Let's answer your first question. What are your flight options for your traveling pets?

Pets could be travelling as:

• Accompanied (or "excess") baggage
• Accompanied (or "excess") - in the passenger cabin
• Or as manifest cargo.

Depending on the airline involved and the regulations of the destination country.

Now, second question, what are the differences between these two?

(1) "Accompanied baggage" (also called "excess baggage" or just "baggage") is when you check in your pet for your flight at the very same time you check in yourself, and in the same way as your luggage.

• You bring vour pet with you to the check-in counter,
• Put your pet on the scales for weighing (while in the travel box, of course),
• Pay on the spot for your pet's ticket based on the weight of your pet inside the travel box,
• An airport porter will come to take your pet to the very same cargo hold area of the plane as he/she would go if being flown as manifest.

Whether travelling as baggage or cargo, pets still travel in the same cargo hold compartment of the plane, a place which is fully climate controlled.

In other words, the difference for your pet between flying as cargo and baggage is related only to the way in which your pet is checked in for the flight, how the fees are calculated, and generally, all the check-in and check-out processes, but not in how your pet travels once put into the plane and the flight takes off.

(2) "Accompanied baggage" (also called "excess baggage") - in the passengers cabin

An animal joining the passenger inside the passenger cabin of an aircraft for the duration of the flight, in a soft pet bag carrier. This is not frequently tolerated by other passengers and is prohibited by most of the airlines. Of those that do permit it, the weight and carrier size restrictions mean that it is only viable for very small dogs and cats. However, conversely, many airlines do indeed allow service dogs in the passenger cabin, and both Emirates and Etihad airlines do allow falcons, hooded, and tethered, to travel with their owners in the cabin too, first-class only.

(3) Manifest cargo:

Travelling as "manifest cargo" (or just "cargo") means that your pet will travel as an unaccompanied shipment, even if you will be travelling on the same flight. In fact, if you need to travel at a different time than, and on a different flight from, your pet, cargo is the only way to go. This means that your pet is not checked in with your luggage when you arrive at the airport's passenger terminal, but rather she is brought to the airport's cargo section several hours before the time of departure and then handled, with care of course, like other types of cargo shipment, including all the associated documentation and security procedures. It also means that your pet's ticket is calculated not by weight, as in baggage travel, but rather based on the size of
your pets' travel box. And speaking of care, it is indeed very true that not only pets, but in fact all animals, are required by international aviation transport regulations to be treated not only with care, but speedily and as a priority over almost all other types of cargo being handled.

Many people instinctively feel that they need to travel with their pet as accompanied baggage if they can ~ it is a less expensive way to relocate your pet and depending on the destination, the cost of your pet travelling as cargo can range from hundreds to thousands of Dirhams more than it would be as accompanied baggage.

This is due both to the way the airlines charge for each and the bureaucracy of cargo versus accompanied baggage. More importantly for most owners, you're in more direct control over your pet closer to departure time and often more quickly after arrival.

However, our own experience informs us that one of the frequently unanticipated advantages of relocating by cargo is that being less directly involved in your pet's shipment, you might find yourself feeling calmer and your pet overall might well be more relaxed. Equally important, accompanied baggage exposes your pet to the hustle and bustle of a busy airport as you bring your pet in her travel box through the crowds and to the check-in counter, finally handing her over to an airport porter /handler, consider the potential for anxiety compared to the usual relative quiet of the dedicated room for animals of the cargo terminal at your airport, where your pet spends a couple of hours in his/her travel box awaiting flight-time.

Many people travel with their pets as accompanied baggage, experiencing no problems at all it is, of course, a perfectly good way to relocate and significantly less expensive. However, the UAE government, as well as many other governments and airlines around the world, now require pets to travel as cargo because of the
increased security protocols and better airport handling procedures; additionally, many animal relocation specialists around the world also prefer cargo because of the knowledgeable care and organisation surrounding the shipment from beginning to end. Is there a downside? Yes. Cargo travel is a more bureaucratic and involved approach, and therefore more expensive. And there is no way to sugar-coat this.

Also, remember, Your pet's mode of transport will be determined by the laws of the countries and the airlines involved

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