Jaunted

American Airlines aren’t the only ones getting with the program either: Midwest, AirTran, Continental, Delta, NWA, Southwest, and Alaska Airlines also endorse the Guaranteed On Board program, which in a nutshell means completing a form about your pet, putting him in a proper carrier, and bringing him to the airport so a check-in agent or flight attendant can check your work and make sure you haven’t under-guestimated Fluffy’s real weight.

Most airlines have a pet weight limit: American’s is 20 lbs total, including both the weight of the pet/s and the weight of the carrier. If you’ve done everything right but are denied boarding your flight, Sherpa will refund the cost of your flight and your pet’s travel fee.

American Airlines Sherpa carriers: Kinda retro-cool looking, no? $60 each, from PETCO.

Of course, there are a bunch of “subject to …” caveats—you can’t be late to your gate, your pet and carrier can’t be over the weight limit, you can’t lie on your forms, and you can’t use a carrier that doesn’t fit the airlines’ guidelines. These all make the offer void. As does a situation where “your pet is viewed as a threat to the safety of you, itself, or others.” Airlines don’t like four-legged terrorists, no matter how cute they are.

Still, when your pet’s travel fee is $100 each way like it is on American (and most other pet-“friendly” airlines), a guarantee to get on board ain’t such a bad thing to have up your sleeve.

Related Stories:
· Guaranteed on Board [Official Site]
· Pet Travel [Jaunted]