Has Anyone Flown Delta W/ A Pet In Cabin? Need Help!

[Adelei]

I'm hoping someone here may have some experience, especially recent experience. I'm flying with one of my cats soon and am confused by the carry-on policy. I have looked at their website a million times and always assumed the cat was the carry-on, so I would only be able to take a personal item. But I just looked one last time and it says "Your pet counts as your personal item, part of your carry-on luggage." I was super excited, because I have scoliosis and fibromyalgia and being able to put my cat carrier on a wheeled carry-on rather than having to carry it and a personal item (including a laptop, 2 phones and 2 battery packs!) was going to be a god-send!

I called Delta to make sure they had my cat notated in the system and while they were on the line, I double checked to make sure I could bring a wheeled carry-on. The lady put me on hold for a long time, then came back and said no, the cat is the carry-on. So I read the part of the website to her and she looked again, this time forgetting to put me on hold. I heard someone else in the background, possibly someone training her, coaching her what to say, as they read the part I quoted earlier. They told me that the website was "worded poorly", which I think is a bit ridiculous - being worded poorly would be to leave it unclear - this explicitly states that the cat is the personal item!! If that is incorrect information, that goes far beyond being "worded poorly".

Has anyone traveled with a pet in-cabin on Delta? Were you able to take a normal carry-on or just a personal item in addition to the cat?

I'm just wondering if the website is truly wrong or if I just spoke to someone who really didn't know but was trying to sound confident.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I am not sure what you are asking. Is the issue with the wheeled carry-on containing other items besides the cat carrier? If your pet is the personal item, why can't the rest of your wheeled carry-on items - as long as they fit overhead - be deemed as your carry on luggage. Sorry if I am misunderstanding.

 

[Adelei]

When you fly, you typically get two carry-on items, one is a piece of carry-on luggage (the wheeled carry-on) and one is a much smaller "personal item" such as a laptop bag or woman's purse. The Delta website explicitly says that the cat carrier counts as the personal item. The Delta representative I spoke with said that no, it counts as the carry-on. And by "counts as", I mean replaces.

If the representative is right, I cannot bring a wheeled carry-on, which means I will have to carry the cat carrier and my rather large "purse" with laptop inside. It would be a lot easier to have a wheeled carry-on and the cat carrier (in place of the "purse").

(The "purse" would be my personal item - I put it in quotations because I bought just about the biggest handbag I could find while still having the airline consider it small enough to be a personal item.)

 

[Adelei]

Maybe this makes more sense. I could bring....

According to Delta Website:
Carry-on: A small suitcase w/ wheels
Personal Item: Cat carrier

According to Delta representative:
Carry-on: Cat carrier
Personal Item: Purse

My question for anyone who has flown with a pet in-cabin on Delta is, which is correct? Were you able to take a carry-on w/ wheels or were you only allowed a personal item in addition to the pet carrier?

 

[FelisCatus]

Maybe this makes more sense. I could bring....

According to Delta Website:
Carry-on: A small suitcase w/ wheels
Personal Item: Cat carrier

According to Delta representative:
Carry-on: Cat carrier
Personal Item: Purse

Call the customer service line again and explain the confusion with the difference. Get a support ticket created (write down the number) and if you have trouble checking in tell them you already sorted this out beforehand and they need to honour it re: your support ticket number.

(The calico in your profile picture is beautiful btw!)

 

[KarenKat]

I don’t have personal experience, but the cat carrier has to go under the seat, correct? Which is the personal item intended to go under the seat in front of you.

Which means you should be allowed to put something in the overhead bin, ie a wheeled carryon.

I agree with FelisCatus , call the number again and ask a different person. Air travel with kitty is too risky to leave to chance and guesses.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Agree with the above. You might even try contacting a Delta rep at the actual airport from where you are traveling, and get their name and a support ticket from them. And, ask them about what you need to do to secure the same process on the return flight.

I think whoever you talked with is 'splitting hairs'. You can call the two items whatever you want, so can they. But, you are allowed two. The issue is that the cat will be under the seat (your personal item) and your purse/carry on wheeled bag (your carry on luggage) will have to be placed overhead.

 

[Adelei]

Thanks all, I'll try to give them another call.

 

[calico man]

Good luck with your travel and hopefully you can get this straightened out.

 

[jcat]

I've flown Delta a lot, but not with pets. My experience with carry-ons has been that those with wheels and an extensible handle are allowed under the seat or in an overhead bin on international flights, but are "checked" (i.e., taken from you and stored elsewhere) as you board domestic flights and returned as you get off. You can keep handbags, laptops, and smallish soft backpacks with you.

 

[FelisCatus]

Did the flight already occur? If so, how did it go?

 

[Adelei]

Yes, but as it turned out, there were other major complications a day or two before hand, so I never got an answer and didn't want to push my luck by trying to bring a carry-on rather than a "personal item". I brought my giant handbag and I even brought a hand cart to stack the handbag and cat carrier on. No one said anything about the hand cart, but the whole thing was unwieldy and didn't really fit down the aisle of the plane, even when it only had the handbag on it. Plus it was next to impossible to fit everything I needed for me and the cat in the handbag.

I did ask a flight attendant on the plane, but they said they had no idea, I would need to ask someone at the desk. I figure, if anyone should know, it would be a flight attendant, since they are the ones who actually see people bringing cats on the plane! I have to fly another cat in April and I think I'm going to try to take a carry-on then and just hope for the best. I think the only ones who might call me out are the people at the check-in desk. Hopefully they won't, though.