We read the official pet policies of eleven European airlines and lined up what actually matters before booking: how heavy a pet they accept in the cabin, how big the carrier can be, whether there is an alternative above that limit, and how easy it is to book. Seven airlines carry dogs and cats. Four do not.
The ranking
| Airline | Score | Cabin weight | Carrier | Hold | Booking | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Vueling | 80.5/100 | 10 kg | 45 x 39 x 21 cm 36.9 litres | No | Online | Source |
| 2. ITA Airways | 80.0/100 | 8 kg | 55 x 40 x 23 cm 50.6 litres | Yes | Call centre | Source |
| 3. Lufthansa | 80.0/100 | 8 kg | 55 x 40 x 23 cm 50.6 litres | Yes | Form | Source |
| 4. SWISS | 80.0/100 | 8 kg | 55 x 40 x 23 cm 50.6 litres | Yes | Form | Source |
| 5. TAP Air Portugal | 71.5/100 | 8 kg | 45 x 30 x 23 cm 31.1 litres | Yes | Online | Source |
| 6. Air France | 71.4/100 | 8 kg | 46 x 28 x 24 cm 30.9 litres | Yes | Online | Source |
| 7. KLM | 71.4/100 | 8 kg | 46 x 28 x 24 cm 30.9 litres | Yes | Online | Source |
How the score is calculated
The score is produced by a script, not assigned by hand, and this is the formula. Out of 100 points:
- Cabin access — up to 45 points. 30 points if the airline accepts dogs and cats in the cabin, plus 7.5 points for every kilo allowed above the standard 8 kg.
- Carrier space — up to 35 points. Proportional to the volume allowed, measured against the roomiest in the group (55 x 40 x 23 cm, or 50.6 litres). This constraint decides whether your dog flies in the cabin more often than weight does.
- Hold alternative — 10 points. Awarded when a pet above the cabin limit can still travel as baggage, without going through cargo.
- Booking — 10 points when the service can be added online, 5 when a form or a phone call is required.
Price is deliberately not part of the score: it varies by route, season and sales channel, and not every airline publishes it. Comparing non-comparable fares would make the ranking worse, not better.
What the table does not tell you
- Vueling. The highest cabin weight in Europe in a carrier, but no hold option: above 10 kg there is no alternative. Service not available to or from the UK and Iceland.
- ITA Airways. A 12 kg limit on Italian domestic flights, dogs and cats only. From 3 August 2026 the Large Dog On Board service carries dogs up to 30 kg in the cabin outside a carrier, on selected domestic flights: no other European airline does this. The service is bought by contacting the airline.
- Lufthansa. Registration no later than 72 hours before departure. One of the roomiest carriers, alongside SWISS and ITA.
- SWISS. The only one in the group that accepts snub-nosed breeds in the cabin and bans them from the hold. Fees published by zone, €65 to €125 in the cabin. To the UK, Ireland, Hong Kong, the UAE and South Africa, cargo only.
- TAP Air Portugal. The only airline publishing a full price list by season, route and sales channel. Tight carrier limit and hold capped at 45 kg.
- Air France. Hold travel up to 75 kg, with a 25-50% surcharge if the pet is added inside 24 hours.
- KLM. No pets as baggage to the United Kingdom, in any class. Cabin travel is excluded in Premium Comfort and intercontinental Business.
The four airlines that do not carry pets
They are not at the bottom of the ranking — they are outside it. On these routes the question is not how much your dog weighs: it will not board at all.
- British Airways. No pets in the cabin on any route. Hold travel is handled by external partners (PetAir UK outbound from the UK, IAG Cargo inbound). Official source
- Ryanair. Does not carry animals on any flight, except certified guide and assistance dogs on selected routes. Official source
- easyJet. No pets on board: only registered guide and assistance dogs are accepted. Official source
- Wizz Air. No pets at all, in cabin or hold. Only certified guide and assistance dogs, free of charge. Official source
Method and limitations
Every value was read on the airline's own official page on 29 July 2026, not from secondary sources. Three limitations are worth stating: policies change without notice, some rules apply only to certain routes or aircraft, and airlines missing from this page were left out because we could not verify their data at source with the same method.
Before paying, always open the official source link on the row of the airline you care about.
How to cite this data
The data on this page is free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0). If you use it in an article, a video or a piece of research, cite it as:
Puppyonair, "Pet-friendly airlines ranking 2026", puppyonair.com, July 2026.
Download the data as CSV — 7 airlines, 4 excluded, every field in the table with its source URL.
To report an outdated figure, get in touch through our contact page: we correct it and update the verification date.
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