Traveling with Pets

Most people would consider their pet as a part of the family. Lovable cats and dogs often get stockings on the fireplace mantel at Christmas, bejeweled collars, and are given gourmet food. Adoring pet owners love spoiling their four-legged companions and only want the best care possible for them. It should come as no surprise, then, when owners wish for their pets to accompany them on their travels. Flying with pets can be complicated; every airline has its own criteria for getting your pet to their destination and it isn’t always the most enjoyable experience. The owner can help the pet become comfortable with the procedure by taking the necessary preparations for the flight. With the proper research, you can ensure that your pet’s travel experience will be as simple as possible.

Airline Policies

Every airline has its nuances, but generally the pet policies are the same. The airline specifies how much the pet may weigh, where the pet’s carrier will be stored, how old the pet must be, and so forth. Before you book a flight, you should contact the airline you wish to travel with to make sure that your pet can be accommodated. Not all airlines cater to larger pets and most will only accept cats and dogs. The airline is not liable for your pet’s health while traveling, so if you have any concerns that your pet will be exceptionally stressed out during the flight, you should discuss it with your vet.

Southwest Airlines accepts small, vaccinated pets over two months old to travel in the main cabin with their owners inside a small carrier with an additional fee of $ 75 for each leg of the trip. The owner must be an adult, with one pet per traveler. They will not permit Fido to travel without a chaperone. The carrier, which must be small enough to fit under the customer’s seat, counts as either the passenger’s carry-on or personal item. Southwest Airlines sells carriers, but you may also use your own as long as it fits the required dimensions depending on your seating assignment. Your pet must be able to shift around in the carrier comfortably, able to both sit and stand in their confinement. If your pet gets too feisty, Southwest Airlines reserves the right to turn them away. Southwest Airlines doesn’t offer their customers an option of traveling with larger pets in the cargo area, thus travelers with large dogs will have to purchase a ticket with another airline.

United Airlines has implemented a program in which pets can travel safely in the cargo area, called PetSafe. Small pets may continue to travel in the cabin with their owners with much of the same regulations as Southwest Airlines, but PetSafe is a nice alternative for pets that don’t fit in your lap. With the program, you can check on your pet’s status through online updates throughout the duration of the journey. Unlike Southwest, which provides no emergency considerations for your pet in case of illness, United shows concern for your pet and gives the worried pet owner peace of mind with their dedicated 24-hour live animal desk. They also transfer pets in climate-controlled vehicles when your pet needs to make a connecting flight at any hub where they will be sitting in warmer temperatures for extended periods of time. In terms of cost, PetSafe is more expensive than traveling with your pet in the cabin.  Rates vary based on the weight of the pet, weight of the carrier, and where you’re traveling. Domestic flights can range from $ 75 to $ 659 per leg of the flight.

American Airlines offers both cabin and checked pet travel for a flat fee on each. Checked pets cost $ 175 per kennel for all domestic locations, while pets within the cabin fly for $ 125 per kennel. The airline suggests that you give yourself extra time upon check-in to get your animal situated and you will be required to fill out a questionnaire regarding the pet with an airline agent upon your arrival. The questionnaire is a standard checklist to ensure that you have complied with the usual animal travel regulations, such as whether or not the pet can move about the crate with ease and whether you’ve provided the correct paperwork for its vaccination information. American Airlines has a somewhat lengthy list of breeds that they will not accept for traveling in the cargo, mainly consisting of “snub-nosed” dogs and cats. These are pets with short, stubby snouts such as pug dogs or Persian cats. These animals, referred to as brachycephalic breeds, often have breathing problems which could be compromised in the air.

Pets Abroad

If you’re moving to another country, traveling with your pet can be tricky. The U.S. State Department website has some vital information on traveling internationally with your pet. In order to determine the requirements of the specific country you’re traveling to, contact the country’s embassy. Many countries have quarantine requirements, in which your pet may enter a country but must stay kenneled in an arranged area for several days, weeks, or months to ensure they do not spread any diseases. Some countries simply will not allow you to import your pet. If you plan on traveling internationally with your pet, do not put your arrangements off until the last minute because the laundry list of papers you need to fill out, shots you must schedule, and airline planning can be expensive and complicated.

PetTravel.Com breaks down the quarantine restrictions for individual countries. Countries that require quarantining tend to be countries that do not yet have any incidences of rabies, countries with a high incidence of rabies, and third world countries. Some countries require your pet to be micro-chipped or receive a blood titre test. If you are traveling to the United Kingdom, which is a rabies-free country, from a country with high incidences of rabies, your pet may be denied entry completely or will be quarantined for the duration of six months.

In some cases, home quarantine can be accomplished. Pets that would otherwise spend several months at a quarantine facility upon arriving in another country may do better with home quarantine because it supplies them with familiar comforts. Their owners must simply administer a rabies vaccination and blood test before waiting out the stipulated period before the animal can travel safely abroad. Countries with unavoidable quarantine policies such as Australia tend to have very clean facilities for pets with designated visiting hours so their owners can see them on a regular basis. However, they can be difficult to book as they fill up quickly on a first-come-first-serve basis. If the idea of completing all of the shots, paperwork, quarantining, and booking of flights just to get your pet safely relocated is making your head spin, you can contact a pet relocation specialist, such as the International Pet and Animal Transportation Association. They can help you understand the requirements and assist in getting your dog abroad safely with minimal stress to you.

Service Animals

According to the 1996 Department of Transportation guidance document, service animals are “any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. If the animal meets this definition, it is considered a service animal regardless of whether it has been licensed or certified by a state or local government.” The Final Rule on Air Carriers Access Act was published in the Federal Register in May 2008 and runs over 300 pages in length as an addendum to the previously written “Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel” regulations written by the Department of Transportation in 1990. When the laws were first written, service animals were primarily used as guide and hearing dogs. Now, service dogs are used for a myriad of disabilities, such as for hearing loud noises, seizure alerts, psychiatric services, and emotional support as well as the typical seeing-eye dog. Not all service animals require documentation and not all service animals demonstrate a specific activity that visibly assists their handlers, such as those who have service animals for emotional support. As a result, the rules for traveling with a service animal aboard an airplane are somewhat complicated.

Service dogs are able to accompany their handlers directly onto the aircraft and may sit on the floor in the legroom area free of charge. Bulkhead seating can usually be arranged so that the dog is not cramped. Otherwise, they can give the passenger an additional seat so the dog has room on the floor. The service animal must be permitted if it has proper identification, but identification can mean a variety of things, including cards or other documentation, presence of a harness or markings on a harness, tags, or the passenger’s verbal assurance. The only instance in which an airline may demand to see documentation is if the passenger’s service dog assists them with a psychiatric disability, in which case a doctor’s note must be supplied, or if they can’t give credible assurance. Credible assurance would be proven if the handler could demonstrate the dog’s training ability or could explain how the animal directly assists them. The airline representative is not allowed to ask the customer what their disability is.

Unfortunately, since the rules for service animals are so flexible, they are often abused by customers that do not need a service dog and simply wish for their pet to gain access to the plane without a carrier or fee. Airline representatives take note of a dog that doesn’t seem properly trained and may deny access to any dog that doesn’t behave as a service dog should. A service dog always stays at its owner’s feet and will not run freely, bark, growl, bite, urinate or defecate outside of designated areas, or disrupt the rest of the cabin during the flight. Likewise, the airline isn’t required to house service animals undergoing training. The airline may also rebook a flight for a disabled person if the service animal presents a problematic allergy to another customer.

Preparing Your Pet

Traveling can be stressful for pets. When you check your pet like luggage, pet carriers wind up in the cargo area, which means the ride could be somewhat tumultuous for your furry companion. The cargo area of the plane isn’t as smooth a ride as the cabin. It could be likened to the back of the bus, where every bump is felt. Stressed out cats have been known to lose fur in clumps, and both cats and dogs may vomit in the crate from the turbulence. In order to reduce some of the discomfort to your pet, you may think that you can give your pet a mild sedative to keep them calm. However, the American Veterinary Medical Association discourages use of sedatives aboard an aircraft because the pet’s natural ability to maintain equilibrium is effected. Respiratory and cardiovascular problems may ensue for a pet that travels at increased altitude while under sedation.

Try to make the trip easier on your pet by booking flights without any layovers or connections. Fly to and from destinations that do not suffer temperature extremes, as your pet will be exposed to the temperatures when being transported to the cargo area on the plane from the airport. Ensure that you pet is in good health to begin with and that traveling won’t make them unnecessarily stressed. While the USDA requires that your pet be given access to food and water within four hours of check-in, you don’t want your pet to travel on a full stomach. Some veterinarians will even suggest that your pet fast for a brief period while traveling, although airlines will need a note from your vet in order to comply. Prior to your flight, give your pet a chance to relieve themselves in the designated area at the airport to minimize the chance that they will have an accident in their crate.

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Traveling to the 2012 Olympics

Now that the Olympic Games are underway, throngs of sports fans and world travelers are flocking to London to witness history. The United Kingdom’s Department for Transport estimates 500,000 visitors will descend on the city between July 17 and August 18, excluding the 70,000 athletes and officials, an increase of 260,000 from last year. An expected 14,000 were booked to arrive through a travel agent on the Thursday before the opening ceremony, according to the market research company Forward Data.

Nineteen percent of the expected arrivals are coming from the U.S., where at least one travel insurance company has experienced an influx of customers seeking protection. Allianz Global Assistance USA, a multinational travel insurance provider with a growing presence domestically, has reported a 36% increase in travel insurance sales to people heading from the U.S. to London between late July and early September.

The flurry of activity means the chances of those pesky inconveniences occurring are greater than usual. “Unexpected illness or injury, significant airline delays and lost or delayed baggage are some of the concerns that consumers have when traveling and they are using travel insurance as a strategy to mitigate those risks,” Robert Pearson, Director of Market Intelligence at Allianz, said in a press release.

Is Travel Insurance Necessary?

Heathrow Airport prepared for months to handle the hordes of people who will be continuously arriving and leaving over a period of several weeks. It designated three peak days in which activity during the Olympics was or is supposed to be the most challenging: July 16, when Olympic athletes arrived nearly en masse; July 26, when sponsor and media poured in the day before the opening ceremony; and August 13, the day after the closing ceremony, which is expected to be Heathrow’s busiest day on record.

More than 1,000 volunteers have been corralled to ensure operations run as smoothly as possible. The airport has incorporated recommendations from other airports in previous host cities, and has invited peer reviews of their plans. New procedures have been tested to prevent trial and error from occurring during the Games.

However, even the most efficient preparations won’t prevent mistakes from happening. With 138,000 people and more than 200,000 bags expected to depart, 45% and 35% more than a regular day respectively, mistakes are bound to happen due to human error. When the Australian sailing team arrived on July 16, they were disappointed to discover that their sails were missing. Baggage handlers mistook the sails for cargo cargo because of their size. Fortunately, they were quickly recovered.

Coverage for delayed, lost, or damaged luggage is included in a typical travel insurance vacation plan. If an item is lost, the owner is given enough money to replace it. If an essential item is delayed, the owner is given enough money to cover the cost until the luggage is returned. Unforeseen expenses can derail an already expensive, pre-planned trip.

A delayed or canceled flight can be even more costly. Inclement weather or general confusion can disrupt a tight schedule dependent on narrow arrival windows. Missed reservations and even worse, missed hotel check-ins, can remove thousands of dollars from the pockets of travelers. In London’s hotels high demand and high capacity has driven up the cost to stay. On July 16 Travelclick reported that London hotel prices averaged £ 189, or $ 293. Last minute reservations are more difficult to come by, and likely to be even more expensive.

Vacation plans encompass non-refundable bookings and reservations. Travelers who are forced to cancel trips because they fell ill, lost their job, experienced a death in the family, were summoned for jury duty, or the occurrence of a natural disaster can be covered depending on the criteria of their agreement with their travel insurer. The former reason, falling ill, is another component that travelers insure during their trip because most health insurance providers in the U.S. do not cover medical expenses abroad.

English food gets a bad rap, and most visitors during the London Games will likely be pleased with the variety of delicious food offerings, but a bout with food poisoning, for example, can be unavoidable. Seeing a doctor and paying for medication can put a major dent in a traveler’s wallet. Even worse, a serious ailment that requires a few days in the hospital can cost five figures.

The Bureau of Consular Affairs recommends for people traveling abroad to consider purchasing a medical travel insurance plan after they’ve confirmed that their current health insurance policy doesn’t apply when they’re outside the U.S. and doesn’t cover emergencies like a trip to a foreign hospital or an evacuation. Older travelers visiting the Olympics should note that Medicare offers no coverage abroad.

Navigating London

A travel insurance policy provides peace of mind to travelers worried about the logistics of their trips and their pocketbooks. However, ensuring things runs smoothly with minimal inconvenience is largely the responsibility of the traveler. London is swarming with confused people who are losing valuable and expensive time. Visitors who maximize their time are the ones who’ve done their homework and understand the lay of the land.

Many visitors may be tempted to avoid Heathrow given that it’s the primary hub for international flights. The London area is connected through five airports; London City, Gatwick, Stansted, and Luton are the four others, each of which handles international arrivals. Whether or not they’re as well-run as Heathrow, though, remains to be seen. Visitors can also opt for smaller airports scattered throughout England and airports in other major cities throughout Europe, hopping on a train or bus to make up the rest of the distance.

Rail is a popular mode of transportation for visitors within London, which is known worldwide for its efficient public transportation system. Train companies have mobilized to create a network, both overground and underground, to shuttle people to and from their destinations as quickly as possible. Traveling by ground or water via bus or tube are options for shorter distances. Because of the rush, it’s essential for visitors to plan ahead. Created by Transport for London, Get Ahead of the Games is an interactive map providing visitors details on busy travel hubs.

Of course, visitors with tickets to sporting events likely have a Games Travelcard, which is valid during the day of the event for travel on “London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway, buses, trams and National Rail services – but not on Heathrow, Stansted or Gatwick Express trains, or for taxis/private hire vehicles,” according to the London 2012 site. For those sticking around London after the Games, purchasing a Visitor Oyster card allows visitors to pay as they go on public transportation.

Heightened security will assuredly slow things down, so visitors should be forewarned. The London 2012 website advises those who are attending events to bring as little as possible, as security checks are ubiquitous. At soccer events, for example, bringing a medium-sized soft-sided bag, which is permitted into most other events, is discouraged. The site provides a list of all the items prohibited from events. Excluded are liquids, aerosols, and gels in quantities greater than 100ml, glass bottles larger than 100ml, alcohol, and any item or article of clothing that can serve as a disruption.


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Food Worth Traveling For: The Bon Appetit Guide

Since the magazine’s humble beginnings in Kansas City during late-1950s, Bon Appétit has grown to become one of the most well-respected food and entertainment periodicals on the market. Taking advantage of the prestige and culinary clout the magazine managed to accumulate over the decades, Bon Appétit magazine began an annual award series in 1998, simply titled The Bon Appétit Awards. For over 10 years, the magazine would annually award 10 restaurants throughout the United States – known as the “Hot 10” – with a trophy, as well as a fully-featured write-up to showcase. From 2010 on, these awards have shifted from an awards-based concept to a simpler, less pretentious “Best of” concept – choosing instead to highlight the power of the periodical’s “Hot 10” branding as a particularly distinguished award in and of itself. This year, after trudging through the excruciating task of tasting, reviewing and ranking the culinary delights of America’s 50 best restaurants, our friends at Bon Appétit have whittled their final selections down to a mere 10 – and overall, these selections hint at an exciting new Renaissance for New American cuisine.

The Rise of New American Cuisine

This year, New American cuisine takes home the gold for having the most restaurants listed on the Bon Appétit hot list. American cuisine has taken a hit over the last few decades due to a fast food culture that has so tainted the world’s perception of our culinary capabilities. It is refreshing to see a new group of celebrated chefs attempt to repair the atrocious reputation American cuisine has earned over the years. As a result of these chefs’ fine efforts, over half of the entries on this year’s “Hot 10” are restaurants throughout the United States that specialize in New American cuisine.

State Bird Provisions, a rising new star on San Francisco’s already iconic culinary scene, was chosen for Bon Appétit Magazine’s “Hot 10” top spot. Located in the city’s up-and-coming Western Addition district, the restaurant offers an array of tantalizing tapas for your enjoyment. From traditional Southern-inspired cuisine, such as Fried Green Tomatoes with Tomato-Vinegar Sauce, to the Asian-fusion delights of Glazed Pork Ribs with Shichimi Togarashi, State Bird Provisions is a near-perfect example of New American cuisine at its finest.
About 3,000 miles east of San Francisco is the city of Brooklyn, which, like the Western Addition district in San Francisco, has experienced its fair share of gentrification over the last decade. The city’s rise in prestige has welcomed a new class of artisans and chefs to begin showing off their unique skills and talents. Restaurants Blanca and Battersby are both featured on the Bon Appétit “Hot 10” list, both are Brooklyn-based, and both are proud of it. Like State Bird Provisions, Blanca offers up an adventurous selection of tapas that runs the gamut of self-taught chef Carlo Mirarchi’s repertoire of diverse New American cuisine. Battersby, on the other hand, sticks to a more traditional menu of delicious New American/Italian entrées, such as clam linguine and the ever-popular pork belly parmigiana – both of which are to die for.

Should your travels bring you to the Southern United States, three restaurants in the region made Bon Appétit Magazine’s “Hot 10” list: Cakes & Ale of Decatur, GA, The Catbird Seat of Nashville, TN and Oxheart of Houston, TX. Each of these dining establishments tackle New American cuisine in very different ways.

Cakes & Ale, which is both a restaurant and a bakery, offers several unique interpretations of traditional American fare. However, as the restaurant’s name alludes to, the bakery is where you’ll ultimately want to end up.

Nashville’s The Catbird Seat offers soul food done New American-style, so you know that a meal is not only going to comfort your heart and your taste buds, but also offer you a world-class culinary experience like no other.

For the more adventurous, Oxheart in Houston presents a fascinating new take on New American cuisine in a way that represents and celebrates the diversity of this up-and-coming Texas city. Amazingly, vegetables are the key to Oxheart’s success, and the restaurant’s several deliciously inventive variations of seasonal vegetable dishes finally make the old “Finish your vegetables!” gripe irrelevant.

All in all, any gastro-tour of the United States is not complete without a meal at any one of these outstanding establishments. As of late, New American cuisine has made an unprecedented surge in popularity among critics and diners alike, and with six spots on Bon Appétit Magazine’s “Hot 10” list, these restaurants are surely a testament to the greatness of this uniquely American cuisine.

The Best of the Rest

While this year’s Bon Appétit “Hot 10” showcases the triumph of New American cuisine in 2012, several, more traditional (and not so traditional) restaurants also ended up making the cut. Spanish cuisine has also made a resurgence in popularity over the last decade, and Los Angeles’ Bäco Mercat has your cravings for heavenly Spanish-inspired delicacies covered. Like many of the restaurants discussed thus far, Bäco Mercat offers a wide range of dishes that highlight vegetables – a trend that seems to be inspiring contemporary diners and gastro-tourists to get reacquainted with some of the world’s healthiest foods.

Should your travels find you taking a tour of the American seat of government in Washington D.C., be sure to take some time to savor the scintillating, Thai-inspired cuisine of Little Serow. Husband and wife team Johnny Monis and Anne Marler know a thing or two about cooking up some of the most flavorful Thai delicacies around – proving to the world that, aside from the successes of New American cuisines as of late, Thai continues to be the “it” cuisine among diners and chefs throughout the nation.

Back on the Pacific Coast in beautiful Portland, Oregon, homestyle Italian cuisine reigns supreme at the city’s famed Luce restaurant. The key to showcasing fine Italian food is in the rustic, down-home preparation and presentation of the Old Country, and Luce not only does this to perfection, but succeeds at transporting you to the restaurants of Italy itself. Indeed, not many restaurants in the United States can hold a candle to the Italian cuisine one finds across the Atlantic, but Luce certainly can.

Finally, we come to Minneapolis’ intriguing take on Scandinavian cuisine at The Bachelor Farmer & Marvel Bar. From new and delicious takes on standard Scandinavian dishes at the restaurant, such as meatballs with lingonberries and mashed potatoes, to ice-cold and refreshing Nordic-inspired artisanal cocktails from the bar, The Bachelor Farmer & Marvel Bar offers a deft combination food and drink that will keep you around well into the evening.

It’s no secret that New American cuisine is making waves on the 21st century gastronomical scene – both within the United States and abroad. However, as Bon Appétit magazine’s “Hot 10” proves once more, the sheer variety of traditional and fusion-based cuisine in the United States alone is enough to give even the most discerning gastro-tourists a run for their money. Moreover, Bon Appétit magazine’s reputation as one of the country’s leading culinary periodicals does much to ensure that these annual “Hot 10” selections are sure-fire winners on anyone’s gastro-travel itinerary. While dining at many of the above restaurants might do some damage to the wallet, the consensus is that many, if not all of the delicious selections on their menus end up being worth every penny. So before you set off on your own  gastro-tour of the U.S., take a gander at these restaurants’ menus, and maybe save a few extra bucks before setting out; you won’t regret it!

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