America’s newest airline startup is a brilliant idea that fills a real need that exists. However, a ticket is expensive…
BARK Air offers “private jet” flights for dogs
BARK Air is a new public charter operator, aimed specifically at humans who want to travel with their dogs. The company is not a direct air carrier and does not operate its own aircraft. Instead, the company sells tickets on shared flights, which are then operated by a third party.
Currently, BARK Air operates flights from New York to Los Angeles and London. In reality, flights operate to Westchester County Airport (HPN) near New York, Van Nuys Airport (VNY) near Los Angeles, and Biggin Hill Airport (BQH) near London. BARK Air flights are operated by Gulfstream G500s.
While the plane usually seats up to 15 people, BARK Air only sells seats for up to 10 people, each of whom can travel with their dog. According to how the airline markets it, the tickets are for dogs and they are allowed to bring their favorite human. Hah. All sizes and breeds of dogs are allowed, but humans must be at least 18 years old.
What I find so adorable about this concept is that it’s not only addressing the need of people traveling with their dogs, but the company is super cute with the product they’re offering. Seriously, how awesome does that sound?
The cabin will be prepared with calming aids such as: pheromones, music, warm lavender-scented cooling towels, and other comforts to help each dog feel settled. Our concierge will also have a “just in case” bag filled with calming treats, leashes, poop bags and more will be provided at the door. Once on board, dogs will be served the drink of their choice (water, bone broth, etc.), during the ascent and descent, to ensure that they do not experience any hearing discomfort typically caused by the change in cabin pressure. Additionally, a variety of BARK brand treats, snacks and surprises will be served throughout the flight experience.
I also like the carrier’s FAQs, like this question about what makes BARK Air different from other dog-friendly airlines:
I’m sorry, what other airlines allow dogs? Seriously, I hope you’ve never flown on a scheduled airline, but let me just tell you, they put you in a duffel bag and shove you under a seat. We are family and this is how they treat us? You don’t see them pushing humans under seats, although there are a few that I think deserve it. Yes, I’m talking to you, inventor of the doorbell.
Yes, there are a few “dog-friendly” airlines, which is a good first step, but even those are absolutely not dog-friendly. BARK Air was designed from the ground up for us! No other airline allows dogs to be dogs. Now, back to thinking about humans to push under seats… oh, maybe the fireworks guy.
Below you can see a video interview with the company’s CEO.
And below you can see a TikTok video of what BARK Air’s first flight looked like.
BARK Air prices are expensive but fair
So, how much does BARK Air charge for tickets? This is obviously very expensive, since it involves operating a Gulfstream with a maximum of 10 passengers.
Based on current schedules, the company flies once a week between New York and Los Angeles, and the fare is $6,000 one way.
Meanwhile, the company flies every two weeks between New York and London, and the fare is $8,000 one way.
At least the fares include a lot, and BARK Air even offers free chauffeur service. It’s also impressive that the New York-Los Angeles route already seems to be sold out for a few weeks.
Needless to say, it’s expensive, so it’s not for the average person looking for a getaway with their dog. At the same time, given the cost of operating a Gulfstream on a flight of this length, the price is as reasonable as it could be. If every seat is sold, BARK Air would get $60,000 in revenue on a New York-Los Angeles flight, or $80,000 in revenue on a New York-London flight. This is about what you would expect for the cost of chartering a Gulfstream G5.
We need more innovation in pet travel
Many startups don’t bring anything unique to the table and don’t solve any of the existing problems. BARK Air deserves credit for filling a gap in the market: how to travel with pets safely.
In the United States, the reality is that there are several ways to travel by plane with your pet:
- If you have a small dog, you can travel with him in the cabin, in a transport cage; this is a very good solution
- If you have a dog larger than that, the only way to travel with him is to put him in a crate in the hold; I don’t mean it’s cruel, but it’s really sad how often things go wrong, and that says nothing of the anxiety dogs feel.
- The “loophole” for traveling with larger dogs in the cabin is that some people designate them as psychiatric support animals, allowing them to fly in the cabin at no charge.
Much of the attention surrounding pet travel focuses on how people use the psychiatric support animal loophole, or how some people simply can’t be without their dog, even for a weekend. end.
For me, this completely misses the point. Although a majority of American households have pets, airlines have done almost nothing to innovate and make it safe and semi-comfortable to travel with a larger pet.
There are all kinds of legitimate situations where you need to travel with a pet, whether you’re moving permanently, have a family emergency and need to move somewhere for an extended period of time, etc.
So I commend BARK Air for filling an existing need and hope the venture succeeds. I hope this will inspire major airlines to come up with something less cruel for transporting pets (although I’m not holding my breath).
To be clear, I’m not saying that an unlimited number of dogs of all sizes should be allowed in commercial airplane cabins for free. But what about letting people buy several extra seats and then have crates in which they can ride in the cabin next to their owner.
The fact that Gulfstreams book weeks in advance to transport dogs between coasts speaks volumes about the demand in the market.
Conclusion
BARK Air is a new company offering Gulfstream flights from New York to Los Angeles and London. The company specifically caters to people looking to travel with their dogs, given the lack of options that otherwise exist.
This is an important first step in meeting the demand for traveling with pets, although we hope this will expand in the future, in a way that is affordable for more people.
What do you think of BARK Air?