By comparison, for the same date as the launch, direct air on a major carrier starts at $220 one-way from New York to Los Angeles and from $525 to London. Adding a dog will cost more.
Bark CEO and co-founder Matt Meeker said the inspiration for Bark Air came from his Great Dane. Hugo visited nearly two dozen states and Canada in his 12-year-old life, but never walked the West Coast or Europe because of the challenges of flying pets, especially at his size.
Options are limited for pets that are too large for the cabin. Depending on the season, destination and airline, owners may transport their dogs as checked baggage or cargo, an arrangement that carries risks. According to the Department of Transportation, US carriers reported nine incidents involving animals, including seven fatalities, in 2022 (the agency has not released its 2023 annual numbers for those incidents).
To understand the experience of traveling as luggage, Meeker was packed into a crate and rolled across the tarmac and loaded onto a plane, where he remained in his enclosure for 45 minutes to an hour. His experiment confirmed his suspicions: flying in the belly of an airplane can be traumatic.
“It was very narrow, very dark. Loud noises. Disorienting. No food or water. I have nowhere to go to the bathroom,” Meeker said. “It was very, very terrible.”
Wealthy travelers can book a private or charter jet. However, non-commercial air can be too expensive or unpredictable. K9 Jets, a private charter operator that began offering pet-friendly flights last year, flies to 13 destinations, including Dallas, Paris and West Palm Beach, Florida. It has similar prices to BarkAir — $6,650 from New Jersey to Los Angeles — but you’ll cancel the flight if it’s not at least 75 percent full.
“There’s a tremendous amount of interest and demand and really frustration,” Meeker said. “People are looking for a sensible solution for transporting their dog if they’re moving or going on a summer holiday or weekend trip.”
Meeker said the company is partnering with Talon Air, a New York-based charter company that will fly two Gulfstream G550s under the Bark Air flag. The plane can accommodate 14 passengers, but the company will limit their number to 10.
Once the passenger has booked the flight, a concierge will contact the family to learn about the dog’s temperament and help with logistics, including the paperwork needed to enter England. The price includes complimentary car service within a 30-mile radius of the arrival destination.
Meeker recommends that passengers arrive 45 minutes to an hour before departure. Guests will wait in a private area inside the terminal where a chef will prepare a hot meal for passengers to avoid any in-flight surfing. Before boarding, the dogs will have a chance to sniff each other.
On board, pets can fly off-leash as long as they are well behaved. During testing, Meeker said the dogs were very polite, with no unruly outbursts.
“They were saying hello to other dogs and to other people. Everyone was very relaxed about it,” he said. “For dogs who were a little more nervous, or people who were more nervous about their dogs, we have a place on the plane where they can sit without anyone bothering them.”
Since pups are the best dogs on board, the carrier will cater to their tastes. The menu will include “Doggie Champagne” (actually chicken broth), dog donuts and meat snacks served on a silver platter. The flight crew will include professionals trained in veterinary care and dog behavior. At the end of the journey, the four-legged flyers will receive their wings, which they can proudly hang on their collar or belt.
If Bark Air does well, Meeker hopes to add larger planes to the fleet, which could help lower the cost of the ticket. He also dreams of building the world’s first in-flight dog park.
“Dogs on these longer trips will have a park where they can play with other dogs while their humans enjoy a drink at the bar at the end of the park,” he said.
Henry Harteveld, a travel industry analyst at Atmosphere Research Group, said pet airlines are more likely to fail than succeed. (RIP, Pet Airways.) Bark Air does have a few advantages, though. You don’t build an airline from scratch. It has brand recognition. And it maintains a mailing list with the names of millions of pet lovers willing to shell out a fortune for their pups.
“Some people will definitely do that,” Harteveld said. “The question is: Will there be enough people who love their pets enough to pay $6,000 or more to ship them coast to coast or New York to London?”
