When some pet owners wish to fly with their pets, they often ask, which airline is the most pet friendly? I don’t recommend any airline because each company has its policy regarding traveling with pets.
Meanwhile, I have listed some of my favorite airlines that you may want to travel with your pet. In no particular order have I made this list.
Best Airlines for Flying with Pets
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is the best airline for traveling with a pet. It charges the lowest pet fees for flights and has the most flexible pet policy in terms of what types of pets you can bring.
· Pet Travel in the main cabin
Alaska charges the lowest pet fees for the main cabin, charging $100 each way per kennel or carrier. Since up to two pets of the same, species and similar size may travel in the same carrier, which is just $50 per pet if traveling with two.
You could fly with up to four pets. The Alaska pet policy lets you bring up to two pet carriers in the main cabin, but the price is higher as you will have to purchase the adjacent seat too.
While many airlines restrict main cabin pets to just cats and dogs, Alaska is more flexible, allowing rabbits and household birds, too.
Like most airlines, your pet carrier also counts among your carry-on bag allotment, so plan to check bags — or pack light.
· Pet Travel in the cargo
Alaska will transport not just dogs, cats, birds, and rabbits in checked baggage or cargo, but also ferrets, guinea pigs, hamsters, non-poisonous reptiles, pot-bellied pigs, and tropical fish. Fees to transport pets as Alaska pet cargo vary by route and your pet’s size and start at $250.
If you want to relax in an Alaska lounge before your flight, your pet can come too — as long as it’s well-behaved.
The lounges, which are accessible to passengers with certain levels of elite status or people who purchase a separate membership, accept quiet service animals and pets in carry-on kennels. Some Alaska lounges are also accessible to Priority Pass members.
American Airlines
American Airlines charge $125 for main cabin flights for pets within North America, but we did not think the $25 difference was significant.
· Pet Travel in the main cabin
The American Airlines pet policy allows you to bring one kennel that fits under the seat in front of you in place of a carry-on bag, and you must keep your pet in the kennel the entire time.
· Pet Travel in the cargo
American passengers may decide to transport pets as checked baggage, which can be imperative for some pet owners, especially those with animals too large to fit in the main cabin. Fees start at $200 on American.
· Before your flight
If you intend to relax in the Admirals Club lounge before your flight, your pet can come too, as long as it remains in its kennel.
Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines also charges $125 for pets to remain with their owner in the main cabin in North America.
Pets travel in the main cabin on almost all North American flights (no pets are allowed on New York-JFK, Boston, Orlando, or Austin routes) as long as the carrier fits under the seat and it weighs less than 25 pounds with the pet inside.
However, pets cannot fly first class on any North American flights on Hawaiian due to space limitations.
If you fly to Hawaii with your pet you will incur extra charges because the Hawaii Department of Agriculture requires a quarantine for all pets, with its separate costs starting at $185 per pet.
· Pet Travel in the cargo
If your pet weighs more than the pet carry-on policy allows or you are flying in first class, your pet will travel in the cargo deck of the plane. The Hawaiian fee is about $225 for travel between Hawaii and North America.
· Before your flight
You can enter any Hawaiian Airlines lounge with your pets, as long as it remains in their carrier.
The challenges of flying with pets
I always read the fine print carefully before embarking on any flight with your pets.No matter how friendly some airlines are to pets, and there are restrictions around a pet’s size.
I consider how free (or confined to the kennel) my pet can be when traveling within the main cabin. Some individual routes or aircraft have their unique limitations beyond the standard airline pet policy. In addition, beyond fees, you’ll likely also incur a bunch of paperwork and phone calls before your pet can fly.
Here are a few road bumps to watch out for.
Confirm a place for your pet before booking your seat. Alaska Airlines, friendlier to pets than others does not always guarantee that your pet can fly. That is because all airlines limit the overall number of pets allowed in the main cabin and cargo.
For example, Alaska’s first-class cabin can only accommodate one pet carrier per flight, and the main cabin accommodates up to five.
I contact the airline to reserve a space for my pet. Then, I confirm space is available before booking my seat.
I don’t want to deal with the headache of canceling should there be no room for my pet.
FAQs
Which airline is safest for dogs?
Alaska Airlines is most safe for transporting pets. Seattle-based Alaska Airlines had an incident rate of just 0.26 per 10,000 animals. That is especially impressive given that Alaska carried the highest number of pets (more than 730,000) among all airlines over the last five years.
Does any airline allow pets?
Of the major U.S. airlines, only Alaska, American and Hawaiian — our top three best airlines for traveling with pets — will transport pets in checked baggage and/or cargo
Which airline is the most pet friendly?
Alaska Airlines is the most pet-friendly airline, edging out Hawaiian and American Airlines, which tied for second place. Frontier and Southwest are solid options for your pets.
They have more pet-friendly policies than Spirit, JetBlue, and Delta. United is the least pet-friendly airline, according to our analysis.