Virgin Australia will turn into the primary Australian airline to permit pets to be carried within the cabin on some home flights.
The service, topic to regulatory approval, is predicted to launch inside 12 months and can allow small cats and dogs in chosen rows on particular home routes. Pets should be in permitted pet carriers stowed beneath the seat in entrance, and won’t be allowed to roam freely or sit in laps.
Extra charges might be charged for bringing a pet on board, although pets will nonetheless be eligible to be carried as cargo by way of permitted pet transport providers, whereas permitted help animals will nonetheless be permitted to fly throughout the cabin at no further cost.
The transfer follows a number of surveys by Virgin Australia of pet homeowners, with the airline pointing to market analysis final 12 months that discovered 70 per cent would journey with their pet within the cabin and 57 per cent would fly extra recurrently if the choice was available.
According to Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka, visitors “overwhelmingly” say they wish to journey with their pets, a mannequin that has been “proven to work well” abroad.
“Almost 70 per cent of Australian households have a pet, so this announcement is really significant for a large proportion of the country. It’s also a great thing for pet-friendly accommodation providers who will benefit greatly from increased connectivity and the ease for travellers to fly with their pets. It really will be a whole new economy for pet travel in Australia,” she stated.
“Pets on flights is one other instance of Virgin Australia main the best way with new and improved service choices and first-to-market experiences for our visitors.
“Innovation has always been a hallmark of Virgin Australia. We were the first airline in the country to offer online check-in. This year we were the first Australian airline to launch baggage tracking and a fully integrated self-service disruption management tool. It’s this innovation and first-to-market drive that underpins who we are in the market.”
Virgin has but to announce eligible routes or charges for bringing a pet on board, and says it plans to take action “in due course”.
