Which Airlines Actually Fly Pets From the U.S. to Australia?

SHORT ANSWER

There is no official government list of "approved" pet airlines — Australia's Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) allows any airline to carry pets into the country "at the airline operator's discretion." In practice, though, very few airlines currently accept general-public pet bookings on U.S.-to-Australia routes. Qantas Freight is the most consistent option, flying pets as manifest cargo direct from Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO) into Melbourne. Air New Zealand Cargo is the other real option, routing pets through Auckland as an approved transhipment. United Airlines' PetSafe cargo program has been discontinued for the general public, and American Airlines restricts checked pets to active-duty military and State Department personnel — so neither is a viable path for most families. Because airline pet-cargo capacity, embargoes, and routing change often, working with an IPATA-certified pet shipper is the most reliable way to lock in a compliant flight.

Why There's No Official "Approved Airline" List

This is the part that trips up a lot of pet owners: unlike the veterinary and quarantine requirements, which are locked down by DAFF in exhaustive detail, the airline itself is not something the Australian government dictates. DAFF's own step-by-step guide for importing dogs from Group 3 countries states plainly: "You can use any airline to transport your dog to Australia, at the airline operator's discretion." DAFF simply directs pet owners to the International Pet and Animal Transportation Association (IPATA) to find an experienced transport agent or shipper — it does not publish or maintain a list of compliant carriers.

That distinction matters. It means the real constraint on "which airlines fly pets to Australia" isn't government policy at all — it's each individual airline's own willingness to accept live animal cargo, the aircraft types on their Australia routes, and whatever internal program (or lack of one) they run for it. Those internal programs change far more often than government import rules do, which is exactly why the list of realistic options is shorter than most people expect.

The Non-Negotiable Government Rules, No Matter the Airline

Whichever airline ultimately carries your pet, DAFF's transport conditions apply the same way across the board:

• Manifest cargo only. Pets cannot travel in the cabin or as checked "excess baggage." They must be booked and manifested as cargo.
• IATA-approved crate. The crate must meet International Air Transport Association Live Animals Regulations, sized correctly for the animal.
• Direct arrival into Melbourne only. Your pet must land directly at Melbourne International Airport. DAFF is explicit that it does not permit domestic transfers — for example, arriving into Sydney and then connecting on a domestic flight to Melbourne is not allowed.
• Transiting and transhipping rules. Your pet can transit through another country (staying on the plane, remaining airside) or tranship (change aircraft) at an approved country's airport, but only if that country's competent authority allows it and the animal never leaves the international side of the airport. This is the rule that makes Air New Zealand's Auckland routing workable.

For the full rundown on these cargo and crate requirements, see our guide on what vaccinations and treatments your dog needs before flying to Australia, which covers the veterinary side of this same timeline.

The Airlines That Actually Do This Today

Qantas Freight — the primary direct option

Qantas Freight is currently the most dependable carrier for pets moving from the U.S. into Melbourne, operating direct long-haul freight capacity out of Los Angeles and San Francisco. Qantas Freight's own pet and animal transport service handles dogs (excluding service dogs, which fly with their handler through separate channels), cats, and a handful of other small animals as freight, and it publishes its own eligibility rules — including a minimum age of 12 weeks and vet certification requirements for pets over 12 years old.

One detail that catches people off guard: Qantas will not carry animals when the forecast temperature at any point on the route is above 35°C (95°F) or below 5°C (41°F), or during severe weather. This is a genuine scheduling constraint, not a formality — it can shift your booking window by days or weeks depending on the season and the cities involved.

Air New Zealand Cargo — the Auckland transhipment route

Air New Zealand Cargo also carries pets internationally into Australia, but not on a direct U.S.-to-Melbourne routing. Instead, pets are booked through an approved pet transporter (Air New Zealand does not accept direct bookings for cargo pets from the public) and tranship through Auckland. Under DAFF's transhipment rules, this is fully compliant as long as the pet remains airside in New Zealand and the handling meets the competent authority's requirements there — it's a workaround, not a loophole.

United Airlines — no longer an option for civilians

This is one of the most important corrections to make if you're researching pet travel to Australia right now: United's PetSafe program, which used to check pets through as cargo, has been discontinued for the general public. United's current pet travel policy states cargo transport is available only "when traveling with certain active-duty military or State Department employees." For everyone else, United only offers in-cabin pet travel — which isn't relevant here anyway, since DAFF requires manifest cargo for every animal entering Australia, and United doesn't operate long-haul routes into Melbourne to begin with. If you've seen United listed as a "common carrier" for Australia pet moves in older articles, that information is now out of date.

American Airlines — military and State Department only

American Airlines' policy mirrors United's: checked pets at the ticket counter are accepted only for active-duty U.S. Military and U.S. State Department Foreign Service personnel traveling on official orders. American also does not operate its own passenger or freight service directly into Melbourne, so even where cargo pet transport is available, it isn't a workable routing option for a U.S.-to-Australia move.

Middle East hub carriers — usually not the current path for Australia

Qatar Airways and Emirates have historically been major carriers for international pet transport worldwide, thanks to their large hub cargo facilities in Doha and Dubai. Recently, though, disruptions affecting Middle East routing have pushed many Australia- and New Zealand-bound pet moves back toward Los Angeles-based departures on Qantas and Air New Zealand instead, specifically to avoid Middle East connections. If you're planning a move to Australia, the LAX-departure options above are currently the more dependable path, and that can change again as regional routing stabilizes.

Why Booking Directly With an Airline Is Riskier Than It Looks

Airline pet-cargo policy is a moving target. In the space of a single year, one major U.S. carrier eliminated its long-running pet cargo program entirely, and Middle East hub disruptions reshuffled routing for pets across an entire region. None of that touched a single DAFF requirement — the veterinary timeline, the RNATT test, the quarantine stay all stayed exactly the same — but it completely changed which airlines could physically get a pet to Melbourne.

This is exactly why DAFF itself recommends working with an experienced pet transport agent rather than booking cargo space independently. An IPATA-certified shipper tracks airline embargoes, program changes, and seasonal temperature restrictions as part of their day-to-day work — which matters more for the airline leg of this move than for almost any other step.

What Pet Owners Moving to Australia Are Actually Experiencing

The logistics side of this shows up constantly in relocation discussions. In a thread on r/Ameristralia, one user who moved a cat and a dog from Vermont to Melbourne described exactly how the airline piece fit into the bigger picture: "I did most of it myself and used [a pet transport company] to manage the actual transportation (if I recall directly the Australian government does require you to use a freight company for that part)... My pets only had to stay in Quarantine for 10 days after arrival so it wasn't too bad but if you know when you're departing I would get started on the testing so you don't have to wait longer than the 180 days in the US" (r/Ameristralia discussion).

That last point lines up with what DAFF's guide says directly: the airline booking is one of the later steps in the process, but it can't be treated as an afterthought, because flight availability, crate policies, and weather embargoes all have to line up with your RNATT-driven export window.

Planning Your Pet's Flight to Australia

Because the airline landscape can shift faster than the government requirements do, the safest approach is to lock in your veterinary and RNATT timeline first, then work with a transport specialist who can match that timeline to whichever airline currently has compliant, available cargo capacity. For the full picture of what happens before your pet ever reaches the airport, see our guide on what vaccinations and treatments your dog needs before flying to Australia and our complete guide to pet relocation to Australia.

Frequently Asked Questions