Flying with a pet
on Alaska Airlines.

Choose cabin, accompanied baggage or Pet Connect

An eligible small pet can travel in an under-seat carrier. Accompanied pets that meet the separate baggage-compartment requirements can travel on the passenger's flight in a climate-controlled compartment. Pet Connect is the separate Alaska/Hawaiian Air Cargo product for unaccompanied shipments and other cargo bookings; its prices and procedures should not be confused with the accompanied-pet fee. Pet-travel overview

Cabin: species, carrier and passenger allowance

The cabin policy accepts small dogs, house cats, domesticated rabbits and small household birds, with destination exceptions. Dogs, cats and rabbits must be at least eight weeks old, fully weaned and accustomed to solid food without nursing for at least five days. Poultry, agricultural, wild and nuisance birds are excluded.

Use a soft-sided carrier no larger than 17 inches long × 11 inches wide × 9.5 inches high. Hard-sided cabin kennels are not accepted. It must be secure, ventilated, clean and leak-proof, with safe absorbent, non-shredded bedding. The animal must fit comfortably inside and beneath the seat. No separate numeric cabin weight cap was verified.

Two similarly sized pets of the same species may share one carrier if fully enclosed and not distressed. A passenger may take two carriers only with a second ticket for an adjacent seat. Passengers younger than 18 must be accompanied by someone at least 18. These are individual allowances, not the aircraft's pet capacity.

First Class and Main Cabin pet allotments vary by aircraft. Alaska does not publish a universal numeric cabin quota on the reviewed page. A330 and 787 Business Class cannot accommodate pet carriers. The policy excludes exit and bulkhead rows for ordinary pets. No aircraft-wide cat/dog coexistence prohibition was verified.

Keep the pet completely enclosed in the boarding area, walkways, lounges and on board. Stow the carrier beneath the seat during taxi, takeoff, landing and whenever instructed. The carrier normally uses one carry-on item; the page makes an exception for flights wholly within Hawaii. Cabin policy

Reserve before travel day

Review eligibility, buy the passenger ticket, then reserve pet space through Alaska's official chat or telephone channel. Cabin reservations must be made before the day of travel and are first-come, first-served. For accompanied baggage, reserve as soon as plans are final; capacity is limited, but the reviewed page supplies no numerical aircraft quota or separate universal advance-booking deadline. Booking overview · Contact Alaska

Accompanied baggage: weight, species and sharing

The combined pet and kennel limit is 150 lb, shown by the airline as 68 kg. Above that allowance, ask Pet Connect to assess the shipment rather than assuming acceptance.

The domestic list includes dogs, cats, ferrets, guinea pigs, hamsters, household birds, non-poisonous reptiles, pot-bellied pigs, rabbits and tropical fish. Only dogs and cats are accepted in the baggage compartment to/from Hawaii and international locations; the page separately permits household birds within Hawaii under its sharing rules. Dogs and cats must be at least eight weeks old and weaned.

A dog or cat aged six months or older travels alone in its kennel. A puppy over 20 lb also travels alone. Up to two comparable-size puppies or kittens aged eight weeks to six months may share if each weighs no more than 20 lb. The published age bands overlap at exactly six months: confirm that boundary directly with Alaska rather than assuming two six-month-old animals may share. Do not treat this as permission for two adult pets to share. Baggage-compartment rules

Check the crate, breed and weather

The baggage kennel must let the animal stand fully without its ears touching the roof, turn around and lie normally. Published L × W × H sizes are 21 × 16 × 15, 27 × 20 × 19, 32 × 22 × 23, 36 × 24 × 26 and 40 × 27 × 30 inches; aircraft and route acceptance still need confirmation. Kennels over 28 inches are excluded within Hawaii, although the page does not label the dimension in that particular sentence. Confirm it directly rather than assuming.

Use a rigid, sound kennel with handles, absorbent bedding, attached food and empty-water dishes, appropriate ventilation, and a secure metal grated door. Multipiece shells require nuts and bolts; remove wheels. Soft-sided, collapsible, wire/mesh, wicker, cardboard and snap-top crates are not accepted. Follow the full official checklist before buying a kennel.

Short-nosed dogs and cats, including listed mixes, cannot use accompanied baggage. The list includes Bulldogs, Boxers, Pugs, Mastiffs, Boston Terriers, Shih Tzus and several others; restricted cats include Burmese, Exotic Shorthair, Himalayan and Persian. Cabin travel can remain possible if all cabin requirements are satisfied. Obtain an individual breed decision for Staffordshire-type dogs: the same page includes both a general Staffordshire-terrier acceptance note and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier exclusion.

Extreme temperatures can prevent carriage. The accompanied-baggage page does not give numeric temperature thresholds; do not copy Pet Connect's separate limits into this product. Check current airport advisories with Alaska. Baggage policy and crate checklist

Fees, documents and the airport

Cabin travel costs USD 100 each way per carrier, or USD 35 wholly within Hawaii. Accompanied baggage costs USD 200 each way per kennel, reduced to USD 100 wholly within Alaska or for qualifying active-duty U.S. military/dependents traveling on orders, and USD 60 wholly within Hawaii. Confirm payment arrangements and cancellation terms for your booking; no general current pet-fee refund promise was verified. Cabin fees · Baggage fees

For accompanied baggage, bring a veterinarian-issued health certificate identifying the animal and examination date. The general rule is issuance within ten days of outward travel, within thirty days for return travel on the same ticket, or ten days for a separately ticketed return. Hawaii has a separate published schedule; have the airline confirm which certificate window applies to your exact product and route.

The baggage page requires check-in between two hours and ninety minutes before departure, with animal and kennel information already in the system by the ninety-minute cutoff. Allow enough time to complete the counter process before that cutoff. Food and water must have been offered within four hours before check-in, certified on the pet record. Ordinary baggage-compartment pickup is at baggage claim, except where destination inspection changes the release process. Baggage documents and check-in

Hawaii and international flights need their own checks

For Hawaii cabin travel, dogs and cats are eligible subject to entry requirements; rabbits are restricted to Honolulu. Small household birds may travel between Hawaiian Islands with proper documents, not from the mainland into Hawaii. Direct mainland arrivals at Kona, Lihue and Kahului require the appropriate Neighbor Island Inspection Permit, presented as a printed copy at check-in. Honolulu arrival time matters because inspection and release hours are limited; late arrivals can require an overnight stay. Review the current state requirements well before choosing a flight. Hawaii policy

Only dogs and cats are accepted internationally, and not on every route. Current ordinary-pet restrictions include Europe/London, Japan, Seoul, Belize City, Guatemala City, Pago Pago, Papeete, Rarotonga and Sydney. Limited military-on-orders baggage exceptions exist on specified Japan services; they are not a general pet-travel option. Do not apply domestic age, document or species rules to an international booking. Alaska's international page currently flags additional screwworm-related requirements for Mexico and Costa Rica; check that page and the destination authorities for the exact journey. International rules · Cabin destination exclusions · Baggage destination exclusions

Pet Connect is a separate cargo booking

Pet Connect takes dogs, cats, birds and other approved animals. Request a route-specific quote from the Cargo Call Center at 1-800-225-2752. Its main page states a booking window of 24 hours to 30 days before travel; the step-by-step page contains conflicting wording about the thirty-day boundary, so confirm that boundary when calling. International cargo has a separate stated three-to-seven-business-day booking window. Passenger-pet charges are not cargo quotes.

Cargo generally will not accept animals when forecast conditions are above 85°F/29.5°C or below 45°F/7°C, with location-dependent hot-weather exceptions and veterinary acclimation documentation for some cold-weather travel. Short-nosed dogs and cats are excluded. Pickup is required within four hours of arrival, with photo identification. Cargo health and kennel requirements remain separate. Pet Connect · Cargo restrictions · Cargo preparation

Trained service dogs are a separate disability-related process

Alaska accepts up to two task-trained service dogs per guest without a service-animal charge, including psychiatric service dogs. They must fit within the passenger's seat/foot area. Emotional support animals are pets, not service animals.

Complete one DOT Service Animal Air Transportation Form per dog. For bookings made more than 48 hours ahead, Alaska recommends submission 48 hours before departure; its online Service Animal Form Portal is optional, and the airline also permits the completed standard form to be brought to the airport. London service-dog travel has a mandatory 48-hour submission requirement for HARC approval. Do not turn the general recommendation into a universal hard deadline. Service-animal policy

Prepare a route review

Have the operating flight, travel date, species, breed or mix, age, pet weight, loaded-kennel weight and external dimensions ready. Ask the airline to confirm space and route acceptance before you rely on a passenger booking. Airline approval and destination-entry clearance are separate decisions.

Related planning

Related reading: Airline pet travel guides · Carrier fit and preparation.

Official sources and scope

• Pet-travel overview
• Cabin policy
• Contact Alaska
• Baggage-compartment rules
• Hawaii policy
• International rules
• Pet Connect
• Cargo restrictions
• Cargo preparation
• Service-animal policy

Official airline sources checked October 14, 2026. Alaska passenger-policy details were read in rendered browser pages; Pet Connect cargo remains a separate product. Published age, breed, certificate and cargo booking-boundary uncertainties are retained above.