Flying With a Dog: The Complete Guide

The first thing to know about flying with a dog is that the answer depends almost entirely on how big your dog is. If it fits comfortably in a soft bag under an aeroplane seat, flying is fairly simple and most airlines will take it for a fee. If it does not, your options narrow sharply, and on some routes they disappear altogether. This guide starts with that question, then goes through what the main airlines allow and charge, how safe the hold really is, and how to prepare your dog so that the day goes smoothly. Airlines change their rules often, so every figure here comes from the airline's own page, checked in the autumn of 2026, and you should look at that page again before you book.

Will Your Dog Fit in the Cabin?

In the cabin, your dog travels in a carrier that goes under the seat in front of you, and it stays in that carrier, zipped up, for the whole flight. It does not sit on your lap and it does not get a seat. So the real limit is the space under an aeroplane seat, which is roughly the size of a small holdall, and everything the airlines say about size and weight follows from that.

American airlines mostly set a carrier size and leave the weight alone. Delta recommends a soft carrier of 18 by 11 by 11 inches, and American Airlines adds a weight limit of 20 lb for dog and carrier together. European airlines nearly all go by weight, and the figure is almost always 8 kg including the carrier, which in practice means a dog of about six or seven kilos. A cocker spaniel will not qualify on either side of the Atlantic. A chihuahua, a small terrier or a miniature dachshund will.

Be honest with yourself about the fit. The dog has to be able to stand up and turn round inside the carrier with the door closed, and it has to stay there contentedly for hours. If it cannot, it is too big for the cabin, and no airline will bend on that at the gate, however well behaved the dog and however much you have paid for your own ticket.

The American Airlines

For a small dog on a domestic flight, the big carriers are much alike, and the fee is charged each way. Delta charges $150 within the United States and Canada and $200 on international flights, and takes up to four pets in the main cabin. United charges $150 each way, sets no weight limit, and allows two pets per person if you buy a second seat. American charges $150 per carrier and accepts cabin pets within North America, Central America and the Caribbean only. JetBlue charges $150 and takes six pets per flight.

The cheaper options are Southwest, which charges $125 per carrier on domestic flights only, and Alaska Airlines, which is the cheapest of the majors at $100. Many websites still quote $95 for Southwest, which is out of date. Frontier takes pets on domestic flights only and has stopped accepting them on international ones. North of the border, Air Canada charges $50 to $60 within Canada and to the United States, and $100 to $120 on international routes.

Where you are going matters as much as who you fly with. Delta does not allow pets in the cabin to or from Hawaii, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and a number of other places. Alaska does not take cabin pets to Europe or Japan, and American does not carry them across the Atlantic at all. Check the airline's list of excluded destinations before you buy your own ticket. We have written a separate guide to each of the main American airlines, with the carrier sizes, limits and exclusions in full: Delta, American, United, Southwest, Alaska, JetBlue and Frontier.

The European Airlines

In Europe the 8 kg rule decides everything. Air France, KLM, Lufthansa, Iberia and TAP all take a dog in the cabin if dog and carrier together weigh no more than 8 kg. KLM's fee runs from 70 to 500 euros each way depending on the route, while Iberia charges from 40 euros within Spain and TAP from 40 euros within Europe. Expect to have the dog and carrier weighed at check in.

The two biggest low cost airlines will not take your dog at all. Ryanair carries no animals except guide and assistance dogs, and easyJet has the same rule. British Airways does not carry pets in the cabin on any route. So a cheap flight within Europe is rarely an option with a dog, and many owners find the train a better answer, as we explain in our guide to dogs on trains.

The one bright spot for larger dogs is in Italy, where ITA Airways now runs a service it calls Large Dog On Board. It allows a dog of up to 30 kg in the cabin on selected domestic flights, with a maximum of two dogs per flight, booked through the airline's contact centre at least four days ahead. It is a small experiment so far, but it shows what is possible.

Flying Into Britain

Britain is the exception that catches people out. The government's rule is that pets arriving in Great Britain by air have to travel as cargo, unless they are guide or assistance dogs or you are on a private charter. However small your dog, it cannot sit in the cabin with you on a commercial flight into the country. That is why so many British owners take their dogs to the continent by car, through the Channel Tunnel or on a ferry, which we cover in our guide to ferries and the Channel Tunnel. American owners heading for Britain should read our guide to taking a dog from the US to the UK, which explains the ways round the rule.

If Your Dog Is Too Big for the Cabin

A larger dog travels in the hold, in a rigid crate, either checked in as baggage on your flight or booked separately as cargo. In the United States this has become hard to arrange. United says it no longer lets ordinary passengers check pets. American accepts checked pets only for military and State Department staff on official orders. Southwest, JetBlue and Frontier carry no animals in the hold at all. Alaska is the main exception, and still takes pets in its climate controlled baggage compartment for $200 each way.

European airlines are more accommodating. Air France and KLM carry dogs in the hold up to 75 kg including the crate, Iberia and TAP up to 45 kg, and Air Canada up to 45 kg. Above those weights, and on routes where no airline accepts checked pets, a dog travels as cargo through the airline's freight arm or a pet shipping company, which is a more involved and more expensive business.

How Safe Is the Hold?

This is the question that worries owners most, and there are real figures to answer it. American airlines must report every animal that dies, is injured or is lost in their care to the Department of Transportation. In 2025, according to the Department's published report, the reporting airlines carried 117,861 animals in their holds. Three died, five were injured and one was lost. That is fewer than one incident for every ten thousand animals carried.

So the hold is far safer than its reputation suggests. But it is not right for every dog, and the airlines themselves say so. Flat faced breeds such as bulldogs, pugs and boxers have trouble breathing under stress and heat, and most airlines refuse them in the hold. KLM will not carry them there, Air Canada will not, and Alaska Airlines embargoes bulldogs altogether in late summer. Heat is the other danger, and it lies on the ground, not in the air. American will not accept a pet if the forecast temperature anywhere on the route is above 85°F. In summer, book an early morning or late evening flight, and always a direct one. Our guide to flying a dog in the hold looks at the figures in detail and explains how to choose a crate.

Emotional Support Animals

In the United States, emotional support animals no longer travel free in the cabin as they once did. United states plainly that therapy and emotional support dogs must fly as pets, with the same fee and the same carrier rule, and JetBlue says it no longer accepts emotional support animals at all. Only trained service dogs are treated differently. If your last flight with your dog was some years ago under the old arrangements, expect to pay the pet fee and use a carrier this time.

Booking

Book your dog at the same time as your own seat. Every airline limits the number of pets on each flight, sometimes to as few as two in a cabin, and those places go, especially at holiday times. Some airlines let you add a pet online and others need a phone call. Either way, get it confirmed in writing, and check that the confirmation shows the pet on every leg of the journey. You will usually have to check in at the desk and not online, so allow extra time at the airport.

Getting Your Dog Ready

Most of the work is done in the weeks before the flight, not on the day. Buy the carrier early and make it part of the furniture. Leave it open in the living room, feed your dog in it, and build up to having your dog settle in it with the door closed for an hour or more. A dog that treats its carrier as a safe den will sleep through a flight, and a dog that meets it for the first time at the airport will not. Our guide to training your dog to travel explains how to go about it step by step.

Do not sedate your dog. American Airlines says, on the advice of the American Veterinary Medical Association, that it will not accept a pet that has been sedated or tranquillised, because sedatives raise the risk of breathing and heart problems at altitude. If your dog is a nervous traveller, talk to your vet well in advance about what is safe. It is also worth a visit to the vet before any long journey, to check that your dog is fit to fly and that its vaccinations and papers are in order, as we describe in our guide to the vet visit before you travel.

On the day, Air Canada's advice is a good rule: feed your dog four to six hours before departure, because a full stomach makes for an uncomfortable flight, and let it drink right up until you leave. Give it a long walk before you set off and a last chance to relieve itself as close to boarding as you can. Many American airports have pet relief areas, some of them beyond security, and the airline's staff or app will tell you where.

At security in the United States, the Transportation Security Administration asks you to take your dog out of the carrier and carry it through the metal detector while the empty carrier goes through the X-ray machine. Keep a lead or harness on your dog until the last moment, because a frightened dog loose in an airport is a real danger. On a long flight, line the carrier with an absorbent pad and carry spares. Your dog cannot come out, so for anything over a few hours, a dog that has not eaten recently and has been well walked is the best plan.

When You Land

Find grass and water before you do anything else, even before you collect your bags if someone can wait with them. Then keep the first day quiet. Dogs do feel the effects of a long journey and a change of time zone, and most settle within a day or two if you return to their usual routine of walks and meals as quickly as you can. If you have crossed a border, keep your dog's papers to hand, because you may be asked for them again before you leave the airport.

A Closing Thought

Flying with a small dog is easier than most people expect, and flying with a large one is harder than it ought to be. If your dog fits under the seat, pick your airline, book early, and spend a few weeks making friends with the carrier. If it does not, look hard at whether the journey can be driven, and if it cannot, choose a direct flight in cool weather with an airline that still takes dogs in the hold. Either way, the dogs that fly best are the ones whose owners did the preparation long before they got to the airport.