(not) Flying to Palm Springs during the Pandemic for Spring Break

We were thinking of flying to Palm Springs during the pandemic. The CDC came out with guidelines that vaccinated people are able to travel relatively safely on airplane flights. We have about a zillion miles to use on airplanes. We found a self-contained Airbnb with a pool. And Palm Springs is an easy two hour flight from Seattle so Scout could probably handle that in a teeny tiny bag at our feet on the flight.

But we have kids. And kids are not eligible for the vaccine yet. We are still doing all online school and it really has been the toughest year. We can’t see family even though they are very close because the border has strict regulations-we recently tried to quarantine again in Vancouver BC but they have rolled out a new testing protocol even for citizens that is not well organized and stressful. We were given a test to do on our 10th day in quarantine but our 10th day results didn’t come back until late on our 14th day and I’ve heard of more than a handful where people have had to quarantine for 21 days because they didn’t get their results. And covid numbers in Vancouver were skyrocketing when we were there. It was very stressful and this was just a two hour drive from our home in Seattle. Going through this quarantine so close to where we live made me realize how serious things might be if we were farther away from home.

And why are people still not masking on airplanes?

I saw a post in a family travel Facebook group about people who were planning on bringing lollipops and drink boxes with straws on their plane trip so their kids could take their masks off for long periods of time to eat and it gutted my heart. I don’t get it. And then a friend posted a pic of grownups refusing to mask on her airplane flight and the airline not doing anything about it and this made this fear feel incredibly real.

So after quarantining in Canada and with covid numbers still pretty high in the USA and people still not all masking on airplanes properly we decided that the stress and hassle and potential health risks to our kids for going to Palm Springs outweighed the relaxation we were seeking. It feels like we are so close to having everyone vaccinated and things back to normal but not quite close enough. We pivoted and we have another road trip planned near Seattle. It’s not Seabrook this time. Or the Olympic Peninsula. Or even on the Oregon Coast. We are going to places that we have never been before and we are so lucky that Seattle has so many options just a drive away. (And I was even able to book really cool accommodations last minute.)

So for now I thought I’d share some of the things we found in our research about flying to Palm Springs during the pandemic for spring break just in case it’s helpful (and I really need to remember how to reserve a flight for my pup for when we actually fly together one day too.)

Flying with a pup on Alaska Air in the USA

I had my eye on the cutest pup carrier from Away but when we looked at the Alaska Air website it doesn’t look like this one will be a size we can actually bring on the plane-according to the website the bags that we can bring on with pets are very very small. Thankfully my aunt gave me one recently and for the past little while we’ve been using it in our car to make Scout practice for his inevitable flying debut.

To fly on Alaska Air with a pup you have to make a reservation for your pup at least 24 hours before the flight and you should make this reservation as soon as you can. The reservation is cancellable and you get charged $100 each flight for the pup and it’s payable when you check in (so we would be paying $200 for two direct flights with Scout).

There is a maximum number of pets allowed on the plane and when my husband called to make the reservation the agent checked to see how many other pups were already onboard. If there were too many pups reserved already we would have to choose another flight. Because we were using miles for this trip, Scout would have been the most expensive passenger in our family and he doesn’t even get his own seat. (Also for some states like Hawaii, pups need certain certificates so it’s important to check for that on the website too)

Have you ever flown in an airplane with a pup?

For everything else you need to know about flying during spring break in a pandemic, just please wear a mask and be a kind human being.

Terumi

Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys.  She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live.  She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)