International Flying with dogs, especially with dogs in the cargo hold
- Not all airlines transport animals. Confirm if your airline takes animals
- Confirm your airline takes animals to your target country. Not all airlines take pets into the US.
- Small dogs (typically under 20 lbs) can travel in-cabin
- Large dogs must travel in the cargo hold
- You must use a crate that is big enough for your dog and honors International Air Transport Association (IATA) regulations. Using a crate too small my get you rejected from having your dog checked in!
- You must put a specific water bottle inside the crate.
- Airlines limit the number of pets per flight, so book early
- Not all airlines are made equal. Some may simply screw you.
- Not all airlines charge the same. International fees range from 75 USD to over 600 USD
- Size matters! Not only for the cabin, but also for the cargo hold. Many airlines have severe size restrictions for dog crates that make the transport of larger dogs prohibitive.
- Most airlines won’t take brachiocephalic dogs, dogs with small noses.
- There are minimum age requirements for dogs.
- Connecting flights, airlines have different regulations for maximum AND minimum connection times for pets in the Cargo hold.
- If not a direct flight, make sure this airport allows for dog transfer (e.g. Munich Airport does not allow this).
- Regulations are airline specific. If you book a code share that is operated by another airline, it will have different regulations.
- Try to find a direct flight if feasible.
- Your dog must be chipped, with a chip that is accepted in the target country (e.g. US and EU can not read Chinese Pet Chips)
- Your dog must be vaccinated.
- Bring your dog vaccination passport and supporting evidence.
- If your dog was in a high risk country for rabies, then there are special requirements
- You must register your dog with the Center for Disease Control and prevention when flying to the US. This is easy, don’t get scared.
- Assemble your crate after you received it. Don’t assemble the crate the first time in the airport.
- Confirm that the specific flight allows for all the points mentioned. Don’t book a flight before confirming this.
The good, the bad and the ugly. Airline ranking for travelling with pets.
★★★★★ Lufthansa.
Lufthansa is a 5-Start airline when it comes to pet transport in the cargo hold. Yes, they charge you for it, likely over 500 USD one way. But they know what they are doing, they seem to be able to fit even the largest crate, and they will honor your booking, not like the Cowboys from Finnair. The minimum time restrictions for connection flights are 45 minutes. My flight was late, they managed in 30 minutes. They do not allow connection flights with dogs in the Cargo hold for every airport. E.g. Frankfurt is safe, but they will not allow a booking via Munich with a dog in the cargo hold. Also, make sure it is a Lufthansa flight, don’t book a code share with United or something.
★★★ Aeroflot
Honorably mention. Due to the current situation, there are very few international flights with Aeroflot. They save size restrictions for dogs in the cargo hold. But when the world was a better place, they flew dogs from China to Europe in the Cargo hold for 75 USD one way. A steal!
★★★ LOT
Polish airlines. Very strict with pets, but they do take pets in the cargo hold and they do fly them also into the US. Sizes restrictions make it unlikely that you will be able to bring a Golden Retriever or Labrador with them.
To be evaluated: KLM and Air France have good reputation for pet transport. I will update this section in the future.
_ Zero stars.
Fly Play Airlines. They don’t take pets.
Delta. Great Airline but currently no pet transport in the cargo hold into the US
American Airlines. Great Airline but currently no pet transport in the cargo hold into the US
United. Not so great airline and currently no pet transport in the cargo hold into the US
Finnair. They do bring dogs into the US in the cargo hold, but you would be insane to use them.
What crates to buy for air transport for dogs?
I strongly recommend buying Karlie brand crates. They are stable, high quality, reusable and honor International Air Transport Association (IATA) regulations. I used them many times without problems.
