American Airlines pet policy

Pets in the cabin

Allowed

“Carry-on pets are limited to cats and dogs that meet the size, age and destination requirements.”

From American Airlines’s website, checked 21 Oct 2026

Under-seat carrier, maximum

Not published

“Non-collapsible kennels can’t exceed the under-seat dimensions of any aircraft included in your journey. Please contact Reservations to verify maximum dimensions.”

Limits differ by carrier type (soft vs hard) and by Mainline vs American Eagle; no single published box fits inside all of them. See soft/hard fields and aircraftVariants.

From American Airlines’s website, checked 21 Oct 2026

Soft-sided carrier, maximum

18 × 11 × 11 in (46 × 28 × 28 cm)

“18 x 11 x 11 inches / 46 x 28 x 28 centimeters”

All flights. Soft-sided recommended.

From American Airlines’s website, checked 21 Oct 2026

Hard-sided carrier, maximum

16 × 12 × 8 in (41 × 30 × 20 cm)

“16 x 12 x 8 inches / 40 x 30 x 20 centimeters”

Most restrictive hard-sided limit (American Eagle flights). American Mainline allows 19 x 13 x 9 in.

From American Airlines’s website, checked 21 Oct 2026

Carrier size by aircraft

American Mainline flights (hard-sided carrier): 19 × 13 × 9 in American Eagle flights (hard-sided carrier): 16 × 12 × 8 in All flights (soft-sided carrier): 18 × 11 × 11 in

“19 x 13 x 9 inches / 48 x 33 x 22 centimeters”

Pets not permitted under seats in First/Business on B777-200, B777-300ER, B787-8, B787-9 (and A321XLR premium); A321T First/Business uses a dedicated animal compartment.

From American Airlines’s website, checked 21 Oct 2026

Weight limit, pet and carrier

20 lb (9 kg)

“The total weight of your pet and its carrier must not exceed 20 pounds (9.07 kilograms).”

Original: 20 lb (9.07 kg). On aa.com this sentence sits inside the A321T row of the aircraft table, so it may apply only to that aircraft; kept as a limit to stay conservative.

From American Airlines’s website, checked 21 Oct 2026

Fee each way

$150 each way

“$150 per kennel”

Carry-on pet within/between the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Page footnote: fees 'apply per kennel, each way'.

From American Airlines’s website, checked 21 Oct 2026

Pets per passenger

1

“On flights with American you can bring one pet carrier as a carry-on if:”

One carrier per passenger; pets per carry-on carrier not stated.

From American Airlines’s website, checked 21 Oct 2026

Animals allowed in the cabin

Dog, cat

“Carry-on pets are limited to cats and dogs”

From American Airlines’s website, checked 21 Oct 2026

Minimum age

8 weeks

“Pets traveling within the U.S. and Puerto Rico must be at least 8 weeks old.”

From American Airlines’s website, checked 21 Oct 2026

Pet must stand and turn around

Not published

Carry-on rule only says pets must 'fit comfortably inside the closed / zipped carrier'. Stand/turn wording is for checked kennels.

From American Airlines’s website, checked 21 Oct 2026

Breed restrictions

Brachycephalic / snub-nosed dogs and cats (any mix) are not accepted as checked pets.

“We don’t accept brachycephalic or snub-nosed dogs of any 'mix' as checked pets, such as:”

Checked pets only; no breed restriction stated for carry-on.

From American Airlines’s website, checked 21 Oct 2026

Checked or cargo pets

Limited

“We only accept checked pets at the ticket counter for active-duty U.S. Military and U.S. State Department Foreign Service personnel traveling on official orders.”

Everyone else ships via American Airlines Cargo (PetEmbark).

From American Airlines’s website, checked 21 Oct 2026

The airline decides at the gate. Check your booking.

Informational only. We copy American Airlines’s published words and link to them; we don’t speak for the airline.