Pet Owners Rejoice: Virgin Australia Announces Pet Friendly Flights With New Service To Sydney And Melbourne

Wednesday, July 16, 2025

In an Australian first for aerial travel, Virgin Australia is fresh to present pet-friendly flights, and would beryllium nan first ample Australian hose to fto small cats and dogs recreation successful cabins connected definite home routes. This innovative caller service, which will motorboat by nan extremity of 2025, will supply pet owners pinch a much comfortable and stress-free measurement to bask walking pinch their furry friends. It is poised to shingle up Australia’s hose industry, pinch rising calls from pet owners to recreation successful nan cabin.

Service will commencement up pending regulatory support and operational know-hows, which will mean nan hose has checked each nan safety, comfort, and logistics boxes for nan passengers and their pets alike. As much and much pet owners petition entree to recreation opportunities pinch their dogs, Virgin Australia’s caller formation will beryllium judge to pat into a cardinal formation demographic.

How Virgin Australia’s Booze Filled Flights Will Work

Cats and dogs whitethorn soon person boarding passes connected Virgin Australia flights connected immoderate selected home routes. The hose has fixed clear guidelines for pets which will suffice for nan service. The only cats and dogs allowed to recreation must beryllium small, measurement astatine slightest 8 weeks old, and must beryllium capable to fresh comfortably successful a soft-sided, airline-approved carrier.

Virgin will found definite compartment protocols to guarantee a seamless modulation for each riders. Pets will beryllium ordered to enactment successful carriers nether nan spot for nan full flight. That would mean nary pets wandering astir successful nan compartment aliases sitting connected passengers’ laps. This argumentation is successful spot to guarantee nan information and comfortableness of each of our passengers, including those pinch allergies aliases who fearfulness astir animals.

Virgin Australia will allocate 2 rows connected flights wrong nan system compartment for travellers pinch pets, truthful that they tin each beryllium successful adjacent proximity. Crucially, business people will proceed to beryllium pet-free, preserving an dedicated premium acquisition for travelers who don’t alert pinch a pet. This argumentation is meant to accommodate pet owners pinch respect to nan convenience of each different passengers.

Booking and Fees

Virgin’s Guest interaction centre will grip bookings for pet travel. Those travelers hoping to bring their animals on for nan thrust will person to book nan work done this institution themselves. An other interest besides will use for each pet walking successful nan cabin, though nan costs person not been finalized.

As portion of nan policy, nan bearer for nan pet will count arsenic 1 of nan passenger’s 2 permissible carry-on items, truthful passengers will person to negociate their baggage specifically erstwhile walking pinch pets. This allows nan pet bearer to beryllium securely stowed nether nan spot successful beforehand of nan rider during nan flight, enabling nan pet to stay successful adjacent proximity to his proprietor successful nan compartment for nan full flight.

The Sydney to Melbourne Route arsenic a Paved White Elephant

Virgin Australia’s pet friends work will initially beryllium offered connected nan precocious request Sydney to Melbourne route, arsenic nan hose is group to proceedings nan offering connected 1 of nan busiest home corridors successful nan worlds. This first proceedings shape will springiness Virgin nan opportunity to get rider feedback, fine-tune really they do things and resoluteness immoderate logistical issues, earlier perchance rolling nan programme retired crossed nan country.

The work betwixt Sydney and Melbourne is 1 of nan busiest successful nan country, pinch thousands of group flying betwixt nan brace of cities each time for business and pleasure. This is simply a engaged route, truthful it is simply a bully testing crushed for Virgin’s pet-friendly project. Subject to nan trial’s success, nan hose will present this to much routes connected a phased basis, taking into relationship customer feedback and its operational capabilities.

Why Virgin Australia Is Starting Pet Friendly Flights

The move comes aft a 2023 study by nan hose recovered 70% of Australian pet owners would beryllium much apt to book a formation if they could bring their pets into nan cabin. These statistic show there’s a request for a work specified arsenic this and Virgin Australia whitethorn beryllium tapping successful connected an emerging market.

Virgin Australia’s alteration to let pets connected committee is portion of a increasing inclination successful nan aviation manufacture to invited onboard our 4 legged and successful immoderate cases, 2 legged companions, arsenic airlines astir nan globe widen their pet accessibility to cater to a much pet-friendly society. In immoderate instances travellers are searching for ways to make judge their furry friends are portion of their recreation plans and airlines are eager to rate successful connected nan request by introducing services to meet these needs.

With nan motorboat of this caller product, Virgin Australia is further reaffirming its domiciled arsenic nan leader successful high-quality customer friends initiatives that makes travelling easier for pet owners. It besides allows nan hose to guidelines retired successful nan fiercely competitory Australian home market, wherever galore passengers are seeking airlines that tin connection benefits and springiness them flexibility.

Cooperation pinch Veterinarians, Authorities and Partners astatine nan Airport:

Virgin Australia has been collaborating pinch veterinarians, regulators and airdrome partners to guarantee its caller pet-friendly flights adhere to safety, wellness and comfortableness standards. The airline’s extremity is to safely carrier pets while gathering immoderate typical needs aliases concerns specified arsenic allergies aliases information of nan traveler.

Working pinch veterinarians and regulatory agencies, nan hose will thief group caller standards for pet information and effectiveness during nan flight, including standards to reside pet allergies amongst passengers. Airport partners besides will beryllium progressive to facilitate cheque successful of pets astatine nan airdrome and supply safe pet handling astatine nan airdrome anterior to and aft touch down.

What’s Next for Virgin Australia’s Pet-Passenger Friendly Service?

As nan proceedings unfolds Virgin Australia will reappraisal nan feedback from passengers and make immoderate basal refinements to heighten nan service. The airline’s nonsubjective is to get nan pet-friendly flights programme crossed Australia, truthful arsenic to make it moreover easier for pet owners to recreation pinch their pets successful nan compartment without compromising nan product’s precocious standards of information and comfortableness for each passengers.

Virgin Australia’s marque caller pet-friendly home flights are group to revolutionise nan measurement Australians alert pinch their pets, by offering a work from nan cheque successful antagonistic to nan compartment that pet-owners person agelong desired. As nan guidelines of nan airline, really it is implemented is apt to go nan caller modular successful Australia, yet influencing what different airlines do.