For Vicuna Air, it all started with a simple belief: dogs should never have to be treated like cargo. After struggling to find safe and comfortable options for travelling internationally with their own dogs, the team decided to create a better way. Today, Vicuna Air brings dogs and their owners together in the cabin, making international journeys calmer, more personal and more enjoyable.
Why did you feel the way pets travel needed to change?
Jamie Everett: “Because pets are family, and nothing about the way they travelled reflected that. My own dogs are Arthur, a rescue Sprocker, and Monty, a terrier mix I flew back from Northern Ireland myself when he was thirteen weeks old. Our family business was starting to take us back and forth across the Atlantic, and each time the same question came up: what happens to the dogs? The hold was never an option, so I looked for in-cabin options and there were a few, but they had almost no availability. I would go looking for a way to bring the dogs with me and find nothing. Speaking to other pet parents, it was clear I was far from the only one running into that wall. The demand was plainly there. The service wasn’t.”
Because pets are family, and nothing about the way they travelled reflected that.
What does a journey with Vicuna look like from take-off to landing?
Jamie Everett: “It begins with a phone call. Before anyone flies, a member of our team speaks with the owner to understand what they and their pet need — the nervous ones, the ones who want a longer walk beforehand, the ones who will sleep from wheels-up. We also take on the documentation, which is where most of the anxiety around pet travel lives. Every route has its own requirements, and we handle them on the client’s behalf rather than leaving them to work it out alone. At the airport we hold a socialisation hour, so the pets have time to grow comfortable with one another before boarding. There is no terminal crowd and no queue. Owners and pets walk to the aircraft together and board together. In the air it tends to be a great deal of snoozing, with the occasional bit of cloud gazing most settle within minutes of take-off and simply enjoy the cabin. On landing, clients are met by our chauffeurs and taken on to their final destination, so the journey finishes as calmly as it began.”
What is the experience like for pets onboard?
Jamie Everett: “As calm and as relaxed as we can make it. We’ve worked with specialists and pet behaviourists to understand how best to create a comfortable environment for every passenger on board. Most of them sleep. There are always a few more inquisitive characters who prefer the view from the window, or the chance to meet someone new.”
We look after everyone from the moment they get in touch to the moment they reach their final destination.
What do owners value most about travelling this way?
Jamie Everett: “We’ve taken a process that was outdated, stressful and anxiety-inducing, and made it as comfortable as possible for both our four-legged and two-legged passengers. We look after everyone from the moment they get in touch to the moment they reach their final destination, and I think it’s that continuity knowing nobody is handed over, hurried or left waiting that owners appreciate most.”
Which routes are currently the most popular?
Jamie Everett: “Our transatlantic route between New York and London remains the most popular, though our new European routes are growing quickly.”
We recently flew the largest dog we’ve ever carried and the smallest, on the same flight.
What has been the most memorable pet you’ve welcomed onboard?
Jamie Everett: “We recently flew the largest dog we’ve ever carried and the smallest, on the same flight. Bailey weighed 180lb, Honey weighed two and a half pounds, and neither showed the slightest embarrassment about it. Seeing the two of them side by side was a genuine pleasure and a great illustration that we fly pets of every shape and size.”
