Pet parents who have enjoyed subscription BarkBoxes filled with pet toys and treats will now enjoy a spectacular service dubbed Bark Air that will allow pet owners and their furry friends to travel together in utmost style and comfort. Set to launch flights between NYC and LA and NYC and London in May, pet-product brand Bark will offer four-legged friends the same treatment meted out to a human in first class by pampering pooches throughout the long-haul flight.
In addition to fun offerings like ‘dog champagne’ aka chicken broth, warm ‘pheromone-scented’ blankets, complimentary drinks, and snacks available throughout the duration of the flight, it is the top-notch love and care the pets receive that makes it worth the buck.
Instead of being propped in a crate rolled across a tarmac and commuting in the airplane’s cargo, where the atmosphere is suffocating, dark, and loud, Bark Air goes several steps ahead. Treating your pet pooches like royalty, the luxe pet airline will first break the ice by allowing pup passengers to mingle and get acquainted in a private area of the Bark Air terminals. This helps in keeping the milieu comforting for the dogs 30,000 feet in the air. Meanwhile, their owners who will shell out a cool $16,000 on a two-way trip from New York to London can enjoy meals stirred up by private chefs at the Bark Air terminals. While in the air, dogs are not chained or housed in a cage but are free to roam about the cabin.
In the case of excited pups, noise-canceling earmuffs come in handy. To keep their bellies full and behaviors in check, high-quality treats and snacks are available throughout. The good thing about flying private on Bark Air is that those who prefer to keep to themselves are offered the space and privacy on the plane without anyone bothering them. Bark Air ensures the pampering continues even after disembarking the flight with a car service arranged to whisk the loved pup and their owner to any location of their choice within a 30-mile distance of the airport, per NY Post.
Flying with your pets will cease to be a traumatic experience come May 23rd – the day Bark Air launches. The first flight departs from New York’s Westchester County Airport to Los Angeles’s Van Nuys Airport and will cost $8000 for a pet and an owner per one-way ticket.
In comparison, two first-class return tickets on American Airlines from NYC to London cost $11,000. It should be noted that, although cheaper, American Airlines and many other similar airlines that fly across the Atlantic have restrictions. Your dog should be small enough to fit in a carrier made of nylon and water-repellent material, with ventilation on three sides. Weight limitations in first and business class require that the carrier and dog together weigh no more than 20 pounds. Lastly, AA assumes no liability for your dog’s well-being, and dogs cannot fly in premium cabins on certain aircraft. Suddenly, the $6,000 extra for a round trip worth $16,000 doesn’t sound so bad, does it?
[Bark Air]
