Maybe. There are only minimal spots on a flight for pets, whereas there are hundreds of flight seats for people. For the best chance of being on the same flight as your pet, it’s best to book your pet’s flight first. However, this does not guarantee you’ll be together; it just gives you better odds.

Delayed – The airline must notify us if the delay is a few hours long. Our team then goes to the airport to check on the animal and ensure they’re doing well.

Cancelled – If a Qantas domestic flight is cancelled, Qantas automatically offers the next available spot. Our team will contact you to confirm if you’d like to proceed. Depending on what you want to do, we can go pick up your pet and bring them back to our office, to boarding, or back to your residence.

No, Qantas does not offer reward points for pets.

For safety reasons, animals are first to be loaded off the aircraft. Pets are then brought to the Qantas Freight Terminal and are usually ready for collection around 45 to 90 minutes after flight arrival. For regional ports, please collect your pet 10 – 30 minutes after the inbound flight has departed. Owners need to have their ID and airway bill (digital or printed) to collect the pet.

Unfortunately, airport staff only send updates for international flights. If you’d like to track your pet’s domestic flight, you can Google their flight number, or check on their Qantas flight status. If you’ve elected to have Dogtainers drop off or pick up your pet from the airport, we can send you updates personally, so you know how your fur baby is doing.

Dogtainers and Qantas have a strong relationship, and in 2021, we arranged Qantas flights for more than 5,500 pets.

Pets on domestic services can only be booked and travel on flights operated by Qantas with flight numbers QF400 and above. This covers most flights going to major Australian cities and regional ports.

If you want to fly internationally, there are some countries that Qantas is not currently flying to. This includes pet and animal bookings between Australia and London, Australia and Vancouver, and from Hong Kong to Australia. If you’d like a complete list of countries Qantas doesn’t fly to, feel free to call us on 1300 13 52 52, or fill in our obligation-free quote and we’ll get back to you.

Airline regulations state that we cannot send food with your pet when they travel. We can send medications with your pets if they are identified by the vets and clearly state the content. However, the airline reserves the right to refuse the medication.

Be sure to weigh and measure your pet correctly. If at the time of lodgement there are any weight discrepancies, or a larger crate is required, your pet may be offloaded, and additional charges will be incurred. Learn more about crates and measuring your pet.

We recommend not feeding your pet within 8 hours of travel as this can cause them to have an accident inside the crate. Although it is natural for your pet to answer nature’s call, if your pet has an accident in their crate before their flight, the airline will refuse to put them on the flight until a Dogtainers representative can clean the pet and inside the crate. This can then result in flights being missed, and additional charges may apply.

A firmly fixed water bowl that your pet can drink from with a funnel on the outside is mandatory for your pet to fly.
You can place absorbent material in your pet’s crate, such as deluxe vet bedding or a puppy training pad, but no straw, kitty litter or newspapers are allowed. If the material is soiled during the flight, it will not be returned after the flight.
Qantas lets you add one small toy to your pet’s crate. However, Qantas and Dogtainers take no responsibility for any lost items during transport. Any items you send are at your own risk.

Do not put any food, leads, or harnesses in your pet’s crate, as these are not allowed by Qantas.