Prepare your journey
with Hainan Airlines.

1. Prepare your request

Before choosing an itinerary, write down the operating airline and flight number for each sector, travel dates, connection points and who is travelling with the animal. Prepare the animal’s age, species, breed, weight and standing measurements, plus the proposed container dimensions and weight. Keep a separate record for every animal.

Discuss travel fitness and journey preparation with your veterinarian. Bring the proposed journey duration and handling arrangements to that discussion. Make airline acceptance, animal welfare and government entry clearance separate decisions. A general guide cannot settle all three for an individual journey.

2. Check the transport option

Checked pets: two per passenger (entry limits apply), separately crated; 32kg including carrier/contents. Cabin cats/dogs: selected domestic economy flights; international economy only Beijing–Bangkok, Haikou–Bangkok/Seoul, both directions, HU-operated direct flights. Cabin quotas: four narrowbody/six widebody; passenger limits: two domestic (one seat-occupying), one international. Checked booking: 24h domestic/48h international-regional. Domestic cabin generally: online 48h, hotline/offices 24h; international cabin: seven-day window, online 72h, hotline/offices 48h. Domestic seat-occupying bookings: hotline/offices only. Use 95339/direct offices; overseas offices for overseas departures. Confirm container sharing, mixed species and checked-flight capacity.

Checked · Domestic · International

Treat the published limits as starting points for an individual approval request. Record the answer against the exact flight and travel product. Do not treat a passenger ticket, an enquiry or an advertised service as confirmed space for an animal. Keep the approval reference and the office responsible for resolving changes.

Make three separate entries in your planning sheet: aircraft capacity, your booking’s allowance and each container’s occupancy. A limit in one column does not answer the other two. For multiple animals, show the proposed allocation animal by animal. Avoid buying equipment or committing to a ticket on an assumption about sharing.

3. Organize equipment review

Use the existing carrier guide to organize measurements. Send the accepting office a clear specification of the proposed equipment and keep the approved version. Include construction, door closure, ventilation, bedding, water arrangements and how the animal fits. Establish which equipment belongs to you and which items, if any, are supplied at handover.

Plan safe familiarization with the equipment before travel. For welfare questions, use the veterinarian’s advice rather than interpreting a transport limit as a recommendation. Record the inspection location, the person responsible and what the fallback plan would be if the equipment or animal were not accepted.

4. Resolve assistance arrangements

Accepted service dogs travel free in-cabin. Request 24h domestic/48h international-regional. Outside U.S. routes: ADI/IGDF/ADEu preferred; other legitimate organizations accepted with verifiable credentials; self/online training rejected. Psychiatric service dogs: U.S. routes only; elsewhere pet rules. ESAs lack service status. Domestic/non-U.S. documents include vaccination, dog identification/training and disability evidence; medical alternatives have conditions. Domestic quarantine and international permits apply. U.S. documentation differs. Individual-trainer alternatives, dog-number, placement, behavior, leash/muzzle and dedicated forms remain unverified here.

Assistance

Describe the tasks the dog performs and assemble the training evidence you already have. Keep the dog’s role, training history and proposed route clear in the request. A label or purchased certificate should never substitute for checking the evidence the accepting office needs. Use the existing training reference for background.

Before committing, obtain one written checklist covering the evidence to submit, exact form versions, validity periods, submission destination, review deadline and originals to carry. Keep the airline’s reply alongside the documents it reviewed. For any proposed alternative evidence, obtain a decision on that evidence rather than assuming it is equivalent.

Record the agreed accommodation, any applicable charges and the instructions for handling the dog throughout the journey. Work through boarding, the flight, connections and disruption with the responsible office. Make sure the plan is practical for both the handler and the animal. The existing U.S. airline reference and forms reference are background navigation; they do not confirm this booking.

5. Build a document and cost file

Create a checklist with one row per document: issuing authority, animal identification, issue date, validity, submission method, required original or copy, reviewer and approval status. Keep airline paperwork separate from government paperwork. Have the relevant authority or official veterinarian explain timing before arranging appointments or tests.

Obtain an itemized quotation for the agreed transport option. Record the currency, payment deadline, what is included, change and refund terms, and possible handling or collection costs. Keep the quoted itinerary and equipment specification with the price so changes can be reviewed against the same request.

Enter the booking deadline, document deadline and airport reporting time as separate calendar entries. Allow time to correct an incomplete request. Establish where the animal will be handed over, who can accept it and what written confirmation you should have before travelling.

6. Verify entry independently

This guide is not a government import checklist. Check the destination’s veterinary authority and any transit jurisdiction for the actual animal, origin, travel history and itinerary. Establish identification, vaccination, testing, permits, certification, inspection, quarantine and collection arrangements directly with the responsible authorities. Do not infer an exemption from the dog’s assistance role.

Use the existing entry reference when relevant as a starting point. Airline document review and border clearance are separate steps. Keep the official requirements and their dates in the travel file.

7. Keep decisions together

Before payment, bring together the approved flights, animal space, transport option, equipment or accommodation plan, document decisions, charges and airport timetable. Identify who will help if the flight or aircraft changes. Recheck the plan after any change to route, operating carrier, animal details or equipment. Keep confirmations accessible during the journey.

Related planning

Related reading: Airline guides · Service-dog reference.

Official sources and scope

• Checked
• Domestic
• International
• Assistance

Official airline references checked October 16, 2026. Confirm the arrangement for your actual operating flight.