United Airlines is a major airline and a founding member of the Star Alliance. In 2010, United Airlines merged with Continental and is now known as United Continental. United Continental is headquartered in Chicago and is also part of Star Alliance, the largest global airline alliance. United Airlines operates on average over 5,000 flights a day to 376 airports on 6 continents from their major hubs in Chicago, Denver, Guam, Houston, NYC, San Francisco, Tokyo, and Washington D.C.

United Pet Policy

United Continental is committed to providing safe and comfortable travel for your pet. They accept small animals for travel in the cabin as well as larger animals in cargo.

Transport Rules

  • Your pet must travel in a container that is ventilated
  • The carrier must be large enough for your pet to stand up, turn around, and lie down.
  • Your pet’s travel container must be strong enough to protect your pet during the flight, be secure, and have a water and food container that is accessible from outside the carrier.
  • Each kennel should contain no more than one adult dog or cat, no more than two puppies or kittens younger than 6 months of age
  • Dogs and cats cannot travel in the same kennel

Important Tip:
Rules for international in-cabin pet acceptance vary widely. For travel outside the U.S. with an in-cabin pet, contact United Reservations at 1-800-UNITED-1 (1-800-864-8331) for assistance and more information about international in-cabin pet acceptance and service charges. Or visit the United Customer Contact Center.

Pets in the Cabin: United Policy

United Continental allows small domesticated dogs, cats, rabbits, and birds to be carried in the cabin on most flights in the U.S. An additional charge of $125 each way will be added to your ticket. There is an additional $125 service charge for each stopover of more than four hours within the U.S. or more than 24 hours outside of the U.S.Pets can be booked online or by calling and making reservations.

To prepare your animal for travel:

  • Pets must be in a kennel that fits comfortably under the seat
    • 17.5 x 12 x 7.5 for hard sided kennels
    • 18 x 11x 11 for soft sided kennels
  • Two pets per flight are allowed in our premium cabins on select aircraft. Pets are not permitted in our premium cabins on Boeing 747, 757, 767, 777 or 787 aircraft due to limited storage space under the seat.
  • Four pets per flight are allowed in United Economy® on all United flights.
  • One pet per passenger is allowed in the cabin. Two birds may travel in the same kennel.
  • Pets are not permitted on flights to or from or through Australia, Hawaii or Micronesia (including Guam)
  • Pets under 8 weeks of age are not allowed to travel on United Continental flights

Pets in the Baggage Compartment: United Policy

United’s PetSafe® program is a specially designed program for transporting animals that are not eligible to travel in the aircraft cabin. PetSafe offers the following options and requirements:

  • Customers can track their animals that travel as cargo online throughout their journey
  • Pets can travel United Continental’s cargo service which offers same day, airport to airport delivery
  • Pets booked to travel with United in the cargo area must be in kennels that are sturdy, well-ventilated, and large enough for the pet to sit and stand
  • United can transport dogs in giant crates as long as the dimensions do not exceed 48 x 32 x 35
  • The kennel must be labeled with a “LIVE ANIMAL” sticker that must be adhered to the top and at least one side of the kennel in 1 inch tall letters
  • Include two empty dishes, one for food and one for water, that can be accessed from outside of the kennel
  • The kennel must contain absorbent material or litter. Newspaper is a good choice, however colored inks may be toxic to animals. The use of straw, hay, or wood shavings is prohibited for international flights.
  • Depending on the size of the kennel, additional fees may vary

For more details about United Continental ‘s pet policies, please see this page of the United Continental website

Facebook Comments

2 thoughts on “United Airlines

  1. I have just taken a flight in which the couple behind us has placed 2 small dogs under our seats on trip from Houston to Sao Paulo. I love animals and have dogs etc but no reason we should have smell and noise as passengers who are traveling without dogs. Dogs aren’t the crying baby although i understand their importance. Many years ago animals were transported down below and quite honesty not fair for everyone on long long flights like this.