It is odd that the airport would even let him be shipped in a crate too small. When I was flying from alaska to new york with my dog they made me take him out and put him back in and make him move around etc to be sure that he had enough room etc in his crate. They were not going to let me fly him cause they thought it was too small but then when they saw him inside it they saw that he had plenty of room to stand fully. I think it is evil and unfeeling to pack a dog in a crate that is too small for them. Mind you after that one flight and the return he turned into a sausage roll and could never fly again in the crate so I just started driving to New york once a year instead
We liked that better was our big adventure every year.