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…
In this post:
BARK Air offers “private jet” flights for dogs
BARK Air is a new public charter operator, intended specifically for humans who are looking to travel with their dogs. The company isn’t a direct air carrier and doesn’t operate its own aircraft. Instead, the company sells tickets on shared flights, which are then operated by a third party.
Currently, BARK Air is operating flights from New York to both Los Angeles and London. In reality, the flights operate to Westchester County Airport (HPN) near New York, Van Nuys Airport (VNY) near Los Angeles, and Biggin Hill Airport (BQH) near London. BARK Air flights are operated by Gulfstream G500s.
While the plane can ordinarily seat up to 15 people, BARK Air only sells seats for up to 10 humans, each of which can travel with their dog. The way the airline markets it, the tickets are for dogs, and they’re allowed to bring along their preferred human. Hah. All sizes and breeds of dogs are allowed, though humans have to be at least 18 years old.
What I find so adorable about this concept is that this isn’t just about solving the need of people traveling with their dogs, but the company is super cute with the product that it offers. Seriously, how great does this sound?
The cabin will be prepped with calming aids such as: pheromone, music, warm lavender scented refreshment towels, and other comforts to help each dog feel settled. Our concierge will also have a ‘just in case’ bag filled with calming treats, leashes, poop bags, and more will be provided at the gate. Once onboard, dogs will be served their beverage of choice (water, bone broth, you name it), during ascent and descent to ensure they do not experience any ear discomfort commonly caused by the change in cabin pressure. In addition, a variety of BARK-branded treats, snacks, and surprises will be served throughout the flight experience.
I also love the carrier’s FAQs, like this question about what makes BARK Air different than other dog-friendly airlines:
I’m sorry, what other dog-friendly airlines? Seriously, I hope you’ve never been on a regular airline, but let me just say, they put you in a duffle bag and shove you under a seat. We’re members of the family and that’s how they treat us? You don’t see them shoving humans under seats, even though there are a few who I think deserve it. Yes, I’m talking to you, doorbell inventor.
Yes, there are a couple of “dog-tolerant” airlines, which is a good first step, but even those are definitely not dog-friendly. BARK Air was designed from the ground up for us! No other airline lets dogs be dogs. Now, back to thinking about which humans to shove under seats…oh, maybe the firework guy.
Below you can see a video interview with the company’s CEO.
And below you can see a TikTok video of what the first BARK Air flight was like.
BARK Air’s fares are expensive but fair
So, how much does BARK Air charge for tickets? Obviously it’s very expensive, since we’re talking about operating a Gulfstream with at most 10 passengers.
Based on the current schedule filing, the company is flying once every week between New York and Los Angeles, and the fare is $6,000 one-way.
Meanwhile the company is flying once every two weeks between New York and London, and the fare is $8,000 one-way.
At least the fares include a lot, and BARK Air even offers complimentary chauffeur service. It’s also impressive that the New York to Los Angeles route already seems to be sold out for some weeks.
It goes without saying that this is pricey, so this isn’t for your average person looking for a getaway with their dog. At the same time, given the cost of operating a Gulfstream on a flight of this length, the pricing is as reasonable as it could be. If every seat is sold, BARK Air would get $60K of revenue on a New York to Los Angeles flight, or $80K of revenue on a New York to London flight. That’s roughly what you’d expect the charter cost to be for a Gulfstream G5.
We need more innovation with pet travel
So many startups don’t actually bring anything unique to the table, and don’t solve any problems that exist. BARK Air deserves credit for actually addressing a gap in the market — how to travel with pets in a safe way.
In the United States, the reality is that there are a few ways you can travel by air with your pet:
- If you have a small dog, you can travel with them in the cabin, in a carrier; that’s a perfectly good solution
- If you have a bigger dog than that, the only way to travel with them is to have them in a crate in the cargo hold; I don’t want to say that’s cruel, but it’s really sad how often things go wrong, and that says nothing of the anxiety dogs experience
- The “loophole” for traveling with bigger dogs in the cabin is that some people will designate them as psychiatric support animals, allowing them to fly in the cabin at no cost
So much attention regarding traveling with pets is about how people use the psychiatric support animal loophole, or about how some people just can’t be without their dogs, even for a weekend trip.
To me, this completely misses the point. Despite a majority of American households having pets, airlines have done almost nothing to innovate and make it possible to travel in a safe and semi-comfortable way with a larger pet.
There are all kinds of legitimate situations where you need to travel with a pet, whether you’re moving permanently, whether you have a family emergency and need to relocate somewhere for an extended period of time, etc.
So I commend BARK Air for addressing a need that exists, and I hope the company succeeds. I hope this inspires the major airlines to come up with something that’s less cruel for transporting pets (though I’m not holding my breath).
To be clear, I’m not saying that an unlimited number of dogs of all sizes should be allowed in the cabins of commercial aircraft at no cost. But how about letting people buy several extra seats, and then having crates in which they can travel in the cabin next to their owner.
It says a lot about the demand in the market that Gulfstreams are booking out weeks in advance to carry dogs between coasts.
Bottom line
BARK Air is a new company offering Gulfstream flights from New York to both Los Angeles and London. The company is going specifically after people looking to travel with their dogs, given the lack of options that otherwise exist.
This is a great first step to address the demand for pet travel, though hopefully we see this expanded in the future, in a way that’s affordable for more people.
What do you make of BARK Air?
Weimar-style degeneracy. In 2024.
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...
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.
I actually thought this was an April fools, then remembered we are long past April...
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?
Yes, Please!
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...
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’
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.
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.
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...
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?
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 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.
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...
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 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 have a better idea. Fly to LAX on American and then buy a new dog when you get there.
you seems to suggest dogs are like bags that can be discarded and bought as a commodity.
Spoken like someone who doesn't love a dog.
Maybe I’m from South Dakota.
"Maybe I’m from South Dakota."
LOL, took a second, but funny.
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.
Please review with Winston!
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.
Airline for pets? What about planet? Oh, I forgot it's not a rich people problem.
Special charter to COP 29 already arranged, I’m sure.
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.
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...
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.
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 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...
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.
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.
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...
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"
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.
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...
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.
This is end-of-empire stuff, truly depraved decadence.
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).
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...
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.
Sir, This is a Wendy’s.
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...
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.
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...
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.
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
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...
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.