Pet travel FAQ
What families need to know about personally escorted pet travel, flying with pets, private ground transportation, international requirements, planning and pricing.
Find your answer
Choose a topic below or browse the full page. Every journey is route and pet-specific, but these answers explain how Cabin Companions works.
Choosing Cabin Companions
Cabin Companions provides premium, personally managed pet transportation and travel planning. We can travel with your pet when you cannot, fly alongside you and your pet, provide private door-to-door ground transportation, or build a professional Pet Travel Plan for a journey you will manage yourself.
Our combined backgrounds in pet travel, animal sheltering, veterinary medicine, animal welfare and complex travel logistics are unmatched in the pet-transportation marketplace. That experience shapes every decision we make for your pet. We also do not assign journeys to marketplace workers or pass pets between unrelated transporters. One or more known Cabin Companions professionals take responsibility from the agreed pickup through reunion, with direct communication, experienced contingency management, no gig workers or routine handoffs, and service dedicated to one family at a time.
Your journey is personally managed by members of our experienced team—Gabe, Monica and/or Natascha. Depending on the number of pets and what is right for the journey, one, two or all three of us may travel. You will know exactly who is responsible for your pets and have direct access to the team throughout travel.
Our team’s combined professional background in pet travel, animal sheltering and cat-welfare, veterinary medicine and animal welfare is unmatched in the pet-transportation marketplace. Monica brings 30 years in animal sheltering and nationally recognized cat-welfare expertise. Natascha is a veterinary technician with extensive hands-on animal-care experience. Gabe is a pet travel expert who has traveled more than 200,000 miles with pets. Every member of our team has worked in animal sheltering. We are also USDA registered, Red Cross pet first-aid certified and supported by 24/7 veterinary access during journeys.
Yes. Cabin Companions is a USDA-Registered Animal Transporter and carries $1.5 million in insurance coverage. “Registered” is the accurate federal designation; it does not mean USDA endorses any private company.
We manage journeys throughout the continental United States and on selected international routes. Service is not limited to the cities or countries already featured on our website. We evaluate every destination and route individually. We decline journeys when legal, airline, climate, quarantine, arrival, or security conditions would prevent us from safely caring for the pet or upholding our standards.
Services
Yes. With We Fly With Your Pet, a Cabin Companions professional takes personal responsibility for the journey and reunites your pet with you or your designated recipient at the destination.
Yes. With We Fly With You, we travel alongside your family, help manage the airport and TSA process, advocate with airline staff, monitor your pet and handle the details that make a complicated trip safer and calmer.
Yes. Our private ground journeys are door-to-door and dedicated to one family. They can be an excellent option for large dogs, pets who cannot fly comfortably, multi-pet families and routes where driving provides better conditions.
Pet Travel Planning is a $750 professional consulting service. We build a route-specific plan covering requirements, timing, airlines, carriers, documents and foreseeable risks, then give you the information needed to manage the journey yourself.
Often, yes. The best structure depends on the number and size of pets, airline limits, route and whether family members can travel. Some journeys require multiple escorts or a private ground plan. Tell us about every pet so we can design an honest option.
No. Cabin Companions does not coordinate international cargo shipments. Our specialty is personally escorted in-cabin travel, owner-accompanied support, private ground transportation and professional planning. If cargo is the only lawful or workable option, we will be candid that our transportation service is not the right fit and may share names of specialized cargo shippers where appropriate.
Use our service comparison or submit the Start Your Journey form. The intake asks about your route, pet, timing and desired level of support, then directs you toward the most relevant option.
Air travel
Many cats and small dogs can travel in an airline-approved soft-sided carrier beneath the seat, but eligibility depends on the pet’s measurements, carrier, route, airline and aircraft. Airline weight rules vary, and physical fit matters more than a number alone. We assess the actual journey before recommending in-cabin travel.
Airlines generally require pets to remain fully inside the closed carrier in the airport and throughout the flight, except when TSA screening requires removal. We use secure, thoughtfully prepared carriers and do not open them casually in public spaces.
The carrier is screened separately while the pet is carried or walked through the detector. When available, we request a private screening room so doors can be closed before the carrier opens. We also use appropriate harnesses, leashes and carrier security as additional safeguards.
Yes. We build the plan around the individual animal using carrier preparation, covers, familiar bedding, calm handling, quiet spaces and veterinarian-directed medication when appropriate. Anxiety does not automatically prevent travel, but severe distress or unsafe medical circumstances may change our recommendation.
Yes, when medication has been prescribed and clearly directed by the pet’s veterinarian. We can administer oral and topical medications as well as injections, including medications required for conditions such as diabetes or seizure disorders, when they can be managed safely during the journey. We do not diagnose, prescribe or improvise dosages.
Your escort remains responsible for your pet and adjusts the plan in real time. That may include rebooking, finding a quiet relief or feeding space, arranging an overnight stay or changing the onward route. This experienced judgment is a central part of the service—not an add-on after something goes wrong.
Yes. Families receive direct photo and text updates at meaningful points in the journey, along with AirTag tracking when appropriate. You communicate with the person physically traveling with your pet, not a dispatch center.
No routine handoffs. The same Cabin Companions escort manages the journey from the agreed pickup through reunion. If an extraordinary event ever made a change necessary, it would be discussed transparently rather than arranged behind the scenes.
International pet travel
Yes. We manage selected international escorted journeys and provide owner-accompanied support and professional planning. Our team has personally traveled with pets across borders in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and has helped families prepare for additional countries. Learn more about international pet travel.
Yes. We do not accept every destination or route simply because travel is technically possible. We decline journeys when legal restrictions, airline limitations, extreme weather, quarantine requirements, arrival procedures, security conditions, or risks to our team would prevent us from providing a safe, humane journey and upholding our standards of care. Every itinerary is evaluated individually before we agree to travel.
Requirements may include a compliant microchip, rabies and other vaccinations, a veterinary health certificate, USDA endorsement, import permits, parasite treatment, rabies titer testing or destination-specific declarations. The exact sequence and timing matter. Requirements vary by origin, destination, species and whether the movement is legally commercial or non-commercial.
Yes. For journeys we manage, we coordinate timing and requirements with the family and their veterinarian and help keep the process on track. The veterinarian issues the health certificate and USDA APHIS provides endorsement when required; Cabin Companions does not act as the issuing government or veterinarian.
As early as possible—ideally several months ahead. Some destinations require a strict sequence of microchipping, vaccination, titer testing, waiting periods, permits or government appointments. We can sometimes manage urgent travel, but legal waiting periods cannot be shortened.
Ordinary pets arriving by plane into Great Britain (England, Scotland, or Wales) generally must travel as cargo on an approved route; recognized assistance dogs and certain private-charter flights are exceptions. Government entry requirements and airline acceptance are separate, so the airline must also agree to carry the pet. Some families instead enter through an approved European airport where the airline permits in-cabin travel, then continue to Great Britain by an approved ferry or rail route. Northern Ireland has separate guidance.
Depending on the pet, airline and route, we may be able to transport the pet as accompanied excess baggage: we check the pet in ourselves, travel on the same flight and personally manage the arrival and reunion. Private ground transportation may also be the better choice for some routes. Cabin Companions does not coordinate manifest or commercial cargo shipments.
No responsible company can guarantee a decision controlled by an airline, veterinarian or government authority. We reduce risk through careful planning, documentation review, route selection and experienced advocacy, but final acceptance remains with those authorities.
Private ground transportation
Ground travel is often appropriate for dogs too large for the aircraft cabin, pets with medical or behavioral needs, multi-pet families, routes affected by weather restrictions and animals for whom flying would create unnecessary stress.
Yes. We do not build multi-family routes or load unrelated animals into the same vehicle. The trip is planned around one family’s pets, needs and destination.
Often, yes. We evaluate the animal’s health, mobility, behavior, handling needs and route before accepting the journey. Private travel gives us flexibility, but we will not accept circumstances that cannot be managed safely for the pet or escort.
Yes, within practical and safe access limits. We pick up at the agreed location and reunite the pet with the designated person at destination, avoiding terminal handoffs and shared transport depots.
The itinerary includes pet-appropriate relief, exercise, feeding and medication schedules. Overnight accommodations are selected with the pet’s security and comfort in mind. Families receive direct updates and AirTag tracking when appropriate.
Pricing and getting started
No two routes require exactly the same airfare, time, preparation or care. These starting points help families understand the level of service before beginning an inquiry.
What the price includes: Clients are paying for far more than airfare and travel hours. The fee reflects route design, preparation, direct personal care, experienced decision-making, contingency management, communication, insurance and a team that has already navigated complex pet journeys across the country and around the world.
One-pet domestic journeys generally start at $2,995. Final pricing depends on pickup and delivery locations, airfare, schedule, total travel time, pet needs and route complexity.
Single-pet international escorted journeys to destinations such as Europe and Mexico typically start at $6,500. The final proposal reflects the actual route, airfare, documentation demands, timing, overnight needs and level of care. Multi-pet journeys are priced individually.
Dedicated private ground journeys generally start at $5,500. Mileage, number of travel days, overnight stays, pickup and delivery access, pet needs and route conditions determine the final price.
Pet Travel Planning is $750. It is a professional service for families who will manage the journey themselves but want a tailored plan, research and experienced guidance before they book or travel.
Transportation journeys generally require a 50% deposit to reserve the work, with the remaining 50% due on the day of travel. We accept all major credit cards, PayPal, Venmo and bank transfers. Your proposal and agreement will state the exact payment schedule and any route-specific terms.
Sometimes. Domestic journeys may occasionally be arranged within 24–72 hours when an escort, safe route and airline or ground option are available. International timing is constrained by government and veterinary requirements. Urgency can increase the cost because of last-minute airfare, staffing and logistics.
Gabe, Monica or Natascha personally reviews the route, pet, timing and requested service. We usually respond within 24 hours with the most appropriate next step, which may be clarification, a consultation, a proposal or a candid explanation that another type of provider would be a better fit.
Your journey is personal
Every pet journey is different. Tell us what your family is facing, and our team will personally review the details and help you determine the right next step.
Cabin Companions Pet Travel is a registered DBA of KITTYHAWK AND CO LLC.
Detroit, Michigan · travel@cabincompanions.com · (313) 228-6766