Traveling with pets has always been a big problem, and almost any airline or third-party agency can't say that the pet shipping service is completely reassuring, and even if it is a formal process, keeping pets in boxes and boxes in the hold, which can last for hours, is undoubtedly a torment for both pets and owners sitting in the cabin.
From a global perspective, although some airlines are trying to bring pets into the cabin and spend the entire trip with their owners, it is still unrealistic to promote it on ordinary civil aviation flights on a large scale, at least for a long time in the future. But now there may be another solution, and in the United States, an airline dedicated to dogs is already in operation: BARK Air.
The official poster picture, the actual carrier is not actually this model
BARK Air has been designed with dogs in mind, and its service starts when the guest books the route: the BARK Air Concierge will proactively contact the owner to confirm travel plans and the dog's information. When boarding, the owner and dog only need to arrive at the airport 1 hour early to complete the formalities and security checks quickly. There will be a dedicated staff member to help the dog board the plane and accompany him to get used to the plane space.
BARK Air is operated by the Gulfstream V, which is a commonly used business jet, although it is not large, but because BARK Air only offers 10 tickets per flight (each ticket will have a human passenger quota attached to it - in the definition of BARK Air, the owner can only be regarded as a dog), so the space is still spacious enough (the official also emphasizes "never full").
One more thing: Gulfstream 5 is actually operated by BARK Air because it is a charter service operator, not a traditional airline, and it does not own any aircraft, which are owned and operated by other licensed airlines in the United States.
It can be understood that every flight is an official charter of a private jet by BARK Air. Calling itself an "airline" is just how BARK Air is branded and packaged. Explanatory information also appears in small print on BARK Air's promotional materials.
Once on board, there will be special music in the cabin, items such as lavender-scented towels, blankets, and even pet pheromones, which are designed to calm and relax the dogs. At the same time, BARK Air will prepare a bag called "just in case" for each owner, which includes a poop bag, leash, sedative snacks, etc., in short, everything that is expected to be used is ready.
During the critical stages of take-off and landing, the cabin attendants will prepare water or bone broth for the dogs to help them feel as little discomfort as possible (dogs also have problems such as ear discomfort due to changes in cabin pressure).
Although it looks like champagne, it's actually water or bone broth inside
At the same time, BARK Air's parent company, BARK itself started as a pet product and pet treat, and the relevant equipment will naturally not be less during the whole flight, which will be a sky paradise for dogs.
Watch the official video:
Background: Headquartered in New York, BARK was founded in December 2011 by Henrik Werdelin, Matt Meeker (also founder of the social platform Meetup) and Carly Strife.
The company was originally called "BarkBox", which offered a subscription service for pet supplies (for a monthly fee, users will get a gift box containing various pet supplies every month). Now BARK continues this service and adds pet health, pet food retail, and more.
It's worth mentioning that BARK still focuses on dogs as a pet category (the three founders are all dog lovers). According to the latest FY2024 results (the calendar year ended March 31 this year), BARK's full-year revenue was US$490 million, down 8.4% year-on-year, and the net loss was US$37 million, a 39.8% narrower loss than the previous fiscal year.
But as fantastic as it is, there are a lot of things that need to be met to board this "dog flight" (which also has to do with the way BARK Air operates).
For example, there are not many sites. Currently, BARK Air offers New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix (Phoenix) and Miami (but not Miami International Airport, but Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, code FXE – not Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport), as well as London and Paris, two cities outside the United States.
At the same time, the route and boarding time are also not stable, so you need to go to the "Book Flight" page on the official website to see if there is a destination you want to go to and whether the time is right. But from what we inquired, this is definitely not something that can be walked when you want to, but basically belongs to "what you can sit on", which is more suitable for "taking a plane" itself as the purpose of this trip.
As for the price, BARK Air US domestic flights are basically 6,000 US dollars (about 44,000 yuan, one ticket includes a dog and an owner), cross-border, London to New York is 8,000 US dollars, New York to Paris 8500 and 9500 US dollars.
Prices for U.S. domestic routes
London to New York
It's not cheap, but it's normal, after all, it's actually a charter flight. There are also some students in China who will play such mixed charter flights or shared rentals and share the cost together, but BARK Air also provides a complete set of services after all.
BARK Air says it will continue to expand its sites (three when it went live at the end of May this year, and now it has grown a lot in less than two months), and it expects more routes to choose from in the future. And will this bring some reference for related companies in our country? In fact, on the whole, if the ticket sales situation is good, it will still make money from the operator's point of view.
And this has given us more imagination, the pet economy itself is a major trend, which is the same around the world, especially for many families, "hairy children" are already one of the family members, and a professional and comfortable air journey should also become a family quite commemorative moment.
Dogs may not fully understand the beauty outside the window, but they want to be with you all the time