Virgin Australia to allow dogs, cats on planes by Christmas, as airline eyes growth in 2026

After a year-long battle with health regulators over treating planes as 'restaurants', Virgin Australia is set to let pets fly in cabins.

Virgin Australia boss Dave Emerson has revealed the airline has cleared the final regulatory hurdle to put pets on planes. Picture: Alex Coppel

Virgin Australia chief executive Dave Emerson has revealed the airline has cleared the final regulatory hurdle to put pets on planes, with small dogs and cats set to fly in cabins by the Christmas holidays.

Speaking at the CAPA Airline Leaders Summit in Cairns on Thursday, Mr Emerson said the process had taken longer than expected, due to the fact aircraft are considered “restaurants” by health authorities.

“You’re not allowed to bring your pets into a restaurant so we had to change the rules and get an exemption and that process took just over a year,” he said.

“But just recently (that) cleared so we’re past that hurdle now and are looking forward to launching before the end of the year.”

As previously announced, only small cats and dogs weighing up to 8kg, including their carrier, will be permitted on-board and then only in two “pet friendly” designated rows.

Carriers will have to fit under the seat in front, and pets will have to remain in the carrier at all times.

Relatively short flights, such as Melbourne-Sydney, are expected to be the first to trial the new policy, which came about after the Civil Aviation Safety Authority relaxed its rules for the carriage of animals.

“We’re very excited for this, it’s something that you see in Europe and the US, and we think Australia is going to be super-excited for this,” Mr Emerson said.

Pricing is yet to be determined for the service, which is in addition to the ongoing carriage of pets in the cargo hold.

Virgin Australia cabin crew with pets, in preparation for the new policy taking effect. Picture: Alex Coppel

Qantas and Jetstar remain adamant they will not be following Virgin Australia’s lead on pets in the cabin.

As well as bringing the promise of pets in the cabin to fruition, Mr Emerson has delivered Virgin Australia’s return to the ASX in his first few months as CEO, having replaced Jayne Hrdlicka in mid-March.

He confessed it was a stressful time, given that just days before the float the US attacked Iran, sparking fears of a market meltdown, and then Iran retaliated.

“It’s probably been a bit of a different IPO experience than some, where 3am the night before I get a call saying ‘our flights have been diverted, missiles are falling’, and so there was probably a little question of whether that would affect the market sentiment,” he said.

“But miraculously by 8am, everything was ‘peace declared’, and the clouds parted.

“It’s a different world we’re living in, and events seem to come and go quickly. We seem to move past them and that’s been great.”

Travel demand remained strong, with consumers still prioritising a holiday above all else, which boded well for Virgin Australia as it prepared to take delivery of another 16 aircraft by mid-2026.

Twelve new Boeing 737 Max 8s are headed for the domestic and short-haul international fleet, and four Embraer 190 e2s are earmarked for fly-in, fly-out routes in Western Australia, replacing ageing Fokker 100s.

Virgin Australia CEO Dave Emerson says the airline will take delivery of 16 new aircraft by the end of June 2026. Picture: Jane Dempster

Mr Emerson said it was a significant upgrade for the WA market, with the longer range of the Embraers opening up the possibility of flights to the east coast on the weekends.

“It’s a modern aircraft, it’s got all the benefits, much better fuel burn, much more carbon friendly, quieter, longer range, and it has economy and business cabins,” he said.

For the medium term at least, it seemed unlikely Virgin Australia would add any widebody aircraft to its fleet, limiting long haul international flying to wet-lease services with partner Qatar Airways.

Mr Emerson said those flights were being closely monitored, and would provide good insights into what a full return to long haul international flying might look like.

“Our shareholders rightfully expect us to be good stewards of their money, and to not put money into places where we can’t earn it back,” he said.

“The other thing is, of course, it’s almost impossible to get widebody aircraft for many years, so that will be another thing we have to consider.”

Originally published as Virgin Australia to allow dogs, cats on planes by Christmas, as airline eyes growth in 2026