Relocation with my dog?

Sorry to burst your bubble, but you are pretty much out of luck during the hotter months. The airlines have rules to safeguard the health and safety of pet transport in the cargo hold. So pets are not allowed to be in the cargo hold during these "hotter months". October is in general still a hot month here in the USVI. Unless your dog is small enough to be in a soft carrier that you can have in the coach cabin with you, then you cannot transport a dog until the airlines says the ground temp that day will be under 85F. Most dog owners down here who take their pet back and forth to the U.S. in the cargo hold area, have about a 6 month window (Dec to May) to do this.

Jumbie -STX.

sascha,

This is probably one of the most asked questions on here, particularly this time of year. Use the search option, for the past 90 days, and you will find lots of ideas on how to make it work. What works for some doesn't always work for others, but it is doable, if you do the research. Continental and Delta both offer climate controlled pet cargo. Good luck.

First welcome to St John 🙂

Second, sorry I can't help with the airline question but if you do a "search" this topic has been discussed many, many, many times and you will find dozens of threads.

Third and maybe the most important is have you secured housing on STJ as many rentals will not accept dogs - just want you to be as prepared as possible (oh and do know no dogs allowed on STJ beaches - just in case you didn't know)

Good luck and see you on island soon.

Pia

sascha111, welcome to the forum!

Don't despair. There are enough options that something will probably work for you. As recommended by others, search the earlier threads. For example, see this thread with subject, "moving a beloved dog":
https://www.vimovingcenter.com/talk/read.php?4,99254,140613#msg-140613

The 85F restriction varies by airline. The Delta Pet First program and Cape Air do not seem to have that restriction, for example. You might try Delta Pet First from NY to San Juan, and then Cape Air from San Juan to STT. There are also nighttime flights and charter flights, and you don't have to fly non-stop.

I will be coming down - destination STJ - at the end of October from Boston on American to STT with two dogs in baggage. I'm doubly concerned since there's a plane change in San Juan. If the temperature becomes a problem (over 85 degrees) my only fall back is to wait in Boston until the next day and send the dogs down to STT on Delta. Their pet travel program has no heat restriction because the dogs are put in a/c as soon as they are removed from the plane on the ground. The extra expense of this scenario is great, and if anyone has any other option, at that point, please let me know.

As far as Continental, according to their agents on the phone, pet travel to STT wasn't an option because large pets travel in cargo, not baggage, and STT isn't one of their cargo destinations. Having heard otherwise, I questioned the information and they assured me the information was incorrect. - STT isn't a Continental cargo destination.

independent man,

You are correct. I wasn't really clear on my post about pet cargo. Continental has a facility for pets in San Juan. You would then need to make arrangements from SJU to STT. The seaplane takes pets, but it's a different airport. Like I said...research... and also flexibility. Also, as someone else mentioned, and I have mentioned myself on other threads, the airlines have these restrictions for the safety of the pet. In some cases it may be best to plan to travel a little later in the year or leave the pet to be sent down later. Each case really can be different, so don't depend on what someone else did.