Private jet, background music and treats: an airline for dogs charters its first flight

The Bark Air company is carrying out its first flight for dogs and their “human companion” on Thursday.

Bark Air is “a unique airline” offering flights “for dogs of all breeds and sizes as well as their human companions.” This is what the website of the American company Bark, which specializes in products for pets, indicates. The first flight is chartered Thursday May 23 between New York and Los Angeles thanks to a partnership with a charter company. Ticket price: 5,500 euros.

Included in the price, luxury services: first class travel aboard a private Gulfstream G5 jet, adapted food, treats and chicken broth. Staff “very qualified” welcomes the animals and helps them get to know each other at the boarding gate, the site specifies.

Planes are never filled to their maximum capacity “to allow you and your dog to have all the space you need for your comfort”. The cabin is equipped with numerous relaxation accessories for animals: diffusion of pheromones, music, warm damp towels scented with lavender “and anything that can help your dog feel safe.” Staff are also equipped with dog waste bags and painkillers. “just in case” Bark says. As soon as the reservation is made, the animal owners are contacted to identify the needs and specificities of each animal, assures the company.

For the moment the connections available for reservation are New York (HPN) – Los Angeles (VNY) but also New York (HPN) – London (BQH) and Los Angeles (VNY) – London (BQH). The company’s website invites Internet users to suggest other connections.

No longer having pets travel in the hold is a reflection that Bark intends to carry out. Through communication, the company raises questions on social networks about the conditions of transport in the hold. Like last April 12, when its general manager Matt Meeker appeared in a dog cage, ready to be transported in the hold. “We wanted to know what it’s like to travel by plane like a dog, indicates publication on X. So we locked our CEO in a crate and put him in the hold while our traveling dog enjoyed a first class trip upstairs.”

“A 100% real dog company”, concludes the commercial. To access animal welfare, however, you have to pay 5,500 euros for a connection between New York and Los Angeles, 7,500 euros for a connection between the United States and England. A ticket includes a place on board for one animal and its human companion.