For most U.S. travelers, “flying the dog” now means one thing: a pet small enough to fit in a carrier under the seat. Major airlines have largely closed the cargo-hold path for civilian pets, so the practical cutoff is a combined pet-plus-carrier weight of roughly 20 pounds.
Expect to pay about $100 to $150 per flight segment, usually non-refundable, and to compete for a limited number of pet spots per flight. Anything bigger generally means leaving the dog home, booking separate cargo freight, or paying a steep semi-private premium.
There used to be two ways for an American dog to reach its destination: under the seat, or in the pressurized hold below. For most people, that second way has quietly disappeared — not because of one announcement, but after years of narrowed policies.
The result is a booking question most travelers don’t think to ask until they’re staring at the fare rules: how big is the animal, including the carrier? If the combined answer is much over 20 pounds, the major-airline cabin door is closed. And for many of those same carriers, the hold is closed too.
That’s what flying the dog means now. Small enough to fit under the seat, or nothing. The change has been invisible to anyone who doesn’t travel with a pet, but it rewrites the planning math for anyone who owns a dog over roughly 20 pounds.
Twenty pounds is the whole game now
Start with the combined number, not the dog’s weight alone. American Airlines sets the in-cabin limit at 20 pounds for pet and soft-sided carrier together — and weighs the pair at check-in.
Alaska Airlines and JetBlue carry the same 20-pound combined figure in 2026 policy summaries. Southwest Airlines publishes no hard limit, but the carrier must fit under the seat with the animal inside.
Translated for an actual owner: a dog near the top of the range can still fail because the carrier adds its own weight. Weigh both before you book, not after you arrive. And even qualifying animals must stay inside a closed carrier, stowed, for the entire flight.
A dog that fits the scale but not the under-seat space is still out of luck. That’s the real threshold — not the number on a vet’s chart.
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The cargo hold shrank to a few named exceptions
For larger animals, the landscape has narrowed to a handful of cases. Delta Air Lines has an open-ended global ban on hold pets for the general public, with checked-baggage exceptions only for active-duty military members and State Department Foreign Service Officers on permanent change-of-station orders. Everyone else has to use Delta Cargo freight.
United Airlines ended its PetSafe cargo program for general travelers; pet cargo is now limited to military relocations and State Department orders. Southwest never carried pets in the hold and still doesn’t, on any route. American has also ended general civilian cargo pet transport.
The visible exception is Alaska Airlines, which still accepts pets in climate-controlled baggage and cargo compartments at $200 each way, with a combined pet-and-carrier ceiling of 150 pounds. That’s the one legacy door left open for a 70-pound dog — if the route, the aircraft, and the temperature all cooperate.
| Carrier | In-cabin combined pet+carrier weight limit | In-cabin fee per segment (US domestic) | Stated per-flight in-cabin pet quota | Current cargo-hold pet status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 20 lb (pet + carrier) | Unverified | Up to 20 pet carriers on certain aircraft | General civilian cargo pet transport ended |
| Delta Air Lines | Unverified | Unverified | First-come, first-served; no numeric quota stated | Global hold embargo for general customers; military/State Department PCS only |
| United Airlines | Unverified | Unverified | Unverified | PetSafe discontinued; military and State Department only |
| Alaska Airlines | 20 lb (pet + carrier) | $100 one-way | Unverified | Climate-controlled compartments accept pets; $200 each way; 150 lb limit |
| Southwest Airlines | No numeric limit; under-seat carrier | $95–$125 one-way (reported) | Six pet carriers per flight | In-cabin only; no pets in cargo |
| JetBlue Airways | 20 lb (pet + carrier) | $125 one-way (commonly cited) | Six pets per flight | No cargo-pet policy found in retrieved sources |
What you’ll pay, and how few pet spots exist
Across major U.S. carriers, in-cabin pet fees cluster near $100 to $150 per segment, and the money is generally gone if you cancel. Alaska charges $100 one-way.
JetBlue’s one-way cabin fee is commonly quoted at $125, Southwest’s in the $95–$125 range, and Delta adds $200 whenever a pet is checked as baggage on U.S., Puerto Rico, or Virgin Islands routes. Those are per segment — a round-trip with a connection multiplies fast.
Then there’s the quota. Most flights carry no more than six pets in the cabin. Southwest caps it at six carriers; JetBlue likewise says six; American allows up to 20 pet carriers on certain aircraft, but still first-come, first-served.
Book late in a holiday rush and the fee is irrelevant — there’s no spot for the carrier.
Why the hold became a risk airlines won’t underwrite
The retreat from hold pets wasn’t a single memo. A cluster of in-hold deaths in 2017–2018 pushed most U.S. airlines out of the general pet cargo business. What followed was a quiet rewrite of what an airline is willing to promise a pet owner.
Delta now tells cargo customers that hold travel can expose a pet to unfamiliar surroundings, movement, and temperature shifts hard enough to cause illness, injury, escape, or in rare cases death. The same guidance bars shipments when any ground temperature along the route reaches 80°F or falls below 20°F. Between 20°F and 45°F, a Certificate of Acclimation is required.
A traveler can pull individual incident reports, but there is no public dataset that aggregates success rates. None of this sits on a single standardized dashboard, so the current embargo status has to be asked airline by airline, route by route and date by date.
What this means for your booking
Weigh the dog and the carrier at home before you price anything. If the combined number is over 20 pounds on the airline you’re considering, ask directly: does this carrier still take larger animals in cargo? For most, the practical answer is no.
If the answer is no, your remaining choices are cargo freight — roughly $200 to $500 domestic and $500 to $1,500 international — or one of the semi-private alternatives.
Ask about seasonal temperature embargos before you book. Cargo pet travel shuts down in summer or winter heat and cold, and the cutoffs are specific — no grace for a connection. Verify the current policy with the airline itself, not a third-party summary, before you reach the payment page.
For most pet owners, the honest summary is simple. If the animal fits under the seat, you have a plan. If it doesn’t, you’re planning around a hole in the system, not just a higher fee.
Questions? Answers.
Can you bring a 70 lb dog on a plane?
A 70-pound dog exceeds the 20-pound in-cabin limit on major U.S. carriers, so it cannot ride in the cabin. Alaska Airlines still accepts larger dogs in climate-controlled baggage and cargo compartments at $200 each way, with a combined pet-and-carrier limit of 150 pounds.
Which airlines still allow pets in cargo?
Alaska Airlines is the clearest remaining example: it accepts pets in climate-controlled cargo compartments at $200 each way, up to 150 pounds combined. Delta and United restrict pet cargo to military and State Department relocation cases, and Southwest accepts no pets in the hold.
How much does it cost to put your dog in cargo on a plane?
Delta charges $200 each time a pet is checked as baggage on U.S., Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico routes. Alaska charges $200 each way for baggage or cargo pet transport, with a combined pet-and-carrier limit of 150 pounds.
Is it traumatizing for dogs to fly in cargo?
Delta’s own cargo guidance lists possible outcomes of hold travel that include illness, injury, escape, or in rare cases death. Its policies also bar shipping above 80°F or below 20°F — signs airlines treat cargo conditions as a genuine risk.
Is flying stressful for dogs?
Flying can be stressful for dogs, especially in the hold. In-cabin travel in an under-seat carrier is generally the less stressful option, but only if the dog fits within the size and weight limits.
