Flying with a pet on WestJet

A cat, dog or bird may travel in the cabin in a kennel up to 41 x 21.5 x 25.4 cm (16 x 8.5 x 10 in). The pet must be able to stand, sit, turn around and lie down comfortably inside it, and the kennel counts as your personal item. It is one pet per guest, and birds have their own entrance requirements at some destinations, so check those early.

A pet cannot travel in the cabin in the Business cabin of the 787 Dreamliner. If your fare or upgrade puts you in 787 Business, the pet cannot come with you up front, so tell us the aircraft and cabin before you book, because this is easy to miss when you focus on the seat and not the pet.

WestJet carries birds, cats, chinchillas, dogs, guinea pigs, hedgehogs and rabbits as checked baggage in the hold, in a hard-sided kennel up to 101 x 68 x 81 cm. Per-flight caps are strict: 3 kennels on the 737 (including the MAX), 2 on the 787 and 1 on the Dash 8. A pet travelling without you goes through WestJet Cargo instead.

WestJet does not carry pets to or from Hawaii, the United Kingdom, Ireland (Dublin), Jamaica or Barbados, at all, cabin or hold. These are the bans that strand a booking, so if your destination is on that list you need another plan for the pet. Tell us early and we will look at the whole trip together.

There is a seasonal embargo on pets in checked baggage from May 15 to October 31 for heat-restricted destinations, because the hold can get dangerously hot on the ground in summer. It does not affect a small pet flying in the cabin, but it can shut the hold option for a bigger dog over the summer, so the season and your pet's size decide what is possible.

Pet spots per flight are limited, so request space at least 48 hours before departure or it may be unavailable even when a seat is not. If your dog is entering the United States, the CDC's dog-entry form applies. Sort the paperwork early, because it is checked before boarding and a gap can strand you at the gate.