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!
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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…