Which airlines let a cat fly in the cabin, and at what size
Does your airline take cats at all?
| Country | Airline | Cat in cabin | Maximum carrier | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | British Airways Verbatim: “We don’t carry pets in the cabin on any route.” Pets travel in the hold, arranged through PetAir UK leaving the UK, or IAG Cargo arriving into it. | No — hold only | — | — |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | Virgin Australia Soft-sided, well-ventilated and escape-proof. One pet per guest. Still a trial on selected domestic routes — Adelaide joined on 23 June 2026. | Yes | 44 × 26 × 28 cm | 8 kg incl. carrier |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | Qantas Only service dogs are carried in the passenger cabin. Cats travel in the hold, booked through Qantas Freight. | No — hold only | — | — |
| 🇨🇦 Canada | Air Canada Soft-sided mandatory since 1 June 2025. The limit depends on the aircraft, not the route. Backpack carriers with hard plastic windows are not permitted at all. | Yes | Three sizes — see below | None published |
| 🇳🇿 New Zealand | Air New Zealand Domestic flights only, and in the hold as checked-in baggage: NZ$120 per carrier per journey, 60 kg maximum for pet and carrier combined. | No — hold only | — | — |
Read from each airline’s own published page on 1 September 2026. These policies move — Virgin Australia only opened its cabin to pets in 2025 and is still running it as a trial — so confirm with your airline before you book. We date this table for that reason.
Air Canada publishes three sizes, not one
Almost every guide you will find quotes a single Air Canada figure. There isn’t one. The airline publishes a maximum carrier size per aircraft type, and the gap between them is wide enough to change which bag you can take.
| Which flights | Aircraft | Maximum carrier (L × W × H) |
|---|---|---|
| Most mainline jets | A220-300, A319, A320, A321, A330-300, 737 MAX 8, 777-200LR, 777-300ER, 787-8, 787-9 | 43 × 40 × 20 cm |
| Regional aircraft | Dash 8-400, E175, CRJ900, and Landline connections | 55 × 40 × 27 cm |
| Business Class, widebodies | Business Class of A330-300, 777-200LR, 777-300ER, 787-8, 787-9 | 41 × 21 × 28 cm |
Air Canada lists these as width × length × height; they are reordered here to length × width × height so they line up with the rest of this page. Carriers are also not permitted on Air Canada Jetz flights, in Premium Economy, or in exit and bulkhead rows.
the maximum carrier HEIGHT on most Air Canada mainline jets — the full limit is 43 × 40 × 20 cm. The 55 × 40 × 27 figure quoted everywhere applies to regional aircraft only
— Air Canada, travelling with your pet, 2026
the date Air Canada stopped accepting rigid carriers in the cabin — soft-sided only since
— Air Canada, travelling with your pet, 2026
the maximum carrier WIDTH on Virgin Australia — the full limit is 44 × 26 × 28 cm, 8 kg including the cat, soft-sided, one pet per guest
— Virgin Australia, pets in cabin, 2026
Air Canada publishes no maximum weight for a cabin pet. What it does publish is a condition no tape measure covers: the cat must be able to stand up, turn around and lie down in the carrier with no part of it extending outside, and it can be refused at the gate if the carrier is judged too small for the animal.
How our two carriers measure up
| Carrier | Dimensions | Virgin Australia 44 × 26 × 28 | Air Canada mainline 43 × 40 × 20 | Air Canada regional 55 × 40 × 27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soft shoulder carrier | 40 × 26 × 22 cm | Fits — width is exactly 26 cm against a 26 cm limit | Does not fit — 22 cm high against a 20 cm limit | Fits, with room to spare |
| Bubble backpack | 42 × 34 × 27 cm | Does not fit — 34 cm across against a 26 cm limit | Not permitted — Air Canada does not accept backpack carriers with hard plastic windows, at any size | |
The short version, and it is narrower than most shops will tell you. On Virgin Australia, the shoulder carrier is the one — the backpack is 8 cm too wide. On Air Canada, the shoulder carrier works on regional aircraft (Dash 8, E175, CRJ900) but is 2 cm too tall for the mainline jets, and the bubble backpack is not accepted in the cabin at all because of its rigid window. On BA, Qantas or Air New Zealand, no cabin carrier helps you: the cat travels in the hold, and that is a conversation with the airline rather than a purchase.
⚠️ One of those comparisons sits exactly on the limit: 26 cm against 26 cm. Virgin Australia asks on its own page that you measure your carrier yourself, at its highest, widest and longest points, because published measurements often differ from the actual article. The figures above are the published dimensions for these bags. Measure the one you receive before you fly on an equality.
Why “airline approved” means nothing
You will see the phrase on almost every carrier sold online. No airline approves a model of bag. What an airline publishes is an envelope — a maximum length, width and height, sometimes a combined weight — and any bag that fits inside it is acceptable on that airline, on that route, on that aircraft.
Air Canada is the proof of why the badge is worthless. A bag stamped “airline approved” at 55 × 40 × 27 cm is inside the published limit on a Dash 8 and 7 cm over it on a 787. The badge cannot know which aircraft you are on. Two sets of numbers can, and they stay true when a policy changes.
The cabin-sized one
Get the cabin-sized carrier
40 × 26 × 22 cm, folds flat. Free delivery, 30 days to change your mind.
Your choice: Grey with pink piping