Plan animal travel
with China Southern.

U.S.-bound dogs: resolve the published suspension first

The current Chinese pet page still publishes a suspension of U.S.-bound dog carriage from April 15, 2025, explicitly including pet dogs and guide/hearing dogs. The reviewed English pet page omits this notice.

Before paying for U.S.-bound travel with any dog, ask China Southern for written confirmation of the current operational position and the exact flight. Do not interpret the omission, a passenger ticket or completed DOT forms as acceptance. The notice is directional; separately check departures from the U.S. and each connecting carrier.

If disability accommodation is disputed on a U.S.-covered flight, DOT says passengers can request the airline’s Complaints Resolution Official (CRO).

Sources: Checked pets · English pets · U.S. DOT service-animal guidance.

Choose the transport product before buying tickets

Prepare the operating flights, dates, departure and arrival airports, species, breed or cross, age, animal weight, loaded-carrier weight and external measurements. Ask for written confirmation of animal space, route acceptance, documents and charges for every sector. Recheck after an aircraft or itinerary change.

China Southern’s Chinese baggage rules are effective July 1, 2026 and say the Chinese version prevails over inconsistent translations.

Its current cabin-product expansion describes Chinese domestic nonstop routes.

Do not assume international, Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan cabin-pet availability. Confirm the actual product offered for your flight. Keep ordinary cabin pets, checked-hold pets, unaccompanied cargo and qualifying service dogs as separate booking questions.

Sources: Chinese baggage rules · China Southern domestic cabin-product expansion.

Requests, channels and conflicting hold deadlines

Current Chinese rules require hold applications at least four hours before domestic flights or six hours before international/regional flights, with airline confirmation.

The English pet page still requests 24 hours domestically and 48 hours internationally.

Start at booking and allow the longer published lead time while obtaining the flight-specific deadline. A request submission alone does not establish approval. For an unaccompanied shipment, obtain a separate cargo assessment and quotation.

Order cabin products via China Southern’s app, mini-program or H5 at least six hours ahead; arrive for airport processing at least two hours before departure.

For help, the airline lists 95539 domestically and +86-20-86682000 internationally.

Ask the booking team which form and liability agreement apply, where to submit them, and how confirmation appears in the booking. Read the agreement before signing. Confirm payment, refund and disruption terms for the chosen product.

Sources: Chinese baggage rules · English pets · Cabin pets · Special-assistance confirmation and route conditions.

Cabin pets: route, age, breed and aircraft checks

The Chinese baggage rules restrict cabin pets to designated nonstop Economy flights, excluding C909/ARJ21 aircraft. They allow four pets per flight and one per passenger, with service dogs exempt from those numerical limits. Pets must be at least eight weeks old; the responsible adult must be at least 18.

Cabin exclusions include short-nosed dogs, dangerous dogs/crosses, pregnancy, recent birth or surgery, specified illnesses, and animals given sedatives or sleeping medication.

Have the airline assess the exact breed, health circumstances and your flight before choosing a carrier. Ask a veterinarian about fitness to fly and any medication. The published minimum age does not settle vaccination or border-entry eligibility. Confirm any dog/cat combination restrictions across separate carriers.

Sources: Chinese baggage rules · Cabin pets.

Cabin carriers, equipment and prices

Under-seat carriers: maximum 35 × 28 × 24 cm. With a purchased adjacent seat: 58 × 40 × 35 cm, secured by straps. Natural standing, turning and lying space remains necessary. No separate numeric cabin weight maximum appears on the reviewed page.

Required: lockable carrier, absorbent lining, protective net, ≤1.5 m lead, clothing and diaper; dogs need muzzles. Keep pets contained; no cabin feeding or watering.

Base prices: CNY 1,299 below 2,000 km or CNY 1,499 from 2,000 km, per pet/sector. Subject to availability, counter-only seat upgrades add CNY 400 for one seat or CNY 600 for two.

Confirm the loaded weight, exact carrier material, compression allowance, seating arrangement and total price before purchase. Obtain the full packing checklist and confirm which equipment the airport supplies.

A seat upgrade does not permit the animal to leave its carrier.

Sources: Cabin pets.

Checked-hold pets: containers and flight suitability

Hold limits are 32 kg for the loaded animal shipment and a 90 × 60 × 66 cm maximum crate. One animal per crate; a pair of small birds may share. Short-nosed cats/dogs are excluded. The Chinese hold page excludes animals within their first eight weeks and pregnant animals.

The current Chinese policy accepts nonstop flights without intermediate stops, subject to suitable aircraft hold conditions; it does not publish a universal numerical aircraft or passenger allowance.

Ask about the actual aircraft’s animal capacity, remaining space, multiple pets, mixed species in separate crates and how substitutions are handled. Do not mistake one-animal-per-crate wording for a confirmed per-passenger allowance. A through passenger ticket does not establish through animal handling.

Obtain the airline’s complete crate construction and packing checklist. Check ventilation, fastening, door security, lining, water arrangements, wheels and enough natural movement space. Submit external measurements with the dog or cat’s standing height. Maximum dimensions alone do not establish welfare or aircraft-door fit.

China Southern advises caution with checked pets when any route point’s forecast falls outside −12°C to +30°C, inclusive. This wording is advisory, not a universal automatic embargo.

Ask about day-specific temperature limits, delay care and cancellation options. Do not use a cargo rule or an insurance exclusion as a passenger-baggage acceptance rule.

Sources: Checked pets.

Pet documents and airport handover

Domestic hold travel requires an animal quarantine certificate; international/regional travel also involves rabies, quarantine and applicable entry/transit documents. Hold check-in is at least 120 minutes before departure.

The cabin page requires quarantine and vaccination evidence plus its signed cabin-pet transport agreement.

Ask for the exact certificate issuer, validity window, originals/copies, translation requirements and handover counter for your journey. Check government rules independently rather than using the airline list as a complete border checklist. A veterinary record, airline waiver and government import permit serve different purposes.

Ordinary pet carriage is charged separately from free baggage allowances.

Get a quote covering each sector and the animal’s loaded weight; include any airport, veterinary, cargo or border costs separately. Confirm collection arrangements at arrival and what happens if travel is disrupted.

Sources: Chinese baggage rules · Cabin pets · Checked pets.

Service dogs: eligibility and recognition evidence

China Southern defines service dogs as disability-assistance dogs, including assistance, hearing and guide dogs. Qualifying carriage, container and food are free and outside the baggage allowance. Emotional-support dogs do not qualify.

The detailed application page focuses on guide/hearing dogs. It requests the Special Passenger Carriage Application Form, dog identity and quarantine evidence through a China Southern sales office, 95539 or an authorised agent, at booking and at least 48 hours ahead.

Ask for accepted evidence issuers, the current form, number of copies, submission channel and written approval. For other disability-task-trained dogs, individually trained dogs or owner-trained dogs, acceptance outside U.S.-covered travel remains unconfirmed by these airline pages. Request a route-specific assessment rather than buying a generic certificate. A vest, ID card or another airline’s approval is insufficient to establish this booking.

For international/regional travel, airline assistance guidance also requests the destination/transit animal permits.

Provide the complete itinerary and ask the airline to distinguish disability-related recognition evidence from government animal-health documents. Do not apply one country’s recognition process to every sector.

Sources: Chinese baggage rules · Guide/hearing-dog application guidance · Special-assistance confirmation and route conditions.

Service-dog capacity, placement and airport timing

The Chinese guide/hearing guidance requests check-in two hours before ordinary check-in closes. It places guide dogs muzzled and leashed at the passenger’s feet, off seats and under control.

This is earlier than “two hours before departure”: obtain the actual clock time for your flight. Confirm floor space, safe restraint, muzzle arrangements and behaviour expectations for your particular dog. Ask about any permitted placement alternative and long-flight relief arrangements before booking.

The general assistance page applies passenger-assistance quotas outside U.S. routes and lifts those passenger quotas on China–U.S. services. These are not a published service-dog-per-passenger or service-dog-per-aircraft allowance.

Ask how many service dogs can be safely accommodated for you and on the actual aircraft. The cabin-pet quota exemption does not promise unlimited service-dog capacity. Reconfirm the accommodation after any aircraft, flight or route change.

Sources: Chinese guide/hearing-dog guidance · Special-assistance confirmation and route conditions.

U.S.-covered service-dog rules and short-notice travel

DOT’s framework covers individually disability-task-trained dogs, including psychiatric service dogs, on flights to, within and from the U.S. Emotional support alone and dogs still in training are excluded. Airlines may require the DOT transportation form and, for flights of eight hours or longer, a relief attestation. Other documents are limited to government animal-transport requirements.

For U.S.-covered travel, an airline need not accept more than two service dogs per passenger.

The DOT form accepts an individual trainer’s details or the handler’s own details if the handler trained the dog; it does not require a training certificate. Submit it to the airline. It requires public-behaviour training and a dog kept harnessed, leashed or tethered.

Under 14 CFR 382.75, earlier bookings may require forms up to 48 hours ahead. For bookings within 48 hours, gate submission must be allowed. Missed advance notice still requires reasonable accommodation efforts without delaying the flight.

Ask China Southern for its applicable U.S. submission process and current operational answer to the suspension above. These rules do not establish acceptance on a particular flight or automatically extend to separate non-U.S. sectors. Do not treat a published 48-hour airline request as an absolute bar on a U.S.-covered late booking.

Sources: U.S. DOT service-animal guidance · 14 CFR 382.74: service-dog numbers · DOT air-transportation form and instructions · 14 CFR 382.75: forms and short-notice travel.

Government entry and return travel remain separate

Verify departure, transit, destination and return requirements with the responsible authorities, including for service dogs. Check microchip identity, rabies timing, any blood test, permit, official health certificate, approved arrival point and inspection arrangements. Start the veterinary timeline before committing to flights.

Airline recognition, safe cabin accommodation, animal-health entry and access to public places are separate decisions. No universal service-dog certificate or airline approval guarantees all of them. Keep the written airline decision, current itinerary, original documents and arrival instructions together.

Use the service-dog planning reference and connection checklist to organise remaining questions.

Related planning

Related reading: Compare airlines · Service-dog planning · Connections.

Official sources and scope

• Chinese baggage rules
• Checked pets
• English pets
• Cabin pets
• China Southern domestic cabin-product expansion
• Guide/hearing-dog application guidance
• Chinese guide/hearing-dog guidance
• Special-assistance confirmation and route conditions
• U.S. DOT service-animal guidance
• DOT air-transportation form and instructions
• 14 CFR 382.74: service-dog numbers
• 14 CFR 382.75: forms and short-notice travel

Official sources checked October 18, 2026. Chinese and English pages differ on hold notice and the U.S.-bound dog suspension; obtain a current written flight-specific answer.