Short answer: Austrian Airlines lets cats and dogs fly in the cabin when the pet and its soft bag weigh up to 8 kg (17.6 lb) together, in a bag of up to 55 x 40 x 23 cm. The fee is €65 to €125 per flight, depending on distance.
Heavier pets fly in the hold in an IATA crate, snub-nosed breeds never go in the hold, and pet dogs flying into the US can only land at seven airports.
Austria is one of those places that looks made for a dog: café terraces, lake paths and long walks in mountain air. Getting there with Austrian Airlines is the part that needs a plan, and the rules have changed more than once since this page was first written.
So I went back to Austrian’s own pages in October 2026, opened every section, and rebuilt this guide around what the airline actually says today, from the 8 kg cabin rule to the crate rules that started in May 2026.
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| Rule | What Austrian allows |
|---|---|
| Pets in the cabin | Cats and dogs only, at least 12 weeks old |
| Cabin limit | 8 kg (17.6 lb) for pet and bag together |
| Cabin bag | Soft, up to 55 x 40 x 23 cm (118 cm in total) |
| Cabin fee | €65 to €125 per one-way segment |
| Hold fee | €80 to €380 per segment, by crate size and distance |
| Booking | My Bookings for cabin pets, except flights to the US |
| Deadlines | Cabin 24 hours, hold 72 hours before departure |
| Dogs to the US | At least 6 months old, seven airports only |
| UK and South Africa | Freight only, whatever the size |
| Snub-nosed breeds | Not accepted in the hold |
From Austrian’s travelling with animals page, its checklists and the Lufthansa Group agent factsheet, checked 21 October 2026.
Cabin or hold: where your pet will fly
Everything on Austrian starts with one number. If your pet and its bag weigh 8 kg (17.6 lb) or less together, it can ride in the cabin at your feet, and if not, it travels in the hold in a hard crate.
Only cats and dogs are allowed in the cabin, and birds can’t travel on Lufthansa Group flights at all, so a parrot or a rabbit needs a different plan.
Your pet has to be at least 12 weeks old. On routes to, from or via Germany the Lufthansa Group asks for 15 weeks, and a dog flying into the US has to be six months old.
Austrian doesn’t accept pregnant animals, in the cabin or in the hold.
The soft bag for the cabin
The carrier can measure up to 55 x 40 x 23 cm, which is about 21.6 x 15.7 x 9 inches and 118 cm in total, so that it fits under the seat in front of you.
It has to be soft, bite-proof and leak-proof, with no solid frame, no wheels and no telescopic handle. Up to two healthy pets can share one bag, as long as the 8 kg total still holds.
Your pet stays in the bag in the footwell for the whole flight. Bring two printed copies of Austrian’s signed pet forms to the check-in counter, and plan to be there about two hours before departure.
If you’re shopping for a bag, our guide to the carriers that fit under a Delta seat is a useful starting point, but measure against Austrian’s 23 cm height before you buy.
What it costs
Austrian charges per one-way flight segment, so a connection through Vienna counts twice. The cabin fee is €65 on domestic flights and €80 within Europe.
Further away it’s €105 on short intercontinental flights, €115 on medium ones such as New York, Chicago, Miami, Washington and Canada, and €125 on long ones such as Los Angeles.
In the hold, a crate of up to 60 x 45 x 40 cm (about 23.6 x 17.7 x 15.7 in) costs €80 to €190 per segment, and a larger crate costs €160 to €380, again rising with distance.
Pets in the hold also pay a surcharge of €150 (or USD 175) when you travel via Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna, Zurich, Geneva or Brussels. A Vienna transfer adds its own transfer fee, and a hold pet’s connection there can’t be longer than three hours.
A ticket service fee comes on top of the pet fee. Hold fees can be paid at the Austrian Service Centre or at the check-in desk, and the pet never counts toward your free baggage allowance.
Numbers to ignore
If you’ve seen a €50 cabin fee or a €100 and €150 hold fee, including on an older version of this page, those figures are out of date.
Booking your pet, and the deadlines
You can add a cabin pet yourself in My Bookings, except on flights to the US. For those, and for larger animals in the hold, you book through the Austrian Service Centre and give the size and weight of the crate.
- Book the pet when you book your seat. Space is limited per flight, and Austrian checks availability and your paperwork before it confirms.
- Cabin pets: registered no later than 24 hours before departure, at check-in about two hours before.
- Hold pets: registered no later than 72 hours before departure, at check-in about three hours before.
- Bring the forms: two printed, signed copies for the check-in counter.
The hold, and the crate rules that started in May 2026
From 4 May 2026, crates checked in the hold must meet extra IATA rules, and Austrian turns non-compliant crates away at check-in, which means your pet doesn’t fly.
The vent holes can be no bigger than 25 x 25 mm (about 1 inch) for dogs and 19 x 19 mm (about 3/4 inch) for cats, and Austrian flags crates bought before 2024 as the ones most likely to fail.
Wire or wire-mesh crates aren’t allowed. The water bowl has to be empty for the flight but reachable from outside, and your pet shouldn’t wear a leash, muzzle or harness inside the crate.
Two pets can share one hold crate only if they’re used to each other and each weighs 14 kg (about 31 lb) or less. The largest crate the Lufthansa Group takes is 125 x 75 x 85 cm.
Our guide to the best dog crates for travel is a good place to compare crates, but hold any crate you choose against the new vent rule.
Snub-nosed breeds and the fighting-dog list
Austrian doesn’t accept snub-nosed (brachycephalic, meaning short-muzzled) cats and dogs in the hold, because heat and stress can cause serious breathing problems and even death on a flight.
The dog list is long: all Bulldogs except the American Bulldog, all Pugs, Boxers, Boston Terriers, Shih Tzus, Pekinese, Lhasa Apsos, Chow Chows, Shar Peis, Bullmastiffs, Affenpinschers, Brussels Griffons, Japanese Chins and King Charles, English Toy and Tibetan Spaniels.
Austrian also counts the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Bull Terrier (not the Miniature) as snub-nosed. For cats, the list covers Persian, Himalayan, British Shorthair, Exotic Shorthair and Scottish Fold.
Austrian’s page doesn’t say anything extra about these breeds in the cabin, so a small one within 8 kg follows the normal cabin rules. Our guide on flying with a French Bulldog goes deeper.
A separate list covers dogs Austrian classes as fighting dogs: the American Bully, American Bulldog, Dogo Argentino, Kangal, Caucasian Ovcharka and Rottweiler. They fly only in the hold, in a special crate of solid wood at least 12 mm thick.
The one exception is a puppy from that list aged between three and six months, which can use a standard crate and follows the usual cabin or hold rules. The American Bully appears on both lists and is described as generally prohibited.
Flying your dog into the US
This is where Austrian is strictest, and where most of our readers start. Since the US rules for dogs changed on 1 August 2024, Austrian takes new bookings for pet dogs entering the US only to a short list of airports.
Those are Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK, Philadelphia and Washington Dulles. Newark works only if your dog hasn’t been in a high-risk rabies country in the last six months, and any other airport means air freight.
Your dog has to be at least six months old and microchipped, and you need the CDC Dog Import Form receipt before check-in. The Lufthansa Group says a dog without it will be refused, and the receipt is valid for six months.
Flights to the US can’t be booked in My Bookings, so call the Service Centre. Our guide to the CDC rules for dogs entering the US walks through the form.
Flying your pet from the US to Austria
Going the other way, your dog or cat needs a microchip before its rabies shot, the shot given at 12 weeks or older, and at least 21 days of waiting after a first vaccination before it travels.
The paperwork is an EU animal health certificate filled in by a USDA-accredited vet and endorsed by the USDA, within 10 days of arrival in the EU. The US is on the EU’s list of countries that don’t need a rabies titer test.
An EU pet passport can’t be issued in the United States, so US-based pets travel on the health certificate. A pet that already has an EU passport can use it to return to the EU if its rabies shot is valid and was recorded by an EU vet.
Up to five pets can travel together as a non-commercial move. Our guide to the EU pet travel rules for 2026 covers the rest of Europe.
Flights to the UK and South Africa
In some countries, including the United Kingdom and South Africa, animals have to travel as freight whatever their size, so you can’t bring your dog in the cabin or as a checked pet on those routes.
Austrian also says it may apply stricter rules or refuse reservations on certain routes, and that some destinations can’t take large animals in the hold. Our guide to what it costs to ship a dog covers the freight route.
Assistance dogs
Austrian only accepts dogs as assistance animals, and they fly free in the cabin. Outside the US you can bring one, at least four months old, and on flights to and from the US you can bring two, at least six months old.
For US flights booked more than 48 hours ahead, send the US DOT forms at least 48 hours before departure. The dog has to fit in your footwell, and you must bring a muzzle.
Assistance dogs can fly into any US airport if they meet the CDC rules, unlike pet dogs.
Emotional support animals
Since 1 March 2021, Austrian has only accepted fully trained assistance dogs in the cabin. An emotional support dog or cat travels as a pet, in the cabin or the hold depending on its size and weight, and pays the pet fee.
Questions people ask
How much does Austrian Airlines charge for a pet in the cabin?
Austrian charges per one-way flight segment: €65 on domestic flights, €80 within Europe, €105 on short intercontinental flights, €115 on medium ones such as New York, Chicago, Miami or Washington, and €125 on long ones such as Los Angeles. A ticket service fee is added.
What is the weight limit for pets in the cabin on Austrian?
Your pet and its carrier together can weigh up to 8 kg, which is about 17.6 lb. The soft bag can be up to 55 x 40 x 23 cm (about 21.6 x 15.7 x 9 in) and has to fit under the seat in front of you.
Can I fly my dog from Vienna to the US on Austrian?
Yes, but only into certain airports. Austrian takes new bookings for pet dogs entering the US to Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK, Philadelphia and Washington Dulles, plus Newark for dogs that haven’t been in a high-risk rabies country in the last six months. The dog needs to be six months old.
Can I book my pet online with Austrian?
For a pet in the cabin, yes: you can add it yourself in My Bookings, except on flights to the US. Larger animals and US flights go through the Austrian Service Centre.
Do snub-nosed dogs fly on Austrian?
Not in the hold. Austrian bans snub-nosed (brachycephalic) cats and dogs from the cargo hold because heat and stress can be dangerous for them. Its page doesn’t say anything extra about the cabin, where the normal 8 kg rule applies.
Does Austrian Airlines accept emotional support animals?
No. Since 1 March 2021 Austrian has only accepted fully trained assistance dogs in the cabin. An emotional support dog or cat travels as a pet, in the cabin or the hold depending on its size and weight, and pays the pet fee.
Can I fly my pet to London on Austrian?
Not as a cabin pet or checked pet. Austrian says that in some countries, such as the United Kingdom and South Africa, animals must travel as freight whatever their size.
I rewrote this guide in October 2026 and corrected several errors in the old version: the €50 cabin fee, the €100 and €150 hold fees, the idea that you can only book by phone, a 48-hour booking deadline and some temperature rules Austrian doesn’t publish.
Austrian is part of the Lufthansa Group, so our Lufthansa pet policy guide will feel familiar, and our airline pet policies A to Z compares the rest.
Sources
Austrian Airlines. Travelling with animals (cabin and hold rules, fees, breeds, US airports).
Austrian Airlines. Conditions of carriage, Article 8.8 (pets and assistance dogs).
Lufthansa Group. Animals factsheet for travel agents, June 2026 (age rules, booking deadline, crate size).
CDC. Dogs from rabies-free or low-risk countries (US entry rules for dogs).
USDA APHIS. Pet travel from the US to Austria (EU health certificate and endorsement).
USDA APHIS. EU pet passports (passports for US-based pets).
European Commission. Bringing a pet into the EU (rabies age, certificate validity, five pets).
The Nomad Paws is in memory of Woody, a great traveler and, most of all, the best, kindest and wisest friend I have ever had.
Every rule here comes from Austrian Airlines’ own pages and checklists, the Lufthansa Group factsheet and the US and EU agencies listed above, all read on 21 October 2026.
Airlines change these rules with little warning, so confirm with Austrian before you fly, and treat this as a careful summary rather than legal or veterinary advice. Here is how I make my guides.
