American Airlines eases its policy for pet owners

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

Since pet owners were previously allowed to fly with only one additional small personal item despite paying the $150 fee, the policy was deemed unfair by flyers.

American Airlines has decided to relax its pet policy, providing cost relief to owners.

As part of its revised policy, pet owners will now be able to bring their furry companion along with a full-size carry-on bag into the cabin.

Prior to this change, passengers flying with a pet could only have one small item that could fit under the seat for a pet fee of $150.

At the time, flyers could either get one bigger carry-on bag with wheels checked for a $35 fee or put their pet in the cargo hold, per a media.

American Airlines policy change provides relief to pet owners

Since pet owners were previously allowed to fly with only one additional small personal item despite paying the $150 fee, the policy was deemed unfair by flyers. The new policy comes as a relief to American Airlines passengers flying with their pets as their flight would be more cost-effective.

Gary Leff, a travel blogger who first wrote about the change, recalled travelling years ago with a Yorkshire terrier on Friday. “It was always frustrating that the dog counted as the carry-on even though I was paying the extra (pet) fee that was sometimes more than the ticket for me,” he said, per the outlet.

Leff added that this new change would avoid passengers’ urge to falsely label their pets as service animals to avoid paying the fee.

An American Airlines spokeswoman told the outlet about the effect change on Thursday, “We made the change to provide a more convenient and comfortable experience to customers whose pets fly American.”

The policy revision comes shortly after the airlines announced the increased costs of checking bags.

The revised price of checking a bag into an American Airlines domestic flight is $35 for online mode, up from the previous $30.

Should flyers choose to get their luggage checked at the airport in person, they would have to pay $40.

Meanwhile, for a second checked bag, either online or offline, flyers must pay $45, which was previously $40.

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