Flying with a pet
on Korean Air.

1. Check eligibility, then request the animal in your booking

The online workflow begins with the flight’s Details display to check whether pet travel is offered. After ticketing, open My Trips, choose More, then Traveling with Pets; select the flight and passenger, enter the animal information and submit the request. Korean Air publishes 48 hours before international departure and 24 hours before Korean domestic departure as reservation deadlines. Neither is labeled a business-day deadline.

Wait for the acceptance notification, rather than treating the submitted form as confirmation. Keep the approval alongside the passenger itinerary. For a multi-flight trip, make a simple record of each operating airline, date, flight number, animal and carrier. Ask which segments the approval actually covers before committing to accommodation or onward transport.

The Korean policy describes the declaration as available from seven days before travel; the English wording is less clear. Follow the form and instructions supplied with approval. We do not interpret this as a universal seven-day booking cutoff.

Sources: Korean Air: online pet request and approval · Korean Air: accompanied-pet policy.

2. Measure the cabin carrier in the correct orientation

Cabin: 7 kg combined; carrier 45 cm long × 32 cm wide × 19 cm high. A soft carrier may reach 25 cm high but must compress to 19 cm. Dogs, cats and pet birds qualify from eight weeks; checked pets require 16 weeks.

We recommend measuring the packed carrier, including protruding parts, and photographing your pet standing, turning and resting inside it. Keep the long side and vertical height clearly labeled when sending dimensions. Compressibility should describe the bag, not depend on forcing the animal into an uncomfortable posture. Ask about the designated pet seat and the actual cabin layout before choosing a premium cabin.

Sources: Korean Air: accompanied-pet policy.

3. Test the hold option against both aircraft and animal

Checked hold: 45 kg combined; length + width + height ≤291 cm; height ≤84 cm. Some routes cap weight at 32 kg. International Boeing 737/A321 hold transport is restricted, as is domestic transport on those types during June–September. Snub-nosed animals, including crosses, cannot use the hold; dangerous, sedated and pregnant animals face exclusions.

Send the breed exactly as recorded in veterinary documents, including known crosses. A similar-looking breed or a light animal is not evidence of an exception. Ask the airline to assess both the outward and return aircraft. If one flight cannot take the animal, redesign the route before arranging a ground handover. Our brachycephalic-dog transport service assesses cabin arrangements; we do not offer hold transport for these dogs.

Sources: Korean Air: accompanied-pet policy.

4. Confirm every pet, connection and entry pathway

The allowance is one cabin animal and two hold animals per passenger. Sharing exceptions do not increase the three-animal total. No universal numeric flightwide quota was verified.

For several pets, submit an animal-by-animal plan: who accompanies each animal, which carrier is used, and whether you are requesting cabin or hold. Ask for the whole group to be accepted on each flight. Do not assume dogs and cats can share a carrier or that an approved dog automatically leaves room for a cat.

Country restrictions can defeat an otherwise workable connection. Korean Air’s policy excludes ordinary cabin/checked-pet arrivals into Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the UK. Ask the relevant authority whether your itinerary is transit, an import, or a cargo movement, especially if collecting the animal, changing airports or using separate tickets. Codeshare acceptance depends on the operating partner.

Sources: Korean Air: accompanied-pet policy.

5. Separate the pet charge, approval and ticket conditions

For the published Americas–Asia/Europe/Middle East/Africa bands, the separate service-fee page lists USD 300 per cage below 32 kg and USD 600 for 33–45 kg, with specified KRW/CAD/IDR amounts. These are selected route examples, not a whole-relocation quote. At a weight-band boundary, obtain the applicable bracket rather than interpolating between labels.

Pet payment follows approval; the website or airport can take payment, and the airport’s measured weight can change the amount. Request a written total for all carriers and directions, including any connecting-airline charges. Keep the pet receipt separately from the passenger fare. Before changing dates, ask whether the animal must be reapproved and what happens to the paid pet service. A universal pet-fee refund rule was not established by this review.

Sources: Korean Air: published service fees · Korean Air: accompanied-pet policy.

6. Use the cargo channel when the passenger product does not fit

Korean Air Cargo’s animal FAQ directs shippers to the origin or destination cargo office and requires advance reservation. Its Specialized service offers shipment planning and documentation support; acceptance and delivery timing vary by station. Use the cargo-office directory to establish the local booking route.

Ask whether an appointed agent is needed, who will be named as shipper and consignee, which cargo terminal handles delivery, and what document originals must accompany the shipment. Obtain the quotation, confirmed routing, acceptance deadline and collection arrangements together. This review did not establish a universal cargo lead time or direct-public online booking entitlement. The passenger 48-hour notice and passenger fee table must not be carried over to cargo.

Sources: Korean Air Cargo: animal-shipping FAQ · Korean Air Cargo: shipment planning · Korean Air Cargo: origin and destination offices.

7. Keep service-dog arrangements distinct

Korean Air publishes a separate service-dog process. For US routes, request through its Booking Center and follow the supplied form-submission instructions at least 48 hours ahead; contact the center for shorter notice. Its page links the DOT transport form and the relief attestation for flights of eight hours or more.

US DOT defines this category around a dog individually trained for disability-related work. Emotional-support or companionship status does not establish that eligibility. Discuss seating, required forms and each country’s entry conditions for the specific route. Do not use service-animal terminology to bypass ordinary-pet size or breed restrictions.

Sources: Korean Air: service dogs and US-route forms · US DOT: trained service dogs and permitted forms.

8. Build an airport plan you can actually follow

Before travel, we recommend one folder containing the passenger itinerary, pet approval, fee receipt, applicable health and entry documents, and a labeled carrier photograph. Write down where the animal is handed over and collected, who can resolve a problem, and which onward arrangements can be moved if the flight changes.

Confirm quarantine-office opening hours separately from passenger check-in. Plan enough time for document inspection and carrier assessment rather than arriving at the last passenger deadline. After an aircraft, date or operator change, have the pet arrangement checked again. Send Pets Delivery Expert your route, dates, breed, age, weight and carrier measurements to request an individual transport proposal.

Questions before you book

Related reading: Compare airline policies · Plan connections and handovers · Measure and prepare a carrier.

Official sources and scope

• Korean Air: accompanied-pet policy
• Korean Air: online pet request and approval
• Korean Air: published service fees
• Korean Air: service dogs and US-route forms
• Korean Air Cargo: animal-shipping FAQ
• Korean Air Cargo: shipment planning
• Korean Air Cargo: origin and destination offices
• US DOT: trained service dogs and permitted forms

Official sources checked October 14, 2026. This independent guide separates published rules from route-planning recommendations. No live pet-space search, booking or individual animal acceptance was obtained.