BT Weekender: Planning to fly with your pet? You have company

“Pets are no longer necessarily left behind with a neighbour or at a boarding kennel. They are increasingly coming along for the holiday and, of course, the relocation,” says New Delhi-based Sanjana Kapoor, who flies frequently with her Shih Tzu, Coco. Of course, she says, it’s because her pet is small enough to fit in the cabin that she prefers to take him along rather than leave him in a boarding. “If my dog was larger, maybe I wouldn’t want to put him in the hold of an aircraft on vacation; in that case, I would have left him at a kennel,” she adds.

Among major airlines, Air India and Akasa Air are the two practical options for passengers who want a structured service for travelling with their pets. But here, too, it’s only dogs and cats. You cannot fly with your pet rabbits, for instance. IndiGo does not permit regular pets on its aircraft and makes an exception for guide dogs accompanying blind passengers.