For slightly under $10,000, wealthy pet owners have the option to fly private with their furry friends to destinations including London, Milan, Geneva, New York, Birmingham and more. Founded by Adam Golder, K9 Jets is a pet-dedicated private jet service.
The idea sparked from multiple inquiries from pet owners looking to share the cost of a jet to fly transatlantic with their pets.
“We quickly noted that this was a dedicated service that wasn’t being offered, and with the rising costs of traditional pet shipping, we decided to launch K9 Jets,” Golder told Arabian Business.
Since then, the company has flown over 1,520 dogs and 80 cats to several destinations around the world.
With increasing demand and expansion plans underway, Golder explained the growth to several factors including the rising rates of pet ownership in the UAE and the massive influx of individuals moving from Britain and Europe to Dubai to “enjoy the high-quality lifestyle.”
Although services are offered to and from various cities in the world, he noted that the demand has proved particularly strong for pet owners in Dubai. In response to rising demand, K9 Jets increased the frequency of the Dubai to London route.
Citing a recent example to highlight the extent of client servicing, Golder said, “We always go above and beyond for our customers, one example of this was earlier this year when we flew Daisy, an elderly three-legged Great Dane, who was relocating to the US. Due to her age and mobility issues, she could not walk up the steps of the aircraft, therefore, we arranged a special airlift for her to be able to enter and exit the aircraft safely.”
What does the ticket price include?
With tickets starting at $8,925 and going up to AED13,850 for the LA route, what exactly is included in the price? Golder highlighted that these prices come with “no hidden costs.”
The seat price includes:
- One passenger and up to two pets (up to 50lbs) or one large pet (over 50lbs).
- Three-course meal
- Afternoon tea
- Open bar
“This arrangement works well for our customers, therefore, there are no plans to introduce any additional options,” he said.
New routes and destinations
Currently, the firm operates pet charters to Birmingham, London, New Jersey, Lisbon, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Paris, Dublin, Milan, Dubai and Geneva. Alongside this, Golder revealed plans for new destinations.
“We’re always listening to customer feedback, and right now there is a huge demand to open a direct route to the US, Asia and Australia. We’re currently busy working on some exciting plans for later in 2025 and look forward to sharing more news soon,” he said.
Recognising challenges that come with opportunities, K9 is presently amid “positive conversations” that could lead to the announcement of new destinations in the future.
Pets are part of the family
According to a recent report, the pet travel service market has grown at a rapid pace recently. The market is anticipated to grow from $1.85 billion last year to $2.06 billion this year at a CAGR of 11.6 per cent.
The growth was attributed to several factors including the increasing rate of pet adoption, the evolving regulatory landscape, expansion of pet tourism and more.
However, Golder believes that there is “one common theme” across all the destinations that K9 operates in – “Pets are part of their family, and they want the very best for them,” he said.
When asked what it takes behind the scenes to keep pets comfortable throughout the flight, Golder said, “We do recommend that all our furry passengers do not eat before their flight (approximately six hours) so that they fly on empty tummies but remain hydrated with water, and we often find that most sleep on the flight, no matter the time of day, due to the white noise effect.”
The jets usually carry several passengers and pets at once, to ensure a smooth journey passengers have the time to meet and socialise before the flight “to feel comfortable with one another.”
Looking ahead, K9 jets has the vision to offer a “large number of destinations.”
“We want to make it as simple and accessible as possible for our customers to be able to travel the world with their pets by their side,” Golder concluded.
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