Virgin Australia will become the first airline in the Australia to welcome pets in the cabin, with tickets for its new Pets in Cabin service now on sale.
The Australian-first initiative will launch as a trial from 16 October 2025, with inaugural flights operating from Melbourne to the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. The service will initially be limited to small dogs and cats, with fares set at an introductory price of $149 per animal, per sector. Since flagging its intentions in March 2024, Virgin Australia has worked with international carriers already offering similar services, as well as animal welfare organisations and accessibility groups, to create a model that balances guest comfort and animal wellbeing.
The trial is designed to capture feedback from customers before the airline considers a wider rollout across its domestic network in 2026.
Virgin Australia CEO Dave Emerson said the new service responds to significant demand from the market. “Our guests have been telling us for years how much they want to travel alongside their pets and now they finally can. With almost 70 percent of households owning a pet, we expect the service to be embraced across the country,” he said.
Emerson added that the move would also generate new opportunities for the pet-friendly travel sector, including hotels and tourism operators. He positioned the service as part of the airline’s ongoing focus on innovation, citing earlier firsts such as online check-in, baggage tracking and the Middle Seat Lottery.