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FrWhat is Alaska Airlines policy on pet acceptance?
Alaska Airlines new travel program for pets, Fur-st Class Care, offers options for transporting your pet safely while providing top-notch care for your precious pet. Alaska Airlines accepts small pets to travel in the passenger cabin and larger pets in the baggage hold, as checked baggage. If your pet is not small enough to travel with you in the cabin, you’ll receive a “Relax, I’m on board too” card to assure you that your pet has been loaded onto the aircraft, and will be waiting for pick-up in the baggage claim area approximately 30 minutes after the flight arrives.
Only pets at least 8 weeks old, fully weaned and in good health are accepted. Alaska Airlines will not accept any pet in a kennel too small or in obvious distress due to illness or injury.
Which pets are accepted to travel on Alaska Airlines flights?
In the passenger cabin, Alaska Airlines allows dogs and cats.
For travel in the baggage hold, Alaska Airlines accepts most small domesticated pets. Pets that may travel in the baggage hold include dogs, cats, household birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, ferrets, pot bellied pigs, non-poisonous reptiles, and tropical fish.
Alaska Airlines accepts only dogs and cats on flights to and from Hawaii.
Can I travel with my pet on international flights?
On flights to the US, Canada, Costa Rica, and Mexico, Alaska Airlines accepts for travel only dogs and cats.
When traveling to Mexico, no bedding or similar materials are allowed to enter when packed in the kennel with the pet (shredded paper or absorbent pads are acceptable), and only enough food for a day’s travel is acceptable. Passengers traveling with three or more pets are subject to additional importation fees of approximately 1,600 pesos (approximately $150 USD) as mandated by the SAGARPA (a commercial importation process is required).
How can I make all necessary arrangements for my pet to travel on Alaska Airlines flights?
Booking
Because space for pets traveling in the passenger cabin or baggage hold is limited and subject to availability, you must call Alaska Airlines Reservations to book your pet on Alaska Airlines (including flights operated by Horizon Air and SkyWest Airlines) or Ravn Alaska flights. If your itinerary includes a flight operated by another airline, you must contact that airline directly to reserve space and determine fees for traveling with your pet on the other airline.
For pets traveling in the passenger cabin or as checked baggage, Alaska Airlines will charge a pet travel fee of $100 USD each way per kennel/carrier. The pet travel fee is applicable for all passengers, including those whose checked baggage charges are waived.
Health and Vaccination Requirements
While Alaska Airlines require a health certificate only for pets traveling in the baggage hold, health documentation may be required to enter the country, state, or territory. It is every passenger’s responsibility to comply with all government regulations and restrictions, including furnishing valid health and vaccination certificates when required. Alaska Airlines will not be responsible for any expenses or loss that might result when any pet is refused passage into or through any country or state.
Passengers traveling with a dog to Nome and Kotzebue or must have proof of their pet’s Parvovirus vaccination, respectively Parvovirus and rabies vaccination. Passengers checking in without required documentation will be denied boarding.
Alaska Airlines’ partnership with Banfield Pet Hospital provides pet owners with a special discount offer to prepare pets for air travel: a free office visit and travel consultation with a licensed veterinarian, as well as a $10 discount for a health certificate (required for a pet traveling on Alaska Airlines).
Pets in the Passenger Cabin
Only adult passengers (18 years or older) are allowed to travel with their pets in the cabin. The pet carrier always counts toward your carry-on allowance. You may bring either a pet carrier and a standard size carry-on bag, or a pet carrier and a personal item. You may not board the aircraft with a standard size carry-on, a personal item, and a pet carrier. A passenger traveling with a pet in the cabin may not occupy a seat in an emergency exit row.
To be allowed in the passenger cabin, pets must be harmless and odorless. Pets with offensive odors or those that create a noise disturbance must travel in the baggage hold, as checked baggage.
Alaska Airlines will accept one pet carrier per flight in the First Class cabin, and a total of 5 pet carriers per flight in Coach. On flights operated with Airbus aircraft, pets may not travel in the First Class cabin. Only one pet per passenger is permitted. As an exception, a maximum of 2 pet carriers per passenger traveling in the main cabin is permitted, provided the adjacent seat is purchased by the same customer.
Pets must be small enough to stay comfortably in a hard-sided or soft-sided carrier that must be stored under the passenger’s seat. A maximum of 2 pets of the same species and similar size may travel in the same carrier, provided they are not in distress, and no body parts (head, tail) protrude from the carrier. Pets must remain in the carrier at all times while on board the aircraft, so they must require no attention during the flight.
Alaska Airlines will accept for travel in the cabin pet carriers that do not exceed the following maximum dimensions (height x width x depth):
- 7.5″ x 11″ x 17″ – for hard-sided pet carriers.
- 9.5″ x 11″ x 17″ – for soft-sided pet carriers.
Pets as Checked Baggage
When you want to travel with your pet as checked baggage on Alaska Airlines flights, the following rules apply:
- Pets must be harmless, not destructive to itself or the kennel, and not requiring any attention during the flight.
- No more than one dog or cat, 6 months of age or older, may be transported in the same carrier.
- No more than two puppies/kittens, 8 weeks to 6 months of age, of comparable size, and weighing 20 lbs or less each, may be transported in the same carrier.
- Brachycephalic (short-nosed) dogs/cats are not accepted as checked baggage.
- On flights operated with Airbus aircraft, pets are not accepted as checked baggage.
Pet Embargoes
On flights to/from Hawaii, due to strong headwinds at various times of year, Alaska Airlines limits the number of pets accepted as checked baggage (this restriction does not apply to pets traveling in the passenger cabin):
- February – no pets accepted.
- November 1 – April 1 (except February) – only 1 pet per aircraft accepted.
- April 2 – October 31 – standard policy applies.
Also, passengers may not transport pets as checked baggage on Alaska Airlines flights 2000-2999 (Horizon Air) and flights 3300-3499 (Skywest Airlines) during the following periods: November 15 – January 10.
Pet Kennels
Pets must be confined in a kennel subject to inspection and approval by Alaska Airlines before acceptance. In addition to USDA/IATA requirements, Alaska Airlines has specific requirements for checked kennels: composed of plastic, wood, metal, or a material of comparable strength and able to withstand rigors of normal transportation, escape-proof with a metal grate door, provided with a food and water dish clipped inside the door to allow feeding without opening the door, leak-proof with absorbent bedding, etc.
On all flights, Alaska Airlines accepts kennels that range in size from Extra Small (Size 100 – 15″ x 16″ x 21″) to Large (Size 400 – 26″ X 24″ x 36″). Only on some Alaska Airlines flights 001-2999 operated with Boeing B737 and Bombardier Q400 aircraft, Extra Large kennels (Size 500 – 30″ x 27″ x 40″) are accepted. Alaska Airlines will accept a maximum combined weight of 150 lbs for the pet and kennel.
Pets may be checked only by passengers traveling on the same flight. When traveling with your pet as checked baggage, you must check in at least 1 hour, but no more than 2 hours before departure. During check-in, you must complete a Pet Check Record to certify your pet has been offered food and water within 4 hours of check-in. Upon arrival, your pet will be available for pick-up in the baggage claim area in approximately 30 minutes.
When your itinerary involves a transfer to another flight operated by Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, SkyWest, PenAir, or Ravn Alaska, the maximum connection time is 4 hours. If the connection time exceeds 4 hours, the pet transported as checked baggage must be short checked from point to point.
Interline transfers are not permitted to Hawaii. Cats and dogs are only allowed to be transported to Honolulu airport, unless you have a valid Neighbor Island Inspection Permit for Direct Release at Kona, Lihue and Kahului airports issued by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture.
When your itinerary involves a transfer to any other airline, you must pick up your pet in the baggage claim area and re-check your pet with the connecting airline. Alaska Airlines does not transfer pets traveling in the baggage hold to other carriers.
Service Animals
Alaska Airlines will transport without charge in the cabin or as checked baggage, trained Service Animals accompanying a passenger with a disability and Service Animals in training provided they meet the conditions of acceptance imposed by Alaska Airlines.
As of January 2021, following substantial changes to the U.S. DOT rules, Alaska Airlines adopted a new policy on the transport of Service Animals:
- Alaska accepts only Service Dogs trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a qualified individual with a disability.
- A maximum of two Service Dogs is accepted per passenger.
- Passengers traveling with a Service Dog must complete and submit the DOT’s Service Animal Air Transportation Form, attesting to the dog’s health, behavior, and training.
- Emotional Support Animals are no longer accepted as Service Animals and may travel only under Alaska Airlines’ Pet Policy.
