Real Stories

“I moved from Southern California to Massachusetts last year and flew with my rabbits with Alaska Airlines. I chose to fly because the drive would be 44 hrs not including stops/rest breaks, and my rabbit Sesame (gray) would not do well with such a long drive as she gets anxious on drives and will not eat. I was worried about her getting GI stasis. A 7 hour flight with a rest stop in between was more doable. They did well with Gabapentin that the vet prescribed.

I have a patient who is planning on moving to Brazil and is looking for options to bring his rabbit with him. Unfortunately there are no in cabin options that we could find, which means he might have to leave his rabbit behind vs risking the rabbit’s life in cargo. He should not have to make that decision. It makes no sense for airlines to not allow rabbits in cabin when they allow cats or dogs. Rabbits are quiet. Yes, people can have allergies but people also have allergies to cats and dogs. Rabbits are great pets and should not be discriminated against. Delta is allowing birds but not rabbits in cabin which does not make sense since rabbits are a more popular pet and quieter. Nothing against birds; they should keep that policy but I want them to add rabbits to their fly list as well.

It is sad to hear that airlines such as Alaska Airlines decided to cancel their in-cabin policy with rabbits. I called them on Sept 8th, and a supervisor mentioned that there have been talks about letting rabbits fly in-cabin again. I am not sure if that is true but I do feel encouraged that us giving customer feedback might make a difference.” – Dana

“I’m a very strong advocate for rabbits being allowed to fly in the cabin on airlines. I know, firsthand, how difficult it is to find and arrange flights to be able to take your furry family members with you when you need to move ~ and ground travel isn’t always an option (as was our case, moving across an ocean). The alternatives though, of putting your delicate rabbit/s in a plane’s pet hold, or worse, rehoming your bunny/bunnies if you need to move, are just heart wrenching options. I hope that more airlines will realize and understand the importance of this (and the unique nature of bunnies) and will accommodate rabbits in the cabin.

When we began planning our international move (from the west coast of the US to Europe) we were (very sadly, but what we thought was realistic, due to their ages) not expecting our two bunnies to still be with us. Both were around 10 years old (quite senior for bunnies) and had had E. Coniculi, which (despite excellent vet care) left our boy paralyzed in his hind end, and our girl blind. Sadly, our tenacious, resilient, and amazingly loving boy bunno crossed the rainbow bridge about six months before our move. We expected his mate, our 11 year old sweet, gentle, now blind and nearly deaf (although able to hear a treat bag open anywhere within a one mile radius), timid and gentle girl, might soon follow. She stopped eating after her mate (her second companion) passed away, and she became less active. We loved her strongly, but gently and gave her everything we could, understanding her deep loss. Slowly, she gained her appetite back and while we didn’t know how long our senior girl (our first ever rabbit, and the one we credit with ‘rescuing’ our next two bunnies, as we wanted to give her the companionship of a mate…twice) would be with us, there was never a question that we’d find a way to bring her with us when we moved. We made a commitment to every pet we’ve ever adopted that they were part of our family, and you don’t let go of your fur babies that you’ve promised to be the guardians of

Finding flights that would allow our bunny to fly in the cabin with us was not easy, and the entire trip was not inexpensive. Even during the researching process, we found that airlines that had formerly allowed rabbits in the cabin no longer did. In the end, we found only one airline that flew from the US to Europe that allowed rabbits in the cabin – a “small” French airline that we had never heard of of before; La Compagnie. They fly a *very* limited schedule and routes, from Newark, NJ to/from Paris and to/from Milan. The entire airplane is business class, which means the seats were much more comfortable with a small animal carrier at my feet, but also much more expensive. I will say though, that the level of service and the quality of every aspect of that flight were absolutely outstanding, and well worth the cost. La Compagnie is an amazing airline, and I highly recommend them, whether traveling with or without a pet.

Traveling from the west coast, we needed to get to Newark, and due to the vet documents required to bring a pet into Europe, we couldn’t spend time traveling by car across the US, so we needed a flight to Newark that would also allow our bunny to fly in the cabin with us. Alaska Airlines was our best option, with a non-stop flight that also offered business class seating with a pet (a *very* rare option on flights!). Again, the service we received from Alaska was wonderful.

From our arrival in Paris, we needed to get to our new home country, which required finding a European airline that would allow our rabbit in the cabin. Again, this was not so easy to find, and the airline we used (Air Europa) didn’t allow pets to fly in business class. They also didn’t have a direct flight between Paris and our destination, so we had to book two separate flights with them. In general, the airline was good, and everyone who helped us was kind and friendly and offered what they could to make our travels easier, but the seat was terribly small and our bunny’s carrier barely fit in my foot area ~ and they absolutely wouldn’t allow me to hold her carrier on my lap. The seat space was so small that I literally had to slide the carrier on the floor from the aisle to my window seat, tipping it slightly, until it got to my foot area (it did not even come close to fitting under the seat in front, despite being the approved, very small size pet carrier). I literally had to sit with my feet ON TOP OF the carrier for both of those flights, which blocked some of the cool air from reaching my girl. Fortunately, they were very short flights, and also fortunately, we were using a hard-sided carrier for those flights (Alaska had required a soft-sided carrier, and La Compagnie had required a hard-sided carrier, so we had both with us for the trip. Air Europa didn’t specify which one we needed to use, just the dimensions).

Between flights, we booked hotel rooms for overnight stays, and we had a pop-up pen, litter box, and everything else necessary to allow our bunny time out of her tiny travel carriers, so that she could rest, stretch her legs, and have time to cuddle with her emotional support bunny, which she had bonded to after the loss of her mate (it smelled like him because we had had it in their pen for a couple of weeks before her mate passed).

The logistics of planning this move (just the flights and how to accommodate our fur baby, not everything else involved with an international move) was a LOT, and took several months, the help of three vets, several friends and strangers (that I connected with through online bunny groups) who offered suggestions and input, a handful of airline and pet-transit workers, lots of notes & spreadsheets, and quite a bit of caffeine to plan, but it was all worth it in the end.

Our sweet bunny girl (who was already a very good traveler from prior car trips) did beautifully on all of the flights, in all of the airports, in all of the hotels and taxis and people-movers, and with all of the jostling and smells and loud noises and changes in temperatures and weird movements (like the sensations of taking off and landing). Everyone was wonderful, often offering carrots or other things to help make our bunny’s flight better. We were even allowed to open her carrier and pet or hold her on a couple of the flights and in the airports (shhh, I don’t want to get anyone into trouble). There is no way our senior bunny would have survived the trip if we hadn’t been able to have her in the cabin with us, where we could comfort her and provide her with the extra support she needed to make sure she was eating and drinking enough. Due to her health issues, she also required oral medicine and eyedrops at regular times, which I would not have been able to give her if she had been in the pet hold of the plane. A pet transport company would also not have been able to do this and would not have been able to transfer her back and forth to/from a pop-up pen each day, to give her a brake from the air travel. I had looked into a shared private jet option, and in addition to the VERY high price, the large dogs (which are generally the others on such flights) are not crated during the flight and that would’ve been very risky and stressful with a “prey animal”.

Our rabbit was much quieter and less smelly than other pets that are on commercial flights. She was not a problem in the airports, and not one single person complained about her. Our pets are our family and we owe it to them to provide the best, safest, and most considerate and compassionate care when they need to travel with us. I’m eternally grateful that we were able to bring our sweet girl in the cabins of the flights with us.

We moved to a home with a view of a castle, and gave our bunny her own little castle as well. She was able to enjoy life as an international traveler, and we were able to bring her with us when we moved – as *EVERYone* should have the ability to do with their furry family members if they move. I don’t feel that it’s asking too much of airlines to allow these gentle, quiet, fragile, family members a safe way to travel, and I’m beyond grateful that a few airlines recognize and accommodate this very important need”

– Anonymous