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JetBlue now lets you reserve on-line an in-cabin spot for your pet dog

This is a two-part update, and I owe both parts to reader Giuliana, who wrote first to tell me that JetBlue now allows you to reserve an in-cabin spot for your pet online. As of at least June 16, the language on JetBlue’s JetPaws page stated that “Pets can be booked online or you can call 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583).”

That’s unusual — previously, of the major U.S. airlines, only Virgin America and United (carried over from Continental’s policy) let you make your pet’s reservation at the same time you make your own online reservation. I celebrated noisily on Dog Jaunt’s Facebook page, because it’s a real convenience for travelers with pets — otherwise, you’re forced either to (1) make your own reservation online, then quickly call and add your pet to your ticket, hoping that there’s room in the cabin for her; or (2) make both of your reservations over the phone, incurring the fee for phone reservations.

Previously, JetBlue had sweetened the deal by waiving the phone reservation fee for calls made by travelers with pets, but those days are over. Now, they really want you to make all of your reservations on-line; as Giuliana discovered, they’re adding a big nudge in that direction by adding a $25 fee if you call to make your pet’s reservation. Tucked away in the FAQs — which you wouldn’t necessarily consult when planning your trip, because the FAQ link is located under the “At the airport” section of the JetPaws page — is a new note saying that “Pets may be booked on jetblue.com or by calling 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583) — a $25 booking fee will apply for reservations made over the phone” (emphasis in the original). That is, of course, in addition to the normal $100 (each way) pet fee that the airline charges.

So how does it work? I started making a fictional reservation for mid-July, and I learned that your pet gets added to your reservation at Step 4 (“Extras”) in the process, right after seat selection. Here’s a screen shot of what it looked like:

This is a little cramped, since I wanted to capture both the top of the page (showing where I was in the booking process) as well as the "Jet with your pet" entry

This is a little cramped, since I wanted to capture both the top of the page (showing where I was in the booking process) as well as the “Jet with your pet” entry

Put briefly, if you are planning to travel with your in-cabin pet on JetBlue, make reservations for both of you on-line to avoid significant processing fees. Hat tip to JetBlue for making on-line booking available (and thereby tacitly assuring you that your pet actually does have a reserved spot in-cabin — those spots are limited in number, and many airlines make them first-come-first-served), and for its continuing policy of awarding you frequent flyer points for your pet’s travel as well as yours. And another hat tip to Giuliana, for bringing both changes to my attention!

9 comments

  • Caitlin

    JetBlue now also allows online check-in if you have a pet – previously, you had to check in at the kiosk if you had an animal in tow. This is particularly advantageous for those with larger-small dogs that exceed the 20lb weight limit. By bypassing the kiosk, you also get to bypass the scales as there aren’t any at security or in the terminals. One less obstacle for me and my dog, who weight 23lbs when she’s in her bag 🙂

  • Oh, that is SO good to know, Caitlin — thank you!! I can’t think of any other airline that allows automated check-in for travelers with pets, and you’re quite right about its advantages for folks with larger small pets.

  • Kelly E. Carter

    United also allows pets to be booked online. It’s a feature that Continental had and since the two airlines became one, United has continued with — thank goodness. Thanks Caitlin for letting us know about checking in at the kiosk with a pet. That is a huge time saver!

  • Giuliana

    That is good to know! Does that mean you attach some type of at-home printed pass to the dog’s carrier?

    There’s one thing that I don’t think has changed—when the price went down for my already booked flight I couldn’t go through the credit process (“changing my flight”) on jetblue.com—I had to call 1-800-JETBLUE (I got an error message that said so). I think this is because of the pet added to the reservation. They did not charge me for calling in, but it was nerve wracking waiting for someone to answer in case the price disappeared!

  • Caitlin

    Nope, no pass needed for the dog carrier – I fly JetBlue 2x a year with my dog and they’ve never attached anything to her kennel.

  • Meghan McNamara

    I am flying on JetBlue with my dog later this month. The pet carrier I was planning to use is not the specific JetPaws carrier. Has anyone used a different carrier on JetBlue, and have you had any issues? I don’t want them to not let us on due to the carrier size!

  • Hello, Meghan — We fly a great deal on JetBlue and use Chloe’s usual large SturdiBag to do it. It works well from her point of view, and has always worked fine from JetBlue’s point of view. (As you might know already, Chloe is about 12″ tall at the shoulder, and anywhere between 13-15 lbs — currently 13 lbs., but even when she’s weightier, she fits in the large Sturdi with sufficient clearance that the bag can flex around her). I’m less fond of it, but the Sherpa of the similar size also works fine. Hope that helps!

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