Bird in the next seat

Russian airlines more pet-friendly than ours

(Bild: stock.adobe.com, Krone KREATIV)

There has been a real hype about pets in Russia in recent years. The airlines there now want to accommodate this by allowing pets to be taken directly into the cabin under very generous conditions. What is particularly striking is that far more is allowed than here!

Harsh climate, harsh regime, fears for the future... Russia is probably not the ideal environment for a happy life. Over the past few years, it has therefore been observed that people are increasingly turning to pets - they want a distraction from the harshness of everyday life. The four-legged friends are becoming more and more integrated into the family and this brings with it new demands. Vacations with dogs are now also a great desire there. The airlines "Aeroflot" and "Rossija" now want to meet this demand. With immediate effect, they are allowing pets weighing up to 15 kilograms to travel directly in the cabin, conveniently in the next seat.

"This service will be permanently available on Aeroflot flights and on flights operated by its subsidiary Rossiya Airlines," reports the state news agency RIA Novosti.

The search engine "Aviasales" is already joking in Russia about the comfort that will now be granted to four-legged friends:

Dog baby carriages can also travel free of charge
After a three-month test phase, it was agreed that this offer was in demand among owners of small animals and birds, "Aeroflot" announced. During this time alone, more than 900 pets were transported in this way. The service is available for all classes. In Business Class, however, the transport container may be a bit larger. Passengers traveling with four-legged friends also have the option of taking a dog stroller with them free of charge and using it until boarding.

In Germany, it's off under the front seat
By way of comparison: in Germany, it is only permitted to transport animals weighing up to eight kilograms (the weight including the transport box is counted) in the cabin. However, the adjoining seat is taboo for this - the four-legged friends must be stowed under the front seat.

Furthermore, only dogs and cats are allowed to travel in the cabin. Birds on the next seat are almost unimaginable.