If you thought the recent luggage fees, additional fuel surcharges, and add-ons for food and drinks were all that you had to contend with when traveling at 35,000 feet, think again. If you are looking to take Fido or Fifi along on your cross-country journey plan to dig deep.
A number of airlines are making two-legged passengers pay more to tote their four-legged friends on planes. For example, JetBlue just raised its one-way pet fee for in-cabin travel from $75 to $100. However, it’s trying to temper the move by also throwing in some incentives for pet owners. According to airline execs, when a passenger flies with a pet and is a member of JetBlue’s frequent flyer program, they earn double True Blue points. So in essence, according to the airline, Shaggy and Rufus can help their owners earn free trips faster by boosting the number of miles in their frequent flyer account.
Another airline offering a similar deal is Continental. The carrier’s OnePass Frequent Flyer Program allows pets that travel “Cargo Class” to booster their owner’s mileage account toward free award trips by earning an additional OnePass mile for every dollar spent on pet travel.
For the record, JetBlue isn’t the only domestic carrier increasing pet fees. American, Delta, Continental and US Airways are also charging $100 for one-way cabin pet travel. American has even hiked its “cargo class” charges to $150 — that’s a whopping $50 increase.
United used to charge $85 for a one-way ticket to travel in the cabin. The airline bumped up the fee to $100 in May, and another increase is on the way. Effective August 18th, the new in-cabin charge will be $125 for a one-way pet fare. Pets traveling cargo class will also be subject to the same increase. But the stiffest fee is being reserved for large pets traveling as checked baggage in extra large kennels. Pet owners going that route will be charged $500 for their animal’s round trip ticket.
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