6 Things I Learned From Flying My Pet in the Cargo Hold

Moving to Spain recently included bringing our dogs on the plane, and one of them had to go in the cargo hold.

From analyzing our flight options and the numerous rules airlines have for sending pets in the luggage hold, here are 6 things I learned along the way.

1. Most U.S. Airlines Don’t Allow Pets in the Baggage Hold

With the exception of Alaska Airlines, most U.S. airlines don’t accept pets in the baggage hold — at least not directly from most customers.

United Air Lines and Delta Air Lines accept animals in the cargo hold if you’re traveling on government relocation orders for a job or moving somewhere for military service. And these airlines accept pets in the hold if contracted through a recognized animal shipping agency. However, you, as the passenger, can’t simply book a spot in the baggage hold for your dog or cat with most of these carriers.

Thus, in our situation, to move to Spain from the U.S., we needed to look at foreign airlines and evaluate their costs, rules, and restrictions to find an airline that allowed us to bring 1 small dog in the cabin with us and 1 dog in the luggage hold — dogs that, because of their breeds, quickly eliminated many airlines from consideration.

2. Restrictions for Breed Types Are Complex

The type of animal you’re traveling with changes which airlines you can fly. While some airlines accept birds (certain species only), most only accept dogs and cats, so I’ll focus on those.

We have 2 dogs. Our smaller dog, an 8-year-old Boston terrier weighing 16 pounds, was able to fly in the cabin with us. That’s a good thing, because nearly every airline prohibits brachycephalic animals — those with short, snubbed noses that can have difficulty breathing — in the cargo hold. If you have a brachycephalic animal, you may be able to send your pet in the cargo hold with some airlines, though not all, if you get approval documents from your veterinarian and sign a letter saying you understand the risks.

Our larger dog, a 4-year-old mix of various bully breeds, is too large to travel in the cabin with most airlines because he weighs 35 pounds. That’s why we needed to send him in the cargo hold, but his breed mix meant we ran into several issues:

• Some airlines prohibit all animals considered bully breeds or those that can be considered aggressive.
• Some airlines require behavioral testing and certification, which we didn’t have time for, to transport bully breeds.

Note that weight and breed restrictions are typically not applied for those traveling with a genuine service animal.

3. Travel Rules Vary Greatly Across Airlines

In addition to the rules about breed types, there were rules on logistics that we found very complex.

We flew with Air Canada. Consider its pet rules page and some of the key takeaways:

• In-cabin pets can’t travel in premium economy.
• The maximum permitted pet carrier sizes vary by plane type for in-cabin pets.
• Air Canada doesn’t permit travel with pets booked through Air Canada but flown on a codeshare partner.
• There are age restrictions for your pet.
• Various cities have summer heat restrictions, meaning you may be required to depart early in the morning or late at night to avoid pets sitting around in crates during the hottest part of the day.
• There are winter temperature restrictions on some routes and plane types.
• Strong dog breeds must be transported in reinforced crates.
• The maximum weight of the dog plus container in the luggage hold can’t exceed 100 pounds.

Other airlines have their own restrictions. Beyond those, there are rules for various countries if you’re flying internationally, with some requiring you to claim your pet during the layover, while most don’t allow access to the pet holding area during layovers.

You also need to navigate your airline’s rules for minimum or maximum layover times, assuming you have a connecting flight. The Finnair pet policy, for example, says you must have a minimum connection time of 3 hours if you’re traveling with a pet in the luggage hold. Finnair also requires passengers connecting through Helsinki (HEL) to claim their pet and then conduct a new check-in for their onward flight — requiring extra time and going through both security and passport control.

Additionally, some airlines don’t allow pets in business class, while others don’t accept pets on reservations booked with points. Make sure you evaluate these possible rules when choosing an airline to fly with.

4. Transport Containers Can Get Expensive

We chose to fly with Air Canada because of a few considerations:

• Traveling together with both pets on the same airline, rather than 1 person and 1 dog on airline A and person 2 plus dog 2 flying on airline B
• Total travel duration
• Cost, including the sum of the ticket price and the pet fees

What we didn’t know was how much we would spend on the transport container for our larger dog, who traveled in the luggage hold. As a bully breed, Air Canada required him to travel in a reinforced crate.

We attempted to find a suitable crate locally in California but failed and had to order one online from CR8-2FLY, which we had to put together when it arrived. That took about 15 minutes.

Based on the measurements of our dog, we needed the medium size. The names of the models are based on their price: 250, 350, 450. Yeah … we definitely didn’t expect to pay $350 for the transport container.

5. Expect To Receive Incorrect Information From Airline Employees

We exchanged several messages with Air Canada’s support team on X (formerly Twitter) and asked questions while checking in at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). We wanted to know the following details:

• With our 5-hour layover in Montreal (YUL), could we visit the pet facility to give him a walk? No, we couldn’t. We got accurate information about this.
• Would any employees let him out to pee during the layover? We were told at check-in that the Montreal facility had a team who would take him out, that they had their own leashes, and that he would get to pee. That was untrue.
• Could we provide food and water for him during the journey? We were told to put food in a zip-close bag and tape it to the top of the crate, then someone would feed him and offer water during the layover. That was untrue. The crate arrived in Barcelona with the food still taped on top.

Out of the 3 things we asked employees to clarify, 2 of them were wrong — and wrong in a major way.

We figured he wasn’t going to get a walk, despite what the airline said, based on our inspection at TSA. When we gave the crate to the employees, they put a zip tie on the crate’s door to ensure it wouldn’t open. That made it pretty clear no one was going to let him out to use the bathroom.

As we’d expected, he peed inside the crate during the journey and was pretty stressed out when we retrieved him in Barcelona. He was also extremely thirsty and hungry after all that time, and it took him a few days to get back to his normal self.

6. Private Agencies Exist, but They’re Pricey

If you’re struggling to find an airline that will accept your pet, there are agencies that can handle the paperwork and logistics for you. They don’t come cheap, though.

Bark Air and Woof Air are 2 of the most famous options, focusing on those who don’t want to put their animals in a box, hand it over to an airline, and hope everything goes well. Bark allows you to fly with your pet in dedicated planes, while Woof focuses on hands-on, end-to-end service to ensure your pet arrives safely at your destination.

We got a price quote from Woof Air for sending our larger dog from California to Barcelona. The price was $5,800. Prices vary by flight distance, whether it’s domestic or international, size of the dog, and other factors.

In comparison, we paid $100 for our in-cabin dog and $270 for the dog in the luggage hold. Note that prices for dogs vary by flight distance, airlines, and other factors.

Final Thoughts

Neither of our dogs had flown before this trip, and figuring out the logistics was pretty stressful at points. If our larger dog hadn’t needed to go in the luggage hold, the journey would have been much simpler. His breed mix also made the requirements stricter and eliminated several airlines from our list of options.

Airlines don’t all have the same rules or fees for pet transport, so make sure you evaluate these carefully. Most importantly, though, understand that most U.S. airlines don’t accept pets in the luggage hold at present.