Flying With a Pet
Your airline, your pet and where you are flying: whether it can ride in the cabin, the fee, the carrier it must fit in, and the rules, from each airline’s own pet page.
A dog · within the mainland US · round trip
All 8 airlines take a small dog in the cabinFrom $100 round trip on Allegiant to $300 on American, Delta, JetBlue and United. In the cabin a pet rides in its carrier under the seat in front of you.
- Allegiant: yes, $100 round trip · soft 18 × 12 × 11 in, hard 17 × 11 × 10.5 in
- Alaska / Hawaiian: yes, $200 round trip · soft 17 × 11 × 9.5 in (no hard-sided)
- Southwest: yes, $250 round trip · any carrier 18 × 10.5 × 10 in
- Frontier: yes, $298 round trip · hard 18 × 14 × 8 in, soft 18 × 14 × 11 in
- American: yes, $300 round trip · soft 18 × 11 × 11 in, hard 19 × 13 × 9 in, hard 16 × 12 × 8 in
- Delta: yes, $300 round trip · soft 18 × 11 × 11 in (recommended)
- JetBlue: yes, $300 round trip · any carrier 17 × 12.5 × 8.5 in
- United: yes, $300 round trip · hard 17.5 × 12 × 9 in, soft 18 × 11 × 11 in
From each airline’s own pet page, read on the date it shows. The airline’s page wins: check it before you fly.
Quick answer: all eight big US airlines here take a small dog or cat in the cabin, in a carrier under the seat in front of you, for $50 to $150 each way: Allegiant $50, Alaska $100, Southwest $125, Frontier $149, and American, Delta, JetBlue and United $150. Only Alaska and Frontier take rabbits. The carrier limits differ by airline.
How to use it
Pick your airline, or compare them all, your pet and where you are flying. The answer says whether the pet can ride in the cabin, what it costs each way and for the round trip, and the carrier the airline allows. Type your carrier’s length, width and height to see where it fits: the tool compares its sides from longest to shortest, so it does not matter which way you measure it. Add the weight of the pet in its carrier for the airlines that print a limit. Under a single airline’s answer are its own sentences, with a link to its page.
Where the rules come from
From each airline’s own pet page, never from a blog: the blogs we checked still print sizes and fees the airlines have since changed (Southwest’s old 18.5-inch carrier, Frontier’s old $99 fee, Delta’s old $95). Several airlines refuse automated readers, so their pages were read in a browser; Alaska’s in-cabin page refuses every reader and was read from the Internet Archive’s copy, and Allegiant’s rules are in its Contract of Carriage. Each answer shows the date its page was read. Rules change: the airline’s page wins, and it is linked from the answer.
The eight airlines side by side
The fee each way within the mainland US, the pets each airline takes in the cabin, and its carrier limits, as each airline prints them.
| Airline | Fee each way | Pets in the cabin | Soft-sided carrier | Hard-sided carrier | Pet + carrier limit | Youngest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska / Hawaiian | $100 | Dogs, cats, rabbits, small birds | 17 × 11 × 9.5 in | not allowed | none printed | 8 weeks |
| Allegiant | $50 | Dogs, cats | 18 × 12 × 11 in | 17 × 11 × 10.5 in | none printed | 8 weeks |
| American | $150 | Dogs, cats | 18 × 11 × 11 in | 19 × 13 × 9 in (American Mainline); 16 × 12 × 8 in (American Eagle) | 20 lb | 8 weeks |
| Delta | $150 | Dogs, cats, small birds | 18 × 11 × 11 in (recommended) | – | none printed | 8 weeks |
| Frontier | $149 | Dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, small birds | 18 × 14 × 11 in | 18 × 14 × 8 in | none printed | 8 weeks |
| JetBlue | $150 | Dogs, cats | 17 × 12.5 × 8.5 in (any carrier) | 17 × 12.5 × 8.5 in (any carrier) | none printed | not printed |
| Southwest | $125 | Dogs, cats | 18 × 10.5 × 10 in (any carrier) | 18 × 10.5 × 10 in (any carrier) | none printed | 8 weeks |
| United | $150 | Dogs, cats | 18 × 11 × 11 in | 17.5 × 12 × 9 in | none printed | not printed |
Worked examples
A small dog, round trip within the mainland US, in an 18 × 11 × 11 in soft carrier. All eight airlines take the dog: $100 on Allegiant, $200 on Alaska, $250 on Southwest, $298 on Frontier, $300 on American, Delta, JetBlue and United. The carrier fits American, United, Frontier and Allegiant, and it is the size Delta recommends. It is too big for Southwest (18 × 10.5 × 10 in), Alaska (17 × 11 × 9.5 in) and JetBlue (17 × 12.5 × 8.5 in).
A cat to Maui. Of the pages we read, only Alaska’s (which covers Hawaiian Airlines) says yes: $100 each way, $200 round trip, dogs and cats only. American, Delta and United say no. Southwest, JetBlue, Frontier and Allegiant do not say, so ask them before you book.
A rabbit. Only Alaska ($100 each way) and Frontier ($149) take rabbits in the cabin, and Alaska not to Hawaii: “Note: Dogs and cats are the only permitted animals to travel in the cabin to Hawaii and select International locations.”
Common mistakes
- Trusting a carrier “approved” for one airline on another. JetBlue’s limit is 8.5 in tall, Frontier’s soft-sided limit 11 in: the same bag fits one and not the other.
- Budgeting one fee for the trip. The fee is each way, so a round trip is two. On American, “If your trip includes a stopover or connection of 4 hours or more, fees apply for each connection segment.”
- Packing a carry-on and a personal item too. The carrier takes one of the two: in Southwest’s words, “Pet carriers are considered either a personal item or a carryon item.”
- Booking the pet last. Airlines limit the pets on each flight: “A total of six pets are allowed on each flight, so it’s best to book early.” (JetBlue)
- Going by a blog’s numbers. Several still print fees and sizes the airlines have changed.
More for the trip
Taking the train instead? Read can you take a dog on a train in the USA, and see how dog-friendly Chicago is. Choosing an airline: the top airlines in the USA and the best airlines to fly to Hawaii. And for your own bag, the carry-on packing list.
FAQ
What is Southwest’s pet policy?
Small cats and dogs, at least 8 weeks old, in the cabin on domestic flights, one carrier per ticketed passenger with up to two pets of the same species. The carrier can be up to 18 × 10.5 × 10 in, and the fee is $125 each way on the mainland, $35 between the Hawaiian Islands. Southwest carries no pets in cargo.
What is Delta’s pet policy?
Small dogs, cats and household birds in the cabin within the contiguous US (dogs and cats only beyond it), at least 8 weeks old, one kennel per passenger. Delta recommends a soft-sided kennel of 18 × 11 × 11 in. The fee is $150 each way in the US and Canada and $200 internationally, and Delta takes no pets on flights to Hawaii.
How much does it cost to fly a dog?
In the cabin, $50 to $150 each way on these airlines: Allegiant $50, Alaska $100, Southwest $125, Frontier $149, American, Delta, JetBlue and United $150. A round trip is twice that. A dog too big for a carrier under the seat must fly as cargo where the airline offers it: Southwest, JetBlue, Frontier and Allegiant do not, and United only for certain military and State Department travelers.
Which airlines allow pets in the cabin?
All eight here take small dogs and cats: Alaska and Hawaiian, Allegiant, American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest and United. Alaska and Frontier also take rabbits and small birds, Frontier guinea pigs and hamsters, and Delta household birds within the contiguous US.
What size pet carrier do airlines allow?
It depends on the airline, and it must fit under the seat in front of you. The largest soft-sided limit here is Frontier’s 18 × 14 × 11 in; the smallest are Alaska’s 17 × 11 × 9.5 in and JetBlue’s 17 × 12.5 × 8.5 in. Type your carrier’s size in the tool to see every airline it fits.
Can I fly with my cat?
Yes, on all eight airlines here, in a carrier under the seat, for the same fee as a dog. To Hawaii, Alaska and Hawaiian say yes; American, Delta and United do not.
Which airlines allow large dogs in the cabin?
None of these eight: a pet flies in the cabin only in a carrier that fits under the seat in front of you, the biggest soft-sided one being Frontier’s 18 × 14 × 11 in. JetBlue puts it plainly: “No large dogs are accommodated on JetBlue.” American: “Pets must be small enough to fit comfortably inside the closed / zipped carrier.” A service dog is not a pet, and its rules are different.
Can my dog fly in cargo?
Not on Southwest, JetBlue, Frontier or Allegiant, which carry no pets in cargo, and on United only for certain active-duty military and State Department travelers. American checks pets only for military and State Department travelers, and ships others through its cargo service: “American Airlines Cargo offers the American PetEmbark® service for pets that don’t qualify to travel as carry-on or checked pets.” On Alaska, a pet too big for the cabin can travel in its baggage compartment in a hard-sided kennel.