Infants and Pets

When You Fly

Accompanied minor children

General Rule: Children under the age of 12 will not be accepted for boarding unless accompanied on the same flight by a parent, legal guardian, or another passenger at least 18 years of age. ACO reserves the right to prompt, at check-in, for documentation of child’s age, for more information reference the Identification portion of our Contract of Carriage.

Carrier will not provide transportation services to any infant less than 14 days old unless a written statement is provided by an attending physician approving infants for air travel.

One child under two (2) years of age (24 months or less) per adult is accepted by ACO at no additional charge provided the child is seated on the lap of the adult fare-paying passenger at least 18 years old or parent or legal guardian. ACO reserves the right to prompt, at check-in, for documentation of child’s age, for more information reference the Identification portion of our Contract of Carriage.

Children 14 days up to two years of age traveling on a confirmed reservation, with or without the use of a child restraint device, will be charged the infant/minor fare or the lowest available adult fare, whichever is less.

Unaccompanied minors (UM)

If a passenger is age 5-12 and traveling without a parent or legal guardian then they must be classified as an Unaccompanied Minor (UM). A parent or legal guardian must fill out the UM Form upon check-in and follow the rules and procedures described in Air Choice One’s UM policy. Although not required by ACO, parents or guardians may request UM service for unaccompanied minors age 13-17 at their discretion.

Children under the age of 18 may travel unaccompanied on Air Choice One only under the following conditions:

UM’s may not fly on the last flight of the day departing from the passenger’s city of origin – no exceptions.
UM’s are required to have identification and/or proof of age.
No child(ren) under age 5 will be accepted for unaccompanied travel.
Child(ren) age 5-12 must travel as a UM, if unaccompanied by a parent or guardian.
UM’s may travel on non-stop flights only, no multi-segment flights – no exceptions.
UM’s may not connect to/from other airlines – no exceptions.
ACO will not connect/escort any UM to or from a flight with another airline.
The parent/legal guardian of the UM must complete the UM form before check-in at our station.
Each UM may be escorted by a parent/legal guardian through boarding and upon exiting.
Each UM must be at the proper maturity level to conduct themselves respectfully on the aircraft with limited supervision by our crew.
Each UM must wear ACO issued identification the entire flight, identifying themselves as a UM.
UM’s must pay the applicable UM Service Charge*; in addition, to the required normal travel fares paid at the time their reservation was made. (*UM Service Charge of $200/hour will apply in the event parent/legal guardian is not present to conduct and/or accept physical custody transfer of the UM prior to boarding or upon arrival at destination airport.)
A parent or guardian who has been identified for the destination point prior to the boarding of the aircraft on the UM form must present themselves at our gate at least 30 minutes before the scheduled arrival time of the UM’s flight.
All parents/guardians releasing or receiving the UM must present a valid driver’s license, state ID, or passport to an ACO agent before release of UM. The driver’s license, state ID, or passport number presented at the final destination of the ACO flight must match the ID number listed in the UM document prior to boarding.

Pets

ACO has the ability to carry animals. YOU MUST NOTIFY ACO IF YOU WILL BE CARRYING AN ANIMAL AT LEAST 24 HOURS PRIOR TO YOUR SCHEDULED FLIGHT. If we agree to carry your animal, they will be carried subject to the following conditions:

We will accept one live animal per flight. Multiple live animals are not permitted on our aircraft. All animals will be subject to space available policy and will be based on a first-come, first-served basis. Pet reservations are highly recommended.
All animals must be accompanied by a human passenger.
The largest pet carrier we can accommodate on our aircraft measures at 27’’ x 20’’ x 19’’. Pet carriers must be leak-proof and well ventilated.
All animals must be 35 pounds or less to be considered for carriage on our aircraft.
You must ensure that animals are properly crated and accompanied by valid health and vaccination certificates, entry permits, and other documents required by countries of entry or transit, failing which they will not be accepted for carriage. If proper papers are not available prior to boarding, ACO has the right to deny the boarding of your animal.
An animal that is properly crated must be able to stand in the carrier.
The applicable pet fee is required before boarding of pet.
Pets are subject to a $25.00 fee.
Carrier will not transport pets in the aircraft cargo compartments.
Certain unusual animals/reptiles which pose unavoidable safety and/or public health concerns, such as snakes, other reptiles, rodents, and spiders, will not be accepted for transport by Air Choice One.
Air Choice One reserves the right to deny the carriage of any animals at any time. Carrier retains the right, at any time to refuse to transport any pet that exhibits aggressive behavior.
Pet must be healthy, harmless, inoffensive, and odorless and require no attention during the flight.
Dogs and cats must be at least eight weeks old for travel and must be able to travel.
Pregnant animals past 45 days of gestation are not allowed on board carrier.
Air Choice One allows carriage of one animal per flight.
Please check with other carriers if making a connecting flight for the policies and procedures of that carrier, ACO is not liable for the policies and procedures of another carrier.

Service animals

Air Choice One (“ACO”) will permit qualified individuals with a disability to be accompanied by their service animal(s) in the cabin (e.g., “Service Animals” trained or able to assist an individual with a disability who requires the animal to assist him or her in the performance of necessary activities and “Support Animals” that are used for emotional support or psychiatric service), as long as the carriage of the animal meets the conditions set forth in section D, below, and the animal does not (1) pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others (e.g., animal displays threatening behaviors by growling, snarling, lunging at, or attempting to bite other persons on the aircraft) or (2) cause a significant disruption in-cabin service (i.e., a ‘‘fundamental alteration’’ to passenger service). For the safety and security of all, including the animals, the passengers they serve, other passengers and crew, and for necessary operational needs, this policy sets out conditions, restrictions and requirements. ACO strongly recommends that you read and understand the provisions in this policy before traveling with a Service/Support Animal so that you and your Service/Support Animal are best prepared for your journey.
ACO does not charge to transport Service/Support Animals. However, ACO reserves the right to charge the passenger for reimbursement of repair and/or cleaning costs beyond normal wear and tear associated with the transport of the animal.
Service/Support Animals are welcome to accompany the passenger into the cabin, if they meet the conditions of acceptance noted below.
Conditions of Acceptance
1. ACO will permit Service/Support Animals to accompany a qualified individual with a disability in any seat in which the person sits, unless the animal obstructs an aisle or another area that must remain unobstructed in order to facilitate an emergency evacuation or to comply with FAA regulations. Service/Support Animals are not permitted on the seats, instead of the lap of the passenger, or in emergency exit rows. Service/Support Animals may accompany the Owner Passenger with the disability at any seat in which the passenger sits, unless the Service/Support Animal obstructs an aisle or another area that must remain unobstructed in order to facilitate an emergency evacuation.
2. If a service animal cannot be accommodated at the seat location of the qualified individual with a disability whom the animal is accompanying, ACO will offer the passenger the opportunity to move with the animal to a seat location in the same class of service, if present on the aircraft, where the animal can be accommodated. If the animal is too large to fit safely on the floor space in front of the passenger, ACO will try to accommodate the passenger and the Service/Support Animal by moving them to empty adjacent seats in the same cabin service, if such accommodation (i) is available, (ii) is a safe alternative that does not obstruct emergency evacuation, and (iii) does not cause a delay in flight. If there are no adequate alternatives in the same cabin service as the original seat on the same flight or subsequent flights that can safely accommodate the Service/Support Animal’s size or weight, the Service/Support Animal will not be permitted in the cabin. If no single seat in the cabin will accommodate the animal and passenger without causing an obstruction, ACO may offer the option of purchasing a second seat or traveling on a later flight. If ACO is unable to accommodate the service animal then a full refund for the passenger’s flight will be issued.
3. As evidence that an animal is a Service Animal other than emotional support animal or psychiatric service animal, ACO will accept identification cards, other written documentation, presence of harnesses, tags, or the credible verbal assurances of a qualified individual with a disability using the animal.
4. ACO reserves the right to ask the passenger what type of tasks and/or functions the Service/Support Animal performs; and/or what the Service/Support Animal has been trained to do.
5. If a passenger cannot provide credible verbal assurances that a Service Animal has been individually trained or is able to perform some task or function to assist the passenger with his or her disability, ACO personnel may require documentation as a condition for allowing the animal to travel in the cabin. The purpose of documentation is to substantiate the passenger’s disability-related need for the Service Animal’s accompaniment, which the airline may require as a condition to permit the Service Animal to travel in the cabin only when the passenger does not provide credible verbal assurances. Examples of documentation include a letter from a licensed professional treating the passenger’s condition (e.g., physician, mental health professional, vocational case manager, etc.).
6. If a passenger seeks to travel with an animal that is used as an emotional support or psychiatric service animal (i.e., Support Animal), ACO is not required to accept the animal for transportation in the cabin unless the passenger provides ACO personnel with current documentation (i.e., no older than one year from the date of the passenger’s scheduled initial flight) on the letterhead of a licensed mental health professional (e.g., psychiatrist, psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, including a medical doctor specifically treating the passenger’s mental or emotional disability) stating the following:
  1. The passenger has a mental or emotional disability recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fourth Edition (DSM IV);
  2. The passenger needs the emotional support or psychiatric service animal as an accommodation for air travel and/or for activity at the passenger’s destination;
  3. The individual providing the assessment is a licensed mental health professional, and the passenger is under his or her professional care; and
  4. The date and type of the mental health professional’s license and the state or other jurisdiction in which it was issued.
7. ACO will not accommodate certain unusual animals (e.g., snakes, other reptiles, ferrets, rodents, spiders, etc.) as Service/Support animals in the cabin. With respect to all other animals that are presented as Service/Support animals, ACO will determine whether any factors preclude their traveling in the cabin as Service/Support animals (e.g., whether the animal is too large or heavy to be accommodated in the cabin, whether the animal would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others, or whether it would cause a significant disruption of cabin service). If no such factors preclude the animal from traveling in the cabin, ACO will permit it to do so.
8. If a single passenger legitimately has two or more Service/Support Animals, ACO will make every reasonable effort to accommodate them in the cabin in accordance with company policies on seating and federal safety and security regulations. For example, if the animals are under 15 pounds each, and remain on the lap of the passenger throughout the duration of the flight, that will be acceptable. If the animals cannot fit on the lap of a passenger or otherwise at the passenger’s seat, ACO may request the passenger purchase a second seat so that the animals can be accommodated in accordance with FAA safety regulations. Alternatively, ACO may offer the passenger a seat on a later flight if the passenger and animals cannot be accommodated together at a single passenger seat. The passenger and the animals will both be re-accommodated as animals cannot fly without the owning passenger. If ACO is unable to accommodate these animals then a full refund for the passenger’s flight will be issued.
9. ACO may not provide accommodations for users of Service/Support Animals if such accommodation creates an undue burden, including but not limited to the following:
  1. Asking another passenger to give up substantial space in front of his or her seat to accommodate a Service/Support Animal (However, the fact that a service animal may need to use a reasonable portion of an adjacent seat’s foot space—that does not deny another passenger effective use of the space for his or her feet—is not an adequate reason for the carrier to refuse to permit the animal to accompany its user at his or her seat);
  2. Denying transportation to any individual on a flight in order to provide accommodation to a passenger with a Service/Support Animal;
  3. Furnishing more than one seat per ticket; and
  4. Providing a seat in a class of service other than the one the passenger has purchased.
10. ACO strongly encourages passengers to notify the carrier while booking that a Service/Support animal will be accompanying them during the flight (i.e., early notification process). The early notification process is outlined as follows:
  1. If the passenger books over the phone, they should notify the customer service agent upon booking that a Service/Support animal will be accompanying them during the flight.
  2. If the passenger books online, they should call ACO Customer Service upon completion of the booking to notify ACO.
  3. If a passenger books through a 3rd party travel agency, they should call ACO Customer service after booking to notify ACO.
11. As permitted in Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) § 382.27, ACO requires that a passenger traveling with an emotional support or psychiatric service animal (i.e., Support Animal) provide up to 48 hours’ advance notice and check-in one hour before the check-in time for the general public to receive accommodations for the Support Animal to accompany them in the cabin during the flight. If the passenger has complied with early notification and early check-in requirements as set forth herein, the passenger will, to the extent practicable, be assigned accommodations that will allow the Support Animal to be placed on the floor in front of the seat. However, if a passenger does not meet advance notice or check-in requirements consistent with this section, ACO will provide the accommodation if the carrier can do so by making reasonable efforts, without delaying the flight.
12. ACO reserves the right to deny the transport of any animals in the cabin that does not behave properly in public. An animal may not engage in disruptive behavior such as running freely around an aircraft or airport, growling repeatedly at other people, biting or jumping on people (other than on the Owner Passenger as trained for a health alert), or urinating or defecating in undesignated areas like the gate, the airport or the cabin. An animal that engages in disruptive behavior has not been successfully trained to behave properly in public settings.
13. The passenger assumes full responsibility for the safety, well-being and conduct of his or her Service/Support Animals, including, but not limited to, the interaction of the animal with other passengers who may come into contact with the animal while onboard the aircraft. The care and supervision of Service/Support Animals is solely the responsibility of the passenger with a disability whom the animal is accompanying. The passenger will indemnify ACO for any losses associated with his or her Service/Support Animal other than repair and cleaning costs for normal wear and tear.
14. Whenever ACO personnel decide not to accept an animal as a Service/Support animal, ACO will explain the reason for its decision to the passenger and document it in writing. A copy of the explanation will be provided to the passenger either at the airport, or within 10 calendar days of the incident.