Champagne. Extra leg room. Priority boarding. These are all nice-to-haves for a first-class flight experience. But at Bark Air, calming pheromones, music, and calming jackets are just a few amenities for the VIP guests on the flight—very important pups, that is.
Bark, which is beloved for its monthly treat-and-toy subscription boxes for dogs, on Thursday offered its first cross-country flight from New York City to Los Angeles on its newly launched charter airline. The company is differentiating itself from commercial airlines where small dogs or service animals join their human companions, instead making the flight experience dog-first.
“We built our service to be 100% focused on the dog,” Dave Stangle, vice president of marketing for Bark, tells Fortune. Bark Air’s concierge service “really [goes] above and beyond pampering every single dog, getting to know them from the minute that they booked their ticket.”
To start, Bark Air will have flights from New York City to Los Angeles and London with one-way flights costing roughly $6,000 to $8,000, but pricing will vary based on routes and time of year. Humans don’t pay anything for their ticket. However, Bark Air hopes to be able to offer lower prices as demand increases and more flight routes are added.
“The reality is we have to start with this model because the upfront costs are really expensive,” Stangle says. “And to us, [price] wasn’t a good enough reason to not do it. We knew there was demand at this price range.”
Bark Air’s prices are, indeed, competitive with other charter airlines offering similar services. U.K.-based K9 Jets offers a range of flights in Europe and the U.S., which can cost up to $14,000 based on current offerings.
“We're very excited that we're still getting tons of bookings, because that means in the future we are going to be able to invest a lot more into this and that will help us bring the cost down to capture more of an audience,” Stangle says.
The in-flight experience for dogs
Before Bark Air’s official maiden voyage on Thursday, the airline offered several test flights to ensure the booking, boarding, and in-flight experience was seamless for dogs and their human companions. The airline’s catchphrase is “Dogs Fly First,” a motto that rings true from the time of booking until the pup reaches its final destination.
After booking, Bark Air contacts the owner to collect information about each dog, including size, temperament, and any preferences. They do this in order to have a good mix of dogs on the aircraft so as not to overcrowd. While there are typically about 10 to 15 seats on each flight available, Bark Air won’t crowd the flight if, say, several large or extra-large dogs book a seat early on.
“If we put a flight up and the first five people to book all have 80-pound Labs [or] really big dogs, then we might cap it off early,” Stangle says. “Having the concierge in place and being able to get to know every passenger as they book gives us a ton of control over the in-flight experience. That way we can make sure all the dogs are happy and comfortable.”
Then, on travel day, dogs and their companions just need to arrive at the airport about 45 minutes to an hour before takeoff. This gives the VIP passengers a chance to meet their puppy friends ahead of their flight. Bark Air passengers are also treated to meals prepared by onsite chefs—and don’t have to worry about crates, TSA checkpoints, or other screening.
“It's fun to turn these airport lounges into mini dog parks,” Stangle says.
Other flight prep includes calming pheromones, music, and colors that “pups prefer,” according to Bark Air. And during the flight, Bark Air also offers calming treats, noise-canceling earmuffs, and calming jackets—as well as their “beverage of choice.” Plus, Bark Air organizes a seating chart so dogs who like to play with one another can do so throughout the flight, and more reserved dogs can just sit with their owner and be left alone, Stangle says.
Future service expansions
At launch, Bark Air wanted to offer flights where it was the trickiest—or essentially impossible—to get without driving in a car. That’s why they started with cross-country flights and flights between the U.S. and the U.K., Stangle says.
“We're planning on expanding to a lot more routes way faster than we thought initially,” Stangle says. So far, Bark Air has gotten requests for routes to and from Texas, Colorado, and Florida, as well as other countries including Brazil and Paris. Currently, the airline generally flies to and from the U.K. about twice per month, and flies weekly between New York and Los Angeles.
“We are excited to take the insights we’ve learned over the years to create an experience that is truly dog-first, which is drastically different from just accepting dogs—from the ground to the skies,” Matt Meeker, cofounder and CEO at Bark, said in a statement.
