Alaska Airlines Pet Policy

As you know Alaska Airlines is one such famous USA airline which had been flying to every continent with cooperation and support towards its passengers. They are a service giver company, transporting big cargo hold luggage too, to other countries for their customer convenience. 

So, when animal transport comes into talk, Alaska Airlines permit, the passenger with pets in-cabin or your pet as a cargo hold in the baggage department of Alaska airlines aircraft. So for a better travel journey for your pets, Alaska Airlines has an Alaska Airlines pet policy, describing all the measures you have to follow to get approved for pet flights.

Thus in this article, we will help you to get information regarding Alaska Airlines’ pet policy and get your pet ready to fly in Alaska Airlines hassle-free.

Pets traveling in-cabin

Alaska Airlines’ pet policy allows pets in the cabin. Thus there are some rules and regulations that owners of the pet have to follow to let their pet fly beside you in the cabin of the same flight.

General rules:

• Your pet carriage will be counted as one carry-on item in the cabin. Alaska Airlines allows either one pet carrier and a personal item, or a pet carrier and carry-on bag of a standard size. But you can not come up boarding with all three together.
  NOTE: Get more about the carry-on baggage of Alaska Airlines. Click here.
• Being one passenger, you have the maximum permission to carry 2 pet carriers along with you in the main cabin of the flight. Moreover, just remember, you didn’t get your seat adjacent to other pet carriers’ passengers.
• Pets that are been carried must be at least 8 weeks of age and not in lactation or at any time of dependency.
• Animal types like dogs, cats, rabbits, and household birds are permitted to carry an in-cabin in a closed container.
• In the same container, you can put 2 pets that must be of the same species & breed and also familiar with each other.
• Body parts of animals like paws or tails must not come out of the container which may make your pet uncomfortable in the container and even may create problems for other co-passengers in the cabin.
• During the flight journey from the check-in point to the boarding flight, until you get landed and get out of the airport premises, pet owners are strictly instructed that you can not bring out your pet from the container in-cabin.
• You should double-check the door of your pet container such that it has been locked and there’s no way to come out. And make it secure by keeping it under the seat in front of you.
• In no case point, your pet will be approved to take place of any passenger seat.
• Make your pet clean, hygienic, and odor-free, or if your pet is a bit noisy then make them relax so that you do not get a problem regarding approval due to these reasons.

Pet owner rules in-cabin: 

There are some rules which as an owner you have to follow for yourself to get permission for a pet carriage:

• Before preparing your pet for a flight journey, you should be aware of the fact that if your age is less than 18 years you will not be allowed to carry a pet carriage in-cabin.
• The seat you are allowing for you should not be in a row of or nearby the emergency gate or bulkhead seats, or any seat with the facility of the airbag safety belt. Usually, the 6th row of flight numbers 001-999 has this airbag facility.
• If flying in First Class only one pet carrier can be on-board in-cabin. So do pet reservations in First Class as soon as possible.
• And when flying in the regular main class, airlines allow a maximum of 5 pets carriage in-cabin along with their owner.

Pet container :

While selecting pet containers for making travel in flight with your pet in-cabin make sure that it matches all the standards of USDA and IATA which are must require to get approved, check out the standards here.

You should be knowing that pet size should be standard enough and must fit comfortably in the pet container of the size mentioned for carrying in-cabin and keeping it beneath the seat.

You can carry on your pet either in a hard container or in a soft one, below the fixed dimension of them are mentioned., which has been allowed in the cabin.

Some essential tips for pet carrier in-cabin:

• Measurements of the pet container for in-cabin travel must be remembered.
• Pet containers must be leak-proof and clean from the inside with some non-reactive absorbent material fixed inside them. 
• It should have proper ventilation from all the walls of the container.
• The container should have a good lock system in it, to make the pet securely locked.
• Check your pet container before boarding. It must not be broken or had a crack or tear from any side or corner.

Booking of Pet travel

Passengers can make a booking for the pets at least three hours prior to the scheduled departure of the flight. But the booking for pets in the cabin or in the cargo is subject to availability. For booking Alaska Airlines for a pet reservation then you have to call on their helpline number 1-800-252-7522. If someone has a different plan for the pet transportation with the travel on other airlines then they can contact partner airlines directly.

Pet Embargoes: According to the IPATA international pet and animal transportation association, embargoes are necessary if the pets are going to travel by the flight because embargoes protect pets from extreme heat so that they can get relief during traveling by cargo or it can also help during different weather condition of the destination country.

Pets traveling in a checked bag in the cargo section

It’s obvious that larger size animals will be not permitted by the airlines to carry along with you in-cabin of aircraft. So there comes an Alaska airlines cargo pet service, under Alaska Airlines pet policy.

Though small as well as big-sized animals as pets are been transported in the cargo department of Alaska Airlines. It has to remember that, your pet should be adaptive in nature and can control the environmental change in the cargo department.

Under Alaska Airlines’ pet policy, when your pet is traveling in cargo as checked baggage, the policy will accept a certain list of species as your pet and let your pet be transported to the destination.

Get more information about Alaska Airlines’ baggage policy.

And these species which are accepted by the airline’s pet policy are cats, dogs, ferrets, guinea pigs, hamsters, household birds, non-poisonous reptiles, pot-bellied pigs, rabbits, and tropical fish.

General rules:

• The age of the cats and dogs that will be flying in the Alaska airlines cargo department should be a minimum of 8 weeks and weaned too.
• When sending your pet in as checked baggage in cargo, you can send only 1 live pet of age a minimum of 6 months or more.
• And if sending live puppies in cargo as in pet carriage, then, it should be at least 6 to 8 weeks old and weight must be 20 lbs.
• You can keep not more than 2 puppies of 20 lbs of weight each and 6-8 weeks old together of standard size in the same pet container, you will be sending in the Alaska Airlines cargo section.
• Animal nature should be harmless, less offensive (not a self-harmer too), and not an attention seeker during their cargo flight journey with Alaska Airlines.

Instructions for pet owners:

There are some standards that pet owners have to do for their pet’s being and for a good pet flight journey. So below under Alaska Airlines’ pet policy, these instructions have to be followed:

• Animals need to be fed with food and water within 4 hours or less. So before you send your pet as checked baggage in cargo, you should offer food and water for the entire journey.
• You should let your pet feed enough so that, they can sustain the direct flight journey.
• If you are having connection flights of more than 4 hours then, you are requested to communicate with your pets offering them food and water if they need it.
• You have to recheck your pet in your connection flight for the arrival destination. You have to place the paid receipt of the pet flight at the rechecking point for connecting the flight.
• At the departure check-in point, you would be asked to fill the Pet Check record for approval of the pet on the flight. It also makes you mention that you have fed up with your pet which is enough for the journey.

At the airport:

When you are flying with your pet and as checked baggage in cargo, then you should plan to book your pet fight on the same flight you will be flying. At the airport, on the day of departure, there is something you have to do:

• Arrive at the airport within 2 hours of your flight timing, but not less than 1 hour at the check-in point with a pet.
• You should be knowing all the requirements need or all the paper needed at the check-in point in the airport for your pet to get approval for traveling in flight.
• You have to surrender your pet carriage at the check-in point once the pet paperwork is done.
• And at the arrival airport, you get back your pet carriage from the cargo in the area of the airport where you take off your luggage. It will take at least 30 minutes after your flight arrives at the airport.

If your flight is operated by PenAir outside of Alaska, then you must know that your pets are not allowed to fly as in the cargo department of the airline.

If you have a connecting flight operated by Alaska Airlines, Horizon Airlines, SkyWest 3300-3499 series flights, PenAir, or Ravn Alaska. Moreover, you also need to transport your pets in the plane cargo, and then the airline will give you up to 4 hours to collect pets from an airline, let your pets rest back and forth, and then recheck whether another flight arrives Final destination.

Instructions about the Alaska Airlines check-in at the airport with Alaska Airlines.

Rules and Guidelines for Container

If the weight of the container in which you are carrying exceeds 20 lbs, then your pet carriage will be sent as checked baggage to the cargo department. The weight of the pet and the container should be within 150 lbs. If it gets increased, contact the kennel service of Alaska Airlines.

Apart from the weight, the size of the pet container cargo is prefixed by Alaska Airlines, so they have various sizes for pet carrier boxes, like:

In any case, if your pet is traveling under kennel service of flight, and it gets delayed then, your pet may be kept in the kennel service facility until it gets transported to the final destination. Though the cost of delay will be charged by the owner of the pet. Consult with Alaska Airlines pet flight’s cost in cargo or for kennel facility, click here.

For further details you should either visit their site for PetConnection animal travel launched especially for pet carriage in the cargo hold by Alaska Airlines pet policy. Or you can simply contact them regarding pet transport in the cargo department of Alaska Airlines.

Container Requirements For Cargo Compartment:

The USDA & IATA have some specific requirements for the pet container that travels in the cargo compartment:

Documents Required

It’s the basic thing that, when you are bringing you a pet on the day of departure, it should be in good health, not injured and even not ill at that present time, means your pet if it seems not ready to fly, can refuse their travel.

Apart from health issues if your pet carriage had some issues or if you get any incomplete paperwork, then also, the airline can refuse pets to fly in Alaska Airlines.

So you will need to know as a pet owner:

• When the pet is about to fly in the Crago section of Alaska airlines aircraft, then at the check-in point you have to place a heath certificate by your pet’s regular veterinary doctor
• This certificate must be brought up within 10 days of your flight date and also must be 30 days of your returning ticket (if you are having two-way ticket reserved).
• If you are having a se[arte return ticket then you have to issue another heath certificated by the veterinary doctor of the location you travel to which is also within 10 days of your flight.
• Though if you are having a pet flight and you are allowed to carry along with you in-cabin of the same flight you are traveling then, you may not be required to have a heath certificate according to Alaska Airlines pet policy.
• There is an exception to everything, different country has variant paperwork for heath to be done according to their requirements for pet transport.

Passengers flying to Kotzebue and Nome with pets on the flight Alaska Airlines are permitted for the dog as a pet transport with a health certificate defining that your pet has been vaccinated with all the vaccines needed. Without these documents, you are not allowed to check in with your pet.

If the arrival destination costs you for not having documents their country needs to approve pet transport, then just remember, Alaska Airlines is not responsible for that cost airport will ask you for.

NOTE: Alaska Airlines’ pet policy has partnered with Banfield® Pet Hospital for the betterment of your per flight.

If your pet is under treatment with tranquilizers, then according to Alaska Airlines’ pet policy these animals are not permitted to fly. A side effect of tranquilizers over a certain high height is much miserable, beyond your imagination and it will risk your pet’s life.

Restricted breed of pets

There is some breed of animals that do not feel comfortable or can not resist the high pressure caused when flight flying over a certain height. So such types of breed are not allowed by Alaska Airlines’ pet policy to fly on the flight in any case. Alaska Airlines do not want to risk any life on their flight.

Those cats or dogs with short noses is strictly prohibited as pet carriers on Alaska Airlines flights (even including its partner airlines Horizon, SkyWest, Ravn Alaska, or PenAir).

Veterinary experts say that short-nosed dog breeds cannot breathe under any circumstances, so they cannot cope with changes in height and may risk their lives from breathing.

Although in some cases, Alaska Airlines allows your short-nosed pet (dog or cat) to fly with you in the cabin in front of you under the seat.

According to Alaska Airlines’ pet policy, there are some other species that are not allowed to be transported. The following are mentioned:

1. Dog

American Pit Bull, American Staffordshire Terrier, Boston Terrier, Boxer, Brussels Griffon, Bull Mastiff, Bulldog, Bull Terrier, Chow Chow, Dutch Pug, English Bulldog, English Toy Spaniel, French Bulldog, Japanese Boxer, Japanese Pug, Japanese Spaniel, Pekingese, Pug, Shih Tzu, Staffordshire Bull Terrier

2. Cats

Burmese, Exotic Shorthair, Himalayan, Persian

Fees for a pet traveling in flight:

Alaska Airlines charges fees according to the number of pet carriers you have and also depends on the size and weight of the animal you are supposed to make fly to the destination.

These fees are made up of Alaska Airlines, PenAir, and Ravn Alaska. Otherwise, other airlines shall pay for the transportation of pets in the cabin or checked luggage.

You must understand that if you are operated by any other Alaska Airlines partner airlines, they may have different regulations regarding pet transportation and even pet fees.

Note: Before boarding on the day of departure, if your flight is scheduled to fly to other Alaska airlines, please contact them and confirm all pet transportation details.

Under the extreme environmental condition

As you know, climate and weather change throughout the year. Sometimes it’s too cold, some days it’s too hot. These extreme environmental conditions may cause pets to fly under these conditions.

helping information about Alaska Airlines manage booking

Therefore, it is recommended that in the summer or months of extreme sunlight, when you must fly with your pet, you must prefer to book the plane early in the morning or late at night.

And in winter, the weather outside is very cold, you still have to fly to the desired destination with your pet, and then it is recommended that you book a ticket on the noon flight.

Another tip for pet carrier travelers during the flight is to look for direct flights or direct flights so that your pet does not have to face temperature changes where it might stop during transit.

If the temperature of the departure and arrival destination is different, which is very extreme, or exceeds the limit that may be harmful to animals, then Alaska Airlines may cancel your pet flight booking. You must accept this booking to make your beloved pet feel at ease.

Can I get any discounts for pet transportation?

Yes. If customers have joined the rover account with Alaska Mileage Plan™ they can get discounts of around $30 at the time of sign-up. In this membership plan, they can also get extra miles with each rover service completed by 1 October 2022.

Further know more about the Alaska Airlines cancellation or refunds policy.

So for any other queries regarding Alaska Airlines’ pet policy, then contact directly to Alaska Airlines official site or call the customer support team to get appropriate help from them. Apart from them, you can even contact us, Treknova on the toll-free number +1-800-831-1547 for our quality benefit for 24*7.