When Sajal Dubey, a 27-year-old Dubai based businessman, boarded an Air India flight with his dog—Taco—he was overjoyed. “I was thrilled to see Taco beside me, gazing out the window,” Dubey recalls. “This was the first time he could travel with me in the cabin.” Until recently, Taco was confined to the cargo hold during flights—an experience Dubey found “cumbersome” and “distressing”. The turbulence can cause significant discomfort, and much like a first-time flyer, pets can get frightened during takeoff, he explains. Driven by a strong emotional bond between pets and their parents, pet travel–once a niche indulgence–has evolved into a multimillion-dollar market. Millennials and Gen Zs see their pets as emotional anchors. As per a Research Nester report, the pet travel services market, valued at $2.1 billion in 2024, is projected to increase to $7 billion by 2037, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.7 percent. This burgeoning demand is reverberating across the travel industry, compelling airlines, hotels, and travel professionals to rewrite their policies.
India’s aviation sector has quickly embraced this furry phenomenon. In November 2022, Akasa Air, a relatively new domestic carrier, rolled out its “Pets on Akasa” service, welcoming small dogs and cats weighing up to 10 kg in the cabin. By August 2024, the airline celebrated transporting its 5,000th pet, further underscoring its growing commitment to pet-friendly travel. According to the airline, the most popular routes for pet travel were Bengaluru-Delhi, Delhi-Bengaluru and MumbaiDelhi, with Bengaluru emerging as the leading pet travel hub.
However, Dubey feels flying on international flights with pets is “unmatched” and “smoother” compared to Indian flights. “Unlike the extra baggage procedures in India, I was able to pre-book separate tickets for my dogs. I could conveniently email all the required vaccination certificates and complete the mandatory checks for pet export to the UAE. The entire process felt more streamlined and efficient,” he explains on his experience with Etihad Airways
On the ground, Indian Railways is also catching up. In 2023, Indian Railways introduced online ticket booking for pets, streamlining the process for owners. As per an Indian Railways report, between January 2023 and February 2024, over 7,000 pets travelled with their humans just from Pune railway station to destinations nationwide. However, the journey isn’t without its challenges. Vandana Anchalia, CEO of AirPets, points to the steep costs of pet relocation as a barrier. “Relocation costs often surpass the original cost of acquiring a pet, leading many to reconsider,” she says. She explains that travelling with pets involves extensive paperwork. High ticket prices and logistical hurdles make it overwhelming for many travellers. Although Indian Railways has seen a rise in bookings, a substantial gap persists in the system. Railway staff is often unfamiliar with the correct procedures. Tanmai Borgohain, a PR professional in Delhi, was set to travel to Guwahati with his pet—a four-month-old Himalayan Sheepdog—last year. The 31-year-old had booked a first AC ticket. But he was nonetheless barred from boarding the train in Delhi, because the ticket collector deemed travelling with a pet inconvenient to other passengers. Borgohain had no option but to put the pup in a pet hostel and fly to Guwahati the next day.
“Transport, accommodations, and destinations must all cater to pets. We can’t have pet-friendly hotels but no reliable travel options or vice versa. The industry must evolve as a whole,” says Just Holidays’s founder, Sanjay Kothari. The new travel mantra seems to be: Love me, love my dog, or cat!