru the human xray. I didnt have to go the milimeter wave scanner or do a pat down. He was very good. If i hold him in a loaf, supporting his feet, he doesnt squirm. Many peole asked about him. How old is he, how long have i had him, why is he in a diaper, he is so cute, oh look a bunny,… lots of attention.

        The airplane: actually very easy. Easier than a car ride coz an airplane is smoother than a car ride. Take-off and landing are very quick, and still smoother than a car over the average bumpy road. Once the plane is in the air, completely smooth. I did give him a piece of carrot ( i normally never ever give him carrots) so that while the plane ascended and descended, he had something to chew to keep his ears from popping. He ate, slept, and groomed.

        Care while traveling: since he is fairly immobile, i didnt need to bunny proof a room. He is quite content in a 2ftx2ft space with his food, water (raised so he can reach), and his stuffy and a snuggle blanket. I was able to change his diaper every 3-5 hours, even using the baby changing station in the airport bathrooms. He got his pain meds every evening. I did bring with baytril and panacur and a measuring scale incase his ec/ear infection flared up again, which it did.

        Conclusion: he was a superstar!


      • Luna
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          That’s great that he did so well! So the airlines charge for pets even if the pet is boarded as your carry-on “luggage”? They made him be x-rayed too?


        • Muchelle
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            Congrats on the successful ride!!

            I have a question… did he show any discomfort during take off/landing phases? Cause my ears give me absolute hell due to the change of pressure, so I’ve always wondered about how animals would react to that… (never shared a flight with an animal in the passenger cabin, so I could never bother the poor owner with my questions, lol)


          • vanessa
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              Luna – So even thought hey cahrged for him – not a single person asked to see the health certificate, or his flight ticket receipt, or anything. I could have been traveling with him on any airline for the longest time and no-one would have known. Even when I boarded the plane, I saw on the scanner that my ticket showed “pet” but no-one even wanted to check the carrier. Neither security nor the airline – did any checks.


            • vanessa
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                Muchelle – he didn’t show discomfort. I didn’t know how he would feel, which is why I gave him a baby carot to chew, since he loooooves sugary things, and I dont’ give them to him – I figured even if he was feeling stressed he would eat the carrot. Which he did. On the way. But on the way back, he just slept through the descent. I did reach down and pet him during ascent/descent, and he either buried his head into his stuffy to snuggle, or he pushed up against my hand to demand more petting. So he didn’t show any discomfort. His body posture was – chest up on his bunched blanket, head over his stuffie’s back, his snuggly sleepy position. No foot thumping, no hunching, no head shaking or ear scratching, he looked relaxed the entire flight. I was suprised, and quite proud of him.

                During the flight turbulence, he shuffled his feet to keep himself balanced, but it was way less bumpy than a car ride.

                On the way home, we stopped at my boyfriends daughter’s house to pick up his vehicle, and I put him on the passenger seat for the remainder of the drive home. He had the same posture – chest on his blanket, head ont he stuffy, ate some bell pepper, then went to sleep. Same posture as durign take-off/landing.


              • Q8bunny
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                  What an awesome little guy! You must be bursting with pride


                • Muchelle
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                    Wow what a patient and well behaved bun <3 Maybe thanks to the fact that they can close off their ear canals they suffer less from pressure? Hm…

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                FORUM HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Lancelots airplane ride