Conures and planes?

[cathabear]

Hey there! Brand new to this forum. I recently moved to Alaska but left my sun conure Simba behind with my parents so I could settle in before moving him up. Now that I'm pretty settled, I'm getting more and more anxious about getting him up here with me.

He's a pretty nervous bird, getting frightened somewhat easily, so I was planning on having him in the plane's cabin with me so he wouldn't be alone. I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience flying with birds and has any stories or pointers to share with me. I appreciate any and all information or stories, positive or negative - please don't sugarcoat for me!

Thanks so so much!

 

[noodles123]

Call ahead and figure out if you can bring him in the cabin. Get the most direct flight possible. Consider administering Avi-calm or something like it a week or so before the flight. Put juicy fruit/veg in his food dish instead of water (apples, carrots etc). Have a vet lined up for when he arrives (as stress of flying can often lead to illness). I would also start him on a probiotic ahead of time (powdered bene-bac) and continue it indefinitely post arrival. I hope that helps!

 

[noodles123]

My bird has flown and it was a fairly traumatic experience (maybe more so for me), but she was too large to fly in the cabin, so she had to go cargo and it was rough for both of us. She made it, but she was ill within days of flying and fairly shaken up (emotionally) as well. She flew Delta and I was not impressed by their health protocol etc...Not saying that they are terrible, but saying that they don't require anything but a letter of health from a vet/breeder/ etc (and that doesn't require testing for diseases etc. It was a scary experience for both of us, so with a smaller bird, I would say that the cabin is the way to go (if you can manage).

She was very ready to get out of her carrier when we arrived at the destination and not happy with me, but she got over it.

That having been said, I anticipated it being HORRIFIC, and while it was bad, it wasn't as awful as I had imagined it to be.

 

[Inger]

Welcome to the forum!

I’m going to start with an assumption that Simba will fly up on Alaska Airlines.

My parrotlet, Bumble, flew with me from Seattle to Virginia on Alaska. Great news-their pet in cabin fee is less than everyone else’s! $100 each way at that time.

I have an XS Pak-o-bird which fits perfectly under the seat. She had to be under at takeoff and landing but she could be in my lap (in her carrier) the rest of the time. I brought some little treats to poke through the holes and talked to her for a lot of the journey. She did fine and was very happy to be with me rather than left home with a sitter. She is pretty chill though, as long as she has me.

Airports will vary wildly on bringing live animals through security. In Seattle, you’re supposed to find a TSA agent and have them escort you to security. Once there, they are going to want you to take Simba out for screening. What they had me do in Seattle (and what I told them to do in Virginia) was to pass the carrier over the X-ray to an agent, I went through the thingy, and then they carried her to a private screening room with me. I took her out and they took the carrier back and x-rayed it while an agent waited with me. Only a moderate hassle.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Sunnyclover has traveled by plane with her conures tons, so she may have good stuff to add if she sees this.


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