11
Nov
2025
Southwest Airlines have a pet-friendly nature, which enables the small domestic cats and dog to be carried into the cabin on domestic flights. The airline has ensured that there are clear and precise policies in 2025 that will help strike a balance that attracts comfort and safety of the pets, passengers and the crew. This guide encompasses all key points of the Southwest Airlines pet policy, such as in-cabin provisions, pet carrier provisions, charges, health requirements, limitations, and a general evaluation of how pet-friendly the airline is.
The pet policy provided by Southwest Airlines is small, in-cabin, and ensures a relaxing trip for animals and passengers. To have safe travels, passengers have to comply with certain Southwest Airlines pet policy travel requirements on the size of the carrier, the age of pets, and their behavior.
Southwest Airlines has not provide pets in the form of baggage or cargo as other airlines. Depending on the pets, they have to travel in the cabin with their owners. Thus, animals are not allowed to be transported in a carrier in the cargo or as checked luggage according to the Southwest Airlines pet cargo policy. The policy has been used to minimize the stress and danger involved in the transportation of cargo, and it also provides the owners of pets with peace of mind because their pets are kept with them throughout the flight.
Southwest airlines have pet traveling policies. Small dogs and cats may be brought to the cabin; the other pets do not fit into the cargo department. Moreover, there are no special accommodations of emotional support animals (ESAs) any longer, as the directives, in turn, were updated in February 2021; at present, they are not subject to any special treatment and are treated as any other pets and subjected to the same conditions. The carriers who bring pets ought to be keen enough to make sure that the pets are small enough to fit into a carrier that the airlines will accept and perhaps even under the seat. Service animals on the other hand, are actually allowed to board free and are not under the same set of regulations such as those governing other animals, thus giving needed help to the disabled.
Southwest Airlines has a size limit of pet carriers in 2025:
No precise weight is imposed on the weight of pets, but the size of the carrier serves as the restraint. Ordinarily, the pet and carrier must have a combined total weight of 15 to 20 pounds to fit into the size and location provision.
The Southwest Airlines pet policy in cabin permits travel of small, vaccinated cats and dogs that are at least 8 weeks old on its domestic flights. Pets should be put in approved carriers that fit under the seat, and reservations are necessary because of lack of space. The airline imposes a fee on the carriage of pets, which is charged per carrier.
|
Fee Type |
Cost per One-Way Flight |
Notes |
|
In-cabin Pet Travel Fee (U.S. Mainland) |
$125 |
Fee per pet carrier; refundable if flight canceled or changed |
|
Pet Travel Fee (Hawaiian Islands Interisland) |
$35 |
Reduced fee for travel between Hawaiian islands |
|
Service Animals |
Free |
No fee charged for fully trained service animals |
|
Paid with Credit Card Only |
- |
Cannot use Southwest gift card, flight credit, or LUV Voucher for pet fee |
|
Pet Reservation Required |
- |
Pet space is limited (max 6 pets per flight), so reservation advised |
This table highlights the critical charges of visiting Southwest Airlines with pets in 2025. It emphasizes on the in-cabin pet travel charge, special price on inter-island flights to Hawaii and exemption on service animals. This is why it is important to plan everything in advance, because the airline does not carry too many pets at a time.
In the example of pets in Southwest Airlines, it is necessary to guarantee that they are in compliance with certain health and immunization requirements. The planning would assist in making the trip safe and comfortable to pets and passengers. The most important rules of traveling with your pets are the following ones.
In certain instances, like when flying to and out of places like Puerto Rico or Hawaii (only on inter-island flights), Southwest Airlines can demand evidence of vaccination or veterinary health certification.
The policy of Southwest Airlines only allows pets in-cabin, cats and dogs, but does not offer transport services to other pets. During the flight, pets have to be kept in carriers, and emotional support animals are not exceptions. A reservation is necessary and vicious dogs might be refused admission.
The Southwest Airlines is usually regarded as pet-friendly in terms of carrying little dogs and cats on domestic flights. The policies of the airline are meant to give pets a safe and comfortable environment that does not entail stowage of the pets in the cargo where many pet owners can be anxious. Nevertheless, the restricted number of pets that can be carried on any flight and the carrier size restrictions are a problem to the people who have huge pets.
Southwest charges $125 per one-way pet transport which is competitive but higher than the charges charged by some of the legacy carriers, and the fact that the company does not offer cargo pet transport services means that owners of large pets would have to look elsewhere.
The fact that the airline is accepting service animals free of charge and following the federal regulations also portrays a good picture of its pet policies.
On the whole, Southwest airlines can be regarded as a relatively affordable and, at the same time, rather convenient airline to people who have small cats and dogs on board the domestic flights as long as they plan their trips and rely on the rules of carriers and booking. However, this may not leave many alternatives to pet owners having large pets or those who may be forced to move to different countries.
The policy of Southwest Airlines on the subject of pet-conscious passenger behavior in 2025 remains clear and concise and is centered on in-cabin travel on small, vaccinated cats and dogs. Having stringent carrier dimension regulations, a bar on the quantity of pets per flight, and a charge of $125 for traveling, Southwest attempts to optimize the safety and comfort of passengers and their pets. The size constraints of the carriers automatically constrain the kind of pets that can fly and other options must be provided to pets that are too large to fit into a carrier or those that need to travel internationally.
Even though the emotional support animals are not given special treatment anymore, service animals that are trained fully will be carried free, which is indicative of the fact that Southwest is not violating federal regulations.
Southwest airlines will be an appropriate option to small pets owned by pet owners who are well organized and wish to keep their pets with them when traveling. It might be required that other airlines that have wider pet accommodations explore the needs of people with large pets or traveling longer distances than domestic flights.
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