Cabin, hold or manifest cargo: how your pet will actually fly

"Can my dog fly with me?" has a precise answer, and it is usually not the one owners hope for. Whether a pet travels in the cabin, in the hold as accompanied baggage, or as manifest cargo is decided by four hard constraints: weight, breed, destination rules and season. Here is how each mode works, what the major EU carriers actually allow, and why the "worst" option is often the professionally correct one.

The three modes, defined

Cabin. Your pet travels at your feet in an approved soft carrier. The EU flag-carrier standard is strict: Lufthansa, KLM and Air France all cap cabin pets at 8 kg including the carrier. That covers cats, small dogs and not much else.

Hold (accompanied baggage). Your pet flies in the temperature-controlled, pressurised hold of your own flight, in a rigid crate, checked in by you. The same three carriers accept hold pets up to roughly 75 kg combined with the crate; above that, it is air cargo territory.

Manifest cargo. Your pet flies on an air waybill, handled by cargo staff and often a specialist agent, on your flight or another. It sounds cold and is frequently the most professional path: cargo animals move through climate-managed facilities with trained handling, and some countries accept pets no other way. The United Arab Emirates is the canonical example: all dogs and cats must enter as manifest cargo (no cabin, no checked baggage), with a MOCCAE import permit arranged before travel.

The breed wall: snub-nosed and strong breeds

Two breed lists override everything above.

Brachycephalic (snub-nosed) breeds (French Bulldogs, Pugs, Persian cats and their relatives) are banned from the hold by Lufthansa, KLM and Air France alike, Lufthansa since 1 January 2020, because short airways handle heat and stress poorly at altitude. They remain cabin-eligible if they fit under the 8 kg cap; larger snub-nosed dogs need ground transport or specialist cargo solutions with veterinary sign-off. Our breed guide flags every snub-nosed breed and what it means for their travel options.

Strong breeds on the IATA CR-82 list (American Bully, Pit Bull types, Cane Corso, Dogo Argentino, Presa Canario, Tosa and mixes) must fly in reinforced CR-82 crates, which are heavier, pricier and not stocked everywhere. This is an IATA Live Animals Regulations requirement airlines apply on top of their own rules, and some countries ban these breeds outright: Germany prohibits pit bull imports, and France refuses Category 1 dogs.

The crate is a regulation, not an accessory

Whatever the mode, the container is codified. The IATA baseline for dogs and cats (container requirement CR-1) demands rigid materials, ventilation on multiple sides, and a size in which the animal can stand naturally, turn around and lie down. Airlines measure; a crate one size too small is a denied boarding, not a discount. Crates are also a real cost line (roughly USD 100 to 600+ before custom builds), which is one reason quotes vary with the pet's dimensions, not just the route.

Season decides too: embargo windows

Airlines refuse animal carriage when tarmac conditions are dangerous, and the windows are wide. Among US carriers, Delta refuses cargo pets above 80 F or below 20 F, American above 85 F or below 20 F, and both operate blanket summer bans (May 1 to September 30) to and from Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas and Palm Springs; for snub-nosed breeds the heat cut-offs are often lowered to around 75 F. Northern winters mirror this with cold embargoes roughly November to February. If your move touches the US in July, routing and timing are not details, they are the plan. (Context that keeps the fear honest: across 161,335 animals flown by US carriers in 2024, 13 incidents were reported, 0.81 per 10,000, and embargo rules like these are a large part of why the number is that low.)

How to choose (or rather, how the choice is made)

Run the constraints in order: Is the destination cargo-only (UAE)? Is the pet over 8 kg with carrier (no cabin)? Is the breed brachycephalic (no hold) or CR-82-listed (reinforced crate)? Does the season put an embargo on the route? What remains is your real option set, and it is often exactly one mode. This is literally what Pawport's quote engine computes: the pet profile (weight, breed, crate size) plus route plus dates produce only journeys your pet is eligible and safe to make, priced. Build the profile and see your options, or check what your route requires first with the free precheck.