How dogs fly First Class: A guest post by Dante, Director of Canine Relations

For a fee, most small dogs are allowed to travel in a carrier underneath the passenger's seat. But what are the perks if your human has elite status?

Disclaimer: This is not a photo of me
Photo Credit: American Airlines

Written by Dante, Director of Canine Relations at Cadence

As a Bernese Mountain Dog, I measure an impressive 30” tall from the shoulders down. My paws are the size of a child’s head, and I weigh over 100 pounds.

In short, I’m just not the type of dog lucky enough to fly next to my humans on vacations.

But for smaller breeds who can fit in carriers underneath their human’s seat (I can’t remember the last time I fit underneath anything), I have great news:

On American Airlines, first class passengers can now comfortably transport a small pet in their own personal pet cabin. The inflight entertainment is great too- there’s a screen to watch feet go by and your human can easily check up on you to say hello.

The only flaw is that the cabin doesn’t come with the expected first class amenities like gourmet bones or state-of-the-art dog toys... But if this is like any other American Airlines industry innovation, additional airlines will follow suit and the loyalty competition will take off. And as you know, we’re really loyal.

Regarding specifics, there are two cabins available on select transcontinental flights between New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX) and/or San Francisco (SFO).

Also, the cabin is as big as my head (which is saying a lot), so your carrier can be up to AA's standard max size of 19 x 13 x 9 inches. You can read up on more official regulations here.

If you’re curious if your human is able to take you on your next flight, BringFido.com/travel has a thorough list of airline regulations on traveling with pets.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for next month's topic: Why my humans should feed me an all-steak diet and let me sleep on the bed.

Dante
Director of Canine Relations at Cadence