Furry friends take flight as Akasa, Air India tweak policies
Eva, a one-year-old mixed breed cat, received celebrity-like attention when she landed in Kochi airport last November – she was Kerala’s first directly-imported pet. Two months later, more than 20 dogs and cats have flown into the State from overseas as pet parents take advantage of the new facility at Kochi airport. The airport plans to expand its pet facilities to meet “increasing demand” and look at handling bird movement.
Kochi airport’s move is in sync with the growing trend among businesses to turn pet friendly. Last September, Uber launched its pet-friendly ride options for its customers. Several five-star hotels and retreats already allow guests to check in with their pets and now airlines and airports are doing their bit.
Winging their way
Take Akasa Air, which launched its pet travel facility in November 2022 and since then has flown over 5,300 cats and dogs on domestic routes. The airline says that after it decided to allow pets weighing up to 10 kgs inside the cabin from May, it has seen a growth in demand. In the past eight months alone, Akasa Air has carried 2,100 pets. Dogs accounted for 66 per cent of flown pets. Bengaluru contributed to 31 per cent of all pets flown, Akasa Air said.
Akasa Air and Air India are the only domestic airlines currently offering pet carriage. Air India carried 7,000 pets in 2024 but saw a jump in bookings towards the year-end. Compared to the 429 cats and dogs that were flown in February 2024, the airline carried 861 in December. “We are planning to update our policy and make it more streamlined and customer friendly,” Air India added.
The airline assigns passengers with pets the last row of the cabin class. In an all-economy class aircraft, passengers with pets will be seated at least five rows apart with one of them occupying the last row. Pets are not allowed to occupy seats even if these are vacant, Air India said.
In Akasa Air, passengers with pets are assigned a window seat on specific rows. “If a co-passenger is uncomfortable… we reassign the passenger travelling with their pet to a different seat,” the airline said.
Akasa Air allows only two pets on a flight (one in cabin and other in cargo hold) and charges a flat ₹7,500-15,000 fee depending on their weight. Air India allows two pets in the cabin on a flight.
Limited space
What are the chances that there may be demand for more than two pets on a flight? Well, it does happen. Kolkata resident Arundhati Rakshit was forced to alter her travel plans and purchase a ticket for a later date as another pet was checked in before her in economy class. The airline asked her to upgrade to business class or reschedule. Rakshit, who travels with her cat at least four times a year, feels there should be more seats for pets.
“Pet transportation is not yet a priority business for airlines,” said Vinayak Prabhu, co-founder of Furry Flyers, a pet relocation agency.
“Airlines and airports need to invest in specialised staff and facilities to take care of pets but we see that are lacking in India,” he added.
Perhaps that is the niche that the promoters of Bark Air, the world’s first dog-centric air charter company, spotted!
