Travelling with my bird

[lwis]

Hi there.
My boyfriend and I are going to be flying to my home town to visit with family for two weeks in May. We am thinking of taking our green cheek conure, Darwin, with us. Just wondering what everyone's thoughts are on this. Do you think it is a good idea? If anyone has travelled with their bird(s), I would love if you would share some of your experiences or advice with me.

Here is a little information on what the travel circumstances will likely be:
-It is aprox. a 5 hour flight with one short layover.
-We will be staying at my parents house where I will have a cage set up for him when we get there.
->This cage will likely be slightly smaller than his current one, but the one he is in now is HUGE.
-> I will bring some familiar toys and food to place in his temporary cage.
- We have had him for 2 months and he is under the age of one, and we plan to introduce him to a travel cage, many car/bus rides, and perhaps a couple of sleepovers at friends houses.
-He currently has clipped wings (he came like that from the breeder), but he can fly quite far and is currently going through his first molt with us so may have full flight by the time we travel.
-We have ordered an Aviator harness for him (it should be arriving soon) and we plan to get him used to it as soon as we can.
-Darwin is a pretty social bird; he is happy to fly to and will visit with many different people. He is not a shy or nervous bird. Though he does get excited and sometimes will 'randomly' spook and will fly to the ground.

I think that is about all the info I can think of for now.
Let me know what you think.

thanks!

[Shelby]

I suggest bringing him with you as carry-on. GCCs are small enough and if you bring him as cargo, there's always a risk that the airline could lose him or something. Check your airline's requirements for bringing pets on board as carry-on. Most companies only allow 2 of a species per flight with a maximum of 4 or so animals in total, so you'll want to reserve a spot for him and find out what the cage requirements are. Some companies like to have pets in a small carrier which is in a bigger carrier so there is a smaller chance for escape.

[lwis]

Yes, my plan is to take him as a carry on. I forgot to mention that.