airplane dog
Airlines are becoming more pet friendly, because every day there are more pets that travel with their owners on board the plane.
As we already told you in this article, airlines have had to adapt to market demands as demand is increasing much to our delight and to our dear and faithful companions with four (or more) legs!
Now, the dream can soon turn into a nightmare if we choose the wrong airline. That's why, at Budget Direct they have compiled a list of the 50 most pet friendly airlines in the world.
Pets on board!
WHAT HAS BEEN TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT?
To make the list, have reviewed the pet policies of the world's top 50 airlines (according to their customers' votes) and ranked them based on ten categories.
In the accessibility section, the following have been analysed: cabin assignment, hold assignment, opening to welcome “unusual” pets, pets per person, minimum age allowed for pets and deadline to register them.
With regard to finances, factors such as the cost of the pet's trip and the pets and rewards program.
Finally, aspects of reputation were also studied, taking into account the Skytrax 2019 World Airline Awards (one of the most important rankings of the best airlines in the world) and whether the airlines were members of the International Pet and Animal Transport Association (IPATA).
Traveling with our pet: a dream that can come true
THE BEST AIRLINES TO TRAVEL WITH YOUR PET
At the top of the ranking we find the most pet friendly airline in the world according to the Budget Direct study. Is about KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, which stands as the winner with a score of 81.8 out of 100 , almost five points ahead of the second classified.
In second place goes to air France and in third place is AirCanada.
Completing the top 10: Turkish Airlines (4th place), Lufthansa (5th), Iberia (6th), Aeroflot (7th), Korean Air (8th), Finnair (9th) and Azerbaijan Airlines (10th).
The world's most pet-friendly airlines
Taking a look at the table, we see how KLM has obtained a higher score in all the categories analyzed , while Air Canada, in third place, obtains the highest score in the category of travel fares (since they are around 73 euros per pet) but it falls behind in terms of the weight limit (45 kilos for those who fly in the hold).
Thus, the best airlines for traveling with pets are on three continents: Europe is home to five of the top ten pet-friendly airlines (including Spain's Iberia), along with Turkish Airlines and Russian Aeroflot (on the borders between Europe and Asia).
Air Canada is the sole representative of North America in the top 10.
At the bottom of the top 50 airlines table we find the ones who least think about our furry companions. The 50th position is occupied by Australian Jetstar Airways , with a 0 out of 100, because "it is not equipped to transport pets".
They complete the last five places on the list: Azul Airlines, South African Airways, Fiji Airways and AirAsia.
The Budget Direct Travel Insurance investigation was conducted between March 20 and April 1, 2020 and you can check out the details and full analysis behind this project here.
The complete ranking led by KLM