Top 10 Airline Approved Dog Crates For Giant And Small Pets

Are you ready to travel by air with your dog but can’t find and don’t know anything about airline-approved dog crates?

If you continue reading this article, not only will you read reviews of the best ones out there but you’ll also learn about what it takes for a crate to be optimal for flying, different types of airline crates, and more. As for the crates, you’ll find large crates, giant crates, extra small crates, and more.

Best 10 Airline Approved Dog Crates

BEST OF BEST AIRLINE DOG CRATE

Petmate Ultra Vari Kennel

Recycled Plastic Build
If you care about the environment, you’ll enjoy this recycled plastic crate. It’s made out of 2 plastic shells that you can connect with winged nuts that won’t corrode. This dog crate for flying gets ventilated from all sides, 2 are covered with wire while the back has ventilation holes.

Door And Size
The front is actually where the single door is. The lock on this door is easily opened by humans but not dogs that should be large dogs to fit inside comfortably since it’s 40-in long.  It’s an extra-large dog travel crate so check out others if you’d prefer an even larger one.

BEST XL AIRLINE APPROVED DOG CRATE

SportPet Designs Plastic Kennel

Windows And Door
You’ll find wire windows all around the crate and the front features a wire door. It has 2 carrying handles and can sit on easily removable wheels. It’s 48-in long which makes it an airline-approved xl dog crate. For even larger crate models than this crate, read the crate for giant breed dogs article next.

Basic Air Travel Kit
The top plastic shell is white while the bottom one is grey. They connect either with plastic clips or with nuts and bolts that are part of the basic travel kit that make it airline approved. Other accessories included are ”live animal” stickers, bungee tie-down holes, and 2 clip-on bowls.

BEST CARGO AIRLINE DOG CRATE

Petmate Sky Kennel

Basic Build Details
The door and 2 windows are made with extra strong black-colored wire. The wire color compliments the darkish grey color of the heavy-duty plastic shells as well. The door lock won’t slip or slide during transport because it’s a vault-type door lock. It’s 40-in long so it’s made for larger dog breeds.

Air Travel Extras
It does come with live animal stickers, ID stickers, 2 bowls for food and water, and holes for tying it down with bungees. If this airline cargo pet carrier caught your eye due to its size of 40-in in length, you should definitely read about other 40-inch dog crates in the article we linked.

BEST LARGE AIRLINE APPROVED DOG CRATE

Petmate Vari Kennel

Door Safety And Plastic Toughness
Each doorpost on this crate is covered to make the front wire door last longer. The already standard plastic shells it’s made out of are made with heavy-duty but recycled plastic. It’s 48-in long so it’s good for containing and traveling with extra-large dogs. It’s also important you know the height of 35-in.

Dog Weight And Shell Connection
Your dog can easily be in the 90 lbs to 120 lbs range to fit inside comfortably. The shells connect with nuts that won’t corrode and they can be secured even more with tie-down bungees due to the tie-down holes. If you’d like to check out other large dog airline crates that are a bit smaller, we linked the article about them below.

BEST MEDIUM AIRLINE DOG CRATE

SportPet Designs Airline Kennel

Ventilation And Size
The back is where the additional holes, along with the wire door and 2 wire windows for ventilation, are located. The top features 1 carrying handle and you’ll get to increase its mobility if you put on the 4 provided wheels, It’s 27-in long and 19-in tall.

Dogs It Can Contain
The dogs it can house shouldn’t be taller than 16-in and longer than 24-in. It’s IATA approved meaning it comes with nuts and bolts, stickers, bowls, and bungee tiedown holes. It will pass the extra regulations for crates some airlines have. You can use it as a medium airline-approved crate or as a medium dog travel crate in general. Check out others if you’d like a different model and crate type.

BEST PLASTIC AIRLINE APPROVED DOG CRATE

Yafeco Pet Carrier

Crate Build
This crate has a capsule design so all of its corners are rounded. The sides are made out o clear material while the top, front, and back are plastic with holes in them for proper ventilation. It also has a zipper close mesh fabric window that acts as an entrance.

Crate Size Benefit
You can fold it down and store it away with no problems. It’s around 17-in long and 13-in tall which makes it fit for housing extra small dogs. Because it’s so small, it can fit below seats off airlines and if you’d like to check out more than just this plastic airline crate, read the article about other clear dog crates.

BEST SOFT AIRLINE APPROVED DOG CRATE

X-Zone Pet Dog Carrier

Interior Bottom And Build
The crate looks and acts as a carry-on bag. It can be folded and has a hard base to keep your dog more stable. It also comes with a soft mat for more comfort while traveling. It’s made out of waterproof polyester material so it’s lightweight and if you happen to see the benefit of that, you can read about other soft portable dog crates next.

Carrying Methods And Size
The inside comes with a leash to keep your dog safe. It features mesh fabric windows on three sides and has a top, front, and back entrance. It’s 17.5-in long which makes it suitable for containing extra small dogs. That’s mainly the reason this carry handle and shoulder strap-equipped crate is airline approved.

BEST SMALL AIRLINE APPROVED DOG CRATE

Ibiyaya Premium Airline Dog Carrier

Sides Details
The focus of airlines below whose seats this crate can go below to be airline approved is American airlines. It has 2 clear plastic sides and the rest is primarily made out of hard fabric that’s actually faux leather. It has ventilation holes in the front and back while the top features an entrance made out of mesh fabric.

Doors And Size
This dog crate for flying has a front, back, and top entrance and it’s 15.7-in long, 11-in wide, and 11-in tall which means you can contain small dogs inside. If you’d like another clear dog crate that’s a bit bigger than this one you can read the article we linked below next.

BEST CLOTH AIRLINE DOG CRATE

Henkelion Dog Carrier

Design And Carrying
With the carry-on bag looks and design and the extra small design with its 15-in in length, 9-in in width, and 9-in in height, it’s the perfect travel companion for taking aboard an airplane. The polyester fabric it’s made out of is waterproof and lightweight. For carrying you’ll get carry handles and a padded shoulder strap.

Doors And Bed
This dog crate for flying features 4 mesh fabric windows and the same number of doors. The interior comes with a cozy pet bed that you can wash with no problems inside a machine as well. It’s colored pink so if you happen to like that about carry-on bags or crates, check out other small pink dog crates next.

BEST CARRIER AIRLINE APPROVED DOG CRATE

Petmate Two Door Kennel

Doors And Design
Some airlines may not approve of the top load door this crate has but will surely approve of the front wire door that locks with a pinch to open the lock. It’s 19-in long, 13-in wide, and 10-in tall so it’s still small enough to fit below airplane seats. This dog flight crate has a top plastic pink shell and a bottom black one.

Top Load Door
The shells connect with nuts and bolts that won’t corrode. The top load door features ventilation holes and a carry handle as well. If you’d prefer a soft or a wire crate similar to this one, you can read the small pink dog crate article next to find them all.

How To Pick An Airline Approved Dog Crate

Even when you find a crate that’s said to be an airline-approved dog crate, you still need to know plenty of things before you can realize whether or not you can use it for air travel. We’ll talk about crate air travel locations, important basic regulations, and many other things.

Airline Approved Dog Crate Sizes – With airline crates, you want to follow the dog size instructions the crate manufacturer provided. These crates are generally smaller and are a perfect fit for dog containment. Depending on the crate brand and size, your dog will most likely be 3-4 inches smaller in height and length than the crate you’re getting. The biggest crates you’re able to get are 48-in long crates.

Dog Flying Ways – There are three ways in which your dog will get to travel with you aboard an airplane. One is where the crate will act as a carry-on bag that you can take with you aboard an airplane. The second is where dogs are treated as checked bags and will be weighed and transported with other bags. The third and last way is where your dog will travel as cargo.

Large Dog On Air Travel – Large dogs, unfortunately, can’t travel as carry-on luggage (only extra small dogs up to 20 lbs can) and will either travel as cargo or as checked bags. You still want to call your specific airline to check where exactly your dog will travel just so you can prepare better for the flight and to make sure your dog will be safe.

Puppy And Anxious Dog On Travel – Most airlines won’t allow dogs that are less than 8 weeks old. You should also make sure that the dog is crate-trained before traveling but if the flight you have to take is urgent and you don’t have time to crate train your dog or your dog is too anxious and rowdy, you can go to your veterinarian to give your dog some calming pills or injection.

International Travel – The number of ventilation windows on a crate determines whether or not you’ll get to travel internationally or not. 4 windows are required for international travel and 3 for domestic travel. You also have to get a stamp on your passport from your department of agriculture.

Basic Air Travel Kit – No matter what, your air travel portable dog crate should be marked with live animal stickers, be able to connect with nuts and bolts and tied down with bungees, and should also include bowls. Some crates come with all the things listed while some do not. There’s plenty of other things you’ll have to do depending on your specific airline like microchips, vaccination records, health certificates, and of course, pet passports but these are more international flight things.

Crate And Air Travel Prices – You will have to pay extra to travel with your dog depending on whether the dog will travel as cargo, checked bag, or carry-on luggage. The price depends on the airline while airline dog crate aren’t cheap either. Large dog crates are more expensive though but you don’t want to skimp on price when it comes to these.