The United States’ newest airline startup is kind of a brilliant idea that addresses a real need that exists. However, a ticket comes at a hefty price tag…
Continue reading: BARK Air: The First Airline For Dogs, Flying Gulfstreams
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
This is not the first dog airline.
The airfares might be too low for a business case. It would require that the plane be nearly full to break even.
Agree that this is not the first airline catering to dogs, though good to have another service enter this space. My wife and I moved with our two dogs (a French bulldog and a goldendoodle) from the U.S. to Europe earlier this year and used a service called K9 Jets, which looks similar to the Bark Air service. We had a great experience with K9 Jets.
Definitely a unique experience for both human and their pet. Hey, if you're at a point in life where a little luxury is expected this a fabulous way to enjoy it!
It baffles me that people will pay this much for dogs to travel, when so many human beings are starving, suffering, dying, etc all around us. Wouldn't the money be better spent to support the homeless, the hungry, the displaced? I understand that dog ownership has become a fashionable thing (I have a number friends who have adopted dogs to keep up with the joneses), but I'm genuinely asking whether it's wrong to spend this much time, money and effort to cater to dogs when our fellow humans are suffering so much. I'd appreciate any insight from others.
A number of expats use these to bring their dogs to the UK. The other alternative is to fly to CDG and get a car service from there to London. I think you can’t put dogs in the hold on flights to UK is the reason.
I was on a flight from LAX to DCA yesterday and the woman sitting next to me in first class had her dog with her. I'm a massive dog lover so we chatted a lot about the difficulties of trying to travel with dogs and how there has to be a better solution, and then this article comes up, so clearly we were on to something. We were thinking something bigger scale like renting the A321 we were on once a week or month, whatever the demand is, to take a big group of humans and their dogs to Europe or wherever they need to go overseas. This isn't a decadence issue, people move to different countries for any number of reasons and they have to get their dogs there, and the current systems in place are SO inhumane. The cost isn't cheap but if you're moving then it's likely a one-time expense so you'll be willing to pay it (more in the $2,000 range is what we talked about, the $6,000 for the BarkAir is a little steep), and often if you're moving it's for a job and your employer may be paying the bill anyways.
In my specific case my husband and I wanted to move to Europe about a decade ago but we had a rescue Lab who was the absolute best dog ever but because of a bad puppyhood before we rescued him he was terrified of everything and we knew his nerves would never handle flying cargo overseas, so we passed up incredible job/lifestyle opportunities because the dog couldn't fly and we would have never in a million years considered giving him away so we could move without him.
There is absolutely a need for this out there and I don't think BarkAir is going to quite take care of that need, but it's getting closer, and I think eventually we'll get it to the sweet spot to make this feasible.
Adorable concept! I wish they could fly more TATL destinations.
I wonder btw if pets get a special treatment in La Première! If not, they should work on it!
I’m moving from CA to KS in about 10 days and flying with my 2 1/2 year old Chihuahua. He’s well adjusted, quiet, and potty trained in all normal circumstances and I’ve traveled with him a lot on ground transportation. I’m still mortified that he’s going to flip out at the airport and cause a ruckus. Since I am getting paid to relocate I’d gladly pay for BARK air if it was an option. Not something I’d do every other week or so, but for a one-time expense it would be worth it if I could.
Airline for pets? What about planet? Oh, I forgot it's not a rich people problem.
45% of US households own a dog, which is up dramatically in recent years. The market will find a way for better transportation with pets. I would be surprised if within 10 years, the major airlines aren't offering certain flights that are designated as pet friendly.
It baffles me that people will pay this much for people to travel in business and first class, when so many human beings are starving, suffering, dying, etc all around us. Wouldn't the money be better spent to support the homeless, the hungry, the displaced? I understand that flying in premium cabins has become a fashionable thing (I have a number friends who have flown in business and/or first class to keep up with the joneses), but I'm genuinely asking whether it's wrong to spend this much time, money and effort to cater to people when our fellow humans are suffering so much. I'd appreciate any insight from others.
Not really - private jet small group travel (even without the dogs) would be costly. This is actually very reasonably priced for what they offer. Granted it is for a select crowd but there are plenty of those people (especially in the greater NYC and LA areas).
Ben, it's worth noting that JSX has a pretty generous pet policy for in-cabin animals covering large dogs. While they don't fly a ton of routes it is worth mentioning, especially for domestic travel.
The issue with the NYC - London flight on Bark Air is that the UK has incredibly strict rules on brining pets in from abroad. I could see BarkAir eventually renting larger aircraft, such as the A321neo and use that to fly from North America to Europe. Perhaps offer a NYC-London-Paris routing, or something. Operating larger aircraft would help with lowering the costs of each individual ticket. With an A321neo, they could probably get it to around $2K or less.
No one is stopping you from paring bask your expenses and helping the poor. Until you do so, don't complain how others spend their money
Exactly, it's definitely key to try to avoid London to make it easier on everyone, but Paris or Brussels is centrally located enough that you could fly there and from there the humans can get their dogs to their final destination city by local means. Just getting them to the continent is 99% of the battle.
My seatmate and I talked about the idea and how it could work and then we laughed and said "okay, now we just need someone to actually do it, we're just the thinkers"
I've asked similar questions in connection to some over the top first class products. The response is usually about the need for comfort before meetings and so on. There's some kind of justification at least (not that I'm saying that I fully agree). But flying dogs on what's basically a private jet is a bit harder to justify, I think. I posted my comment to see if there's a point I may be missing. The comments that describe the difficulty of transporting animals and the need for cheaper and more humans options make far more sense.
I have a better idea. Fly to LAX on American and then buy a new dog when you get there.
I want to comment about the comment in the article about the lack of innovation legacy or "human" airlines have for pets. Keep in mind that you are writing this as an American. At least there are options, even if not desirable, for bringing your pet. In many other countries and regions there are no solutions for train or air travel.
I’ve not yet flown Bark Air, but I’ve flown their competitor K9 Jets. It is a lovely service. I spend the summer months in France, so leaving my dog in the states that long isn’t an option. As for the price, it’s not that much more than flying Air France La Premiere from LAX to CDG. However, Air France won’t allow dogs in their first class cabin, they force dog owners to sit in one of the economy classes. It’s the same with Delta. They also require that the dog stays in their carrier, under the seat, for the entire flight (on international flights). So, one is left with no realistic option but to use these specialty air carriers. If the main line air carriers would loosen their polices and allow dogs in their premium cabins, people would choose them. But until they do, you can lay the global warming blame at their feet. By making their services less and less appealing they force people into private jets.
I think people need to separate travel from relocating. There are services that do pet transport and many documents and vaccinations needed if you are relocating overseas.
Who funds this crap? Like. Airlines are already a fairly crap business. Throw in the dog niche, why would it suddenly get better? Come on. Also like - I don't get who works on these sorts of businesses. The CEO surely can't be completely dense to have gotten so far. Go spend your time on something more valuable. Insanity.
The pet industry in the US is around $150 BILLION annually, and continuing to grow rapidly, pets aren't some niche. Just because you don't understand something doesn't make it dumb, it just means you probably are.
you seems to suggest dogs are like bags that can be discarded and bought as a commodity.
This seems pretty extreme. Airlines should really let you buy an extra seat or two and bring your dog on normal flights. Maybe they could force you to sit in the last few rows or limit it to a few less desirable flights. But not having any product between getting a bogus psychiatric certificate and paying $6000 for one of these flights is insane.
It baffles me people think like AOH. You are commenting on a blog dedicated to flying. Flying itself, even without dogs would be against humanity in 99% of cases. Nobody has a "need" to vacation in Europe. Heck, owning pets itself is against humanity if you think it for a second too long. Why spend money on an animal if you could spend it on saving homeless?
No. We do not think or work this way. We do things that make us happy. To each, their own. Pet cloning services are 50k. People pay it.
AOH, you have a problem with the way the world works, not with an airline.
lol. In what way is the $150bn pet "industry" is relevant to the market size potential for a private gulfstream for pets? Honestly the $150bn seemed surprisingly small to me, but you're right that's the APPA figure. Guess what - $64bn on food; $32bn on medication; $38bn on vets; $12bn on services like walking, grooming etc. So maybe this could one day be some _tiny_ fraction of the $12bn? aka - not a viable airline business. Even JSX isn't profitable. Why would this ever be?
Or, you don't know that commercial aviation counts for less than 3% of global emissions and dropping, but you let media hype you up into a frenzy over a target industry, resulting in laughable commentary like: that.
One has always been of the opinion that there is no such thing as a stupid question …. only stupid answers!
Upon reading many of the comments to this article, my opinion has been confirmed.
Thank you.
Ben’s level of support for this concept proves how completely out of touch with the reality of most people’s lives he is becoming as OMAAT gets more successful, sadly. I mean to be fair, this is only mildly more crazy than the Beond Airline which is also flying, but I’ll take a bet from anyone that neither exists in five years. Late stage capitalism indeed.
P.S., they are missing a trick by not branding the dog seats as ‘Barkaloungers’
Being a UK based owner of an internationally traveled dog, one welcomes this service.
Since the Brussels based public purse parasites threw their teddy bear out of the pram over Brexit, it has been a real pain travelling to the EU with our dog.
It is actually far less stressful for us to travel to the USA with friend than say France.
However, it has cost us a considerable amount each time we have flown private.
Trust me, $8000 one way for handler plus dog is a real bargain …. we are now checking out Bark Air and commercial F.
Not as barking as you think, from someone involved in pet travel in private jets for over 15 years. The only downside of this offering is passenger privacy. Even our 4 legged friends don't like to share space with unknowns...
After reading the article (thank you) and checking out the BARK website, we are now considering a London to New York (not the real one in England, the USA version:-) trip in the autumn.
Would anyone be interested in learning how we found the experience?
I actually thought this was an April fools, then remembered we are long past April...
Yes, you're absolutely right, this product for pets is not at all relevant to the $150 billion dollar annual market for product for pets, how could I have made such a mistake?
I seriously considered Bark Air for an international relocation because it's far less stressful for them to have less travel time and not be pulled out of their carriers for security. They weren't flying yet at the time and their destinations are super limited. But when you consider the options, I'm all for it, especially if your animal is older or in declining health. And, yes, I recognize not everyone can afford it, but that's true of pretty much everything Ben talks about.
While there are a few people who want to take their pets everywhere and a few abuse the system, most of us only take our pets when we have to - for a relocation. Dogs may love a weeklong car trip across the country. Cats not so much.
For most of the people - a dog is a member of a family not a fashionable accessory. If you need to relocate over the Atlantic, you won't leave a member of your family behind.
And, yes - frankly speaking - to me, the well-being of my dog (or any member of my family for that sake) is more important than helping the homeless, hungry or displaced.