Dog News

PetFinder’s 2011 Most Pet Friendly Airlines

by Amy Burkert

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This week Ty and Buster, Life with Dogs’ travel correspondents, are excited to bring you the results of PetFinder.com‘s most pet friendly airlines survey.

Buster: We have a confession to make. We’ve never been on an airplane.

Ty: We have a good reason, though. We have our own personal chauffeurs.

Buster: But, if we needed to get somewhere fast, it’s good to know which airlines do it the most pet friendly.

Ty: That’s why we were excited to see the results of PetFinder.com‘s 2011 Most Pet Friendly Airline Survey.

Buster: As a bit of background, to be eligible to participate in the survey, the airlines must be based in the US or Canada and have zero pet deaths reported in the previous year, according to official government reports.

Ty: So without further ado, here are the most pet friendly airlines in six different categories:

Most Pet Friendly Overall: Pet Airways

Offering a first class experience, Pet Airways is a pets-only airline. Though your people will have to take a different flight, if you live in one of the nine destinations Pet Airways currently serves, or one of the five expected to be added this summer, you’re one lucky dog … or cat.

Best Amenities For Pets (and Pet Parents): JetBlue

JetBlue has won this category for the second straight year thanks to their JetPaws program. The program is free to join, and pet travelers receive a pet carrier bag tag, tips on the etiquette of flying with your pet, points toward future air travel, and a pet travel guide with information on pet friendly hotels, restaurants, parks, and animal hospitals in some of JetBlue’s major cities.

Best For Transporting Pet Variety: Frontier Airlines

Whether you’re a dog, cat, rabbit, guinea pig, hamster, or small household bird – you’re welcome on Frontier!

Best For Budget-Conscious Consumers: WestJet

Pets fly for just $50 each way in-cabin on WestJet. Coming in a close second in this category was AirTran Airways, which allows pets to fly in-cabin for $69 each way.

Best For Flying Multiple Pets In-Cabin: Frontier Airlines

Frontier Airlines allows up to ten pet containers in-cabin on each flight. Though each person is only permitted one pet container, with a little planning, a two-person, two-dog family will have no problem flying together.

Best For Big Furry Friends: Pet Airways

Flying in cargo can be dangerous, and for a long time it was the only way big dogs could fly. Fortunately, Pet Airways offers a solution. With a maximum height allowance of 34 inches from the floor to the top of the shoulders, pet parents now have a safe and comfortable option for flying a dog too big to fit under the seat.

Buster: If you want more details, you can read the entire article and the results of the 2010 survey on PetFinder.com.

Ty: Or, get all the airline’s pet policies and start planning your trip now!