If you are a pet owner or absolutely adore pets, you should read on.
Budget Direct Travel Insurance conducted a detailed review of the pet policies of the top 50 airlines in the world, as ranked by the annual Skytrax airline rankings in 2019.
The information on the pet policies was sourced from the airlines’ official websites, and they used BringFido and PetTravel to find additional information. They then scored and ranked each airline based on their policies.
The team rated them out of 10 in categories including cost-per-pet, cabin allowance, airline reviews and reputation and openness to welcoming ‘unusual’ animals.
Each airline score out of 100, which the team then used to rank the top 50 pet-friendly airlines on Earth.
The research was conducted between March 20 and April 1, 2020.
Budget Direct Travel Insurance said in a statement that it hopes to offer more insight for pet owners who don’t want to leave their furry friends behind as they go on a much-needed trip.
The winners
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was voted the most pet-friendly airline in the world, with an impressive score of 81.8 points.
Air France took the second place, with 77.2 points, and Air Canada the third position with 77.1 points. Air Canada scored high for their low travel fees but fell behind with its limit of 45kg for pets who fly in the hold.
The findings revealed that five out of the top ten pet-friendly airlines were based in Europe, plus Turkish Airlines and Russian Aeroflot straddle European-Asian borders. South Korea has two airlines in the top ten, and Air Canada is the only representative of North America.
The losers
Australia’s Jetstar Airways is the least pet-friendly airline in the world. The airline scores zero points because the airline “is not equipped to transport your pets”.
South African Airways also fell in the bottom five airlines with a scoring of 0.6, followed by Azul Airlines with 0.3 points.