Find out about how Air New Zealand can help you transport your pets to a new destination.
Flights within New Zealand
Domestic pets - cats, dogs (excluding any transported for profit e.g. racing greyhounds) and small caged birds can travel as checked in baggage on all domestic services. Due to space limitations on Air New Zealand Link services, only one cage per customer will be accepted for travel.
Pets that weigh more than 32kg are prohibited on services with a flight number in the range of 2000-2999 as the size of the aircraft prohibits stowage of larger animals.
In accordance with IATA Live Animals Regulations a maximum of two adult animals of comparable size up to 14kg each that are used to cohabitation may be shipped in the same container. Animals over 14kg must travel individually. Animals up to six months old from the same litter, up to a maximum quantity of three, may be shipped in the same container/compartment.
Each animal and cage that is checked in will be counted as a 'piece' of baggage and any excess charges will be applied as they would for additional items of baggage. In addition to any applicable excess charges, handling fees will apply and these will be charged at the airport on the day.
| Total combined weight of animal and cage | Ticket purchased prior to 13 December 2011 | Ticket purchased on or after 13 December 2011 |
| Up to 25kg | NZ$50 | NZ$75 |
| 26kg and over | NZ$75 | NZ$100 |
To enable us to provide care for your pet, it will be loaded into the warmest area of the aircraft at the earliest possible opportunity. This could mean that on arrival, your pet may arrive in the baggage claim area after other baggage has been delivered.
To ensure we can offer you this service, please let your booking agent know at the time of making your reservation, that your pet will be travelling with you. Please remember carriage of pets is subject to availability of space on the aircraft.
To ensure the safety of your pet, you will need to ensure that your pet is travelling in a suitable container that can be secured appropriately. If your pet is presented at the airport in a container which doesn’t meet the below standards it will not be accepted for travel.
Pets must travel in a portable animal container which should be made from fibreglass, metal, rigid plastic, wickerwork, wire mesh or wood with a strong framework. Open wire cages are not acceptable.
In accordance with IATA regulations, the container must be a suitable size to allow for the animal to lie down, sit up, stand up and turn around with ease.
The container must be clean, leak proof, well ventilated and have more than one method of securing the door. Airport staff must use a cable tie as a secondary means of securing a cage if required.
Where cages are made of two halves (rigid plastic type cages), in addition to the cages locking mechanisms (e.g. screws, clips etc), airport staff will use cable ties to secure the two halves together. If the cage (which is made of two halves) has no holes for securing cable ties through as a secondary means of securing the two halves of the cage, then it will not be accepted for travel. Strapping the two halves together is unacceptable.
Below are some images of cages which are acceptable as airport staff will be able to secure the cage appropriately.
The below type of cage will not be accepted by airport staff as there is no way of securing the two halves of the cage together.
The following dimensions are the maximum container sizes for pets to travel as Domestic checked baggage:
B737: Height 86cm x Width 114cm
A320: Height 65cm x Width 85cm
Link: Height 70cm x Width 50cm
If you want your pet to travel unaccompanied, download the Pet Factsheet below that gives details of pet transporters.
International flights
On international flights, pets are not permitted as checked in baggage and must travel as Cargo. We will transport live animals on certain flights to certain destinations. Download the PDF document below for our Pet Factsheet that gives helpful travel tips.
To organise transportation of pets you need to contact a local International Export Pet Shipping company in the country that you are wishing to transport the animal from.
Contact Details of companies who arrange shipping pets Internationally from New Zealand
