World's first-ever airlines for dogs: 'Bark Air'

In a time of desperate need for dog-owners who’d had to pack their dogs up in dog kennels, travel bags or crates and ship them up into the cargo hold, comes BARK Air, a flight designed to specifically aid in bringing dogs across borders.

BARK, a dog toy company, has brought this luxury airline about by partnering with a jet charter service.

Introducing Bark Air: A Luxury Airline Experience Designed Exclusively for Dogs

On Thursday, @barkair on Instagram celebrated their first flight. The post, amassing around 8k likes, began its caption with: “Right now, at an altitude of 30,000 feet, there is a flight filled with dogs.”

“These dogs are not merely an afterthought, nor are they treated as cargo or a burden to the crew and fellow travellers. Here, dogs are the foremost priority. Every single detail of this flight experience has been crafted with a 'dogs-first' mindset. It has taken 10 years, but we are finally confident that we can provide all dogs with the air travel experience they deserve: one that puts them first,” the company’s post on Instagram announced.

What do these ‘dog-first’ and ‘dog-centric’ details include? For starters, the actual ticket is in the name of the dog that includes minimum one human passenger to accompany their dog.

According to BARK’s official website, after the flight is booked, a BARK Air concierge contacts each dog and their human’s to understand and ensure the finest experience.

Prior to boarding, another BARK Air concierge will welcome and settle the dogs into what can possibly be a very daunting experience for the dogs. This includes a ‘Dogs Fly First’ flight prep plan that constitutes of pheromones, music and colours that ‘pups prefer.’

They are equipped with noise cancelling earphones and calming jackets, as well, fully prepared for anything that the dogs might need and paying careful attention to anything that might change with the situation.  

There are ten human seats available on the plane. The dogs, if they are particularly well-behaved, apparently get to move around and leave their seats. The entire experience is sufficiently loaded with enough dog-snacks and beverages to last the journey and one pet influencer, @herboozytails on Instagram was apparently able to get her dog to sit silently in the cockpit— between the pilots. She had been told, initially, that the experience would be quite like a dog park in the air and had been wary but it had overall been a very pleasing time.

The airlines also offers a goodies set, including a passport for dogs that can be stamped upon arrival.

According to @herboozytails post, the airlines have a trained veterinarian on every flight to help care for the dogs. They’re trained in first aid and CPR across all breeds in terms of emergency.

The cost of the flight bounces up to $6000 per dog, including one human and has gone up to $8000 between New York and London. Her experience with the airlines had been very positive, and she’d given a nod to their hospitality, citing their attentiveness to her pup’s needs and the complimentary car service pre-booked. 

The first post on their Instagram account dates back to April 10, and as of now, they are 111k followers.

Currently, the flight operates between Los Angeles, New York and London and has plans to add Paris soon. The cost of travel with BARK Air seems to be too expensive for the average dog owners, but as is apparent, there do intend to introduce and create safer and more more affordable options for wider use.

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