Flying domestically or internationally with a beloved canine or a cat can seem like a stressful process. In this article, we will guide you through the steps you need to take to travel with your pet, emotional support animal, or service dog. We will be focusing on Hawaiian Airlines specifically and you can find information about many other airlines in our blog section.

Emotional Support Animals (ESA) on Hawaiian Airlines

ESAs are no longer treated the same way as service dogs. The Department of Transportation (DOT for short) issued an update on December 2nd, 2020 regarding service animals, emotional support animals (ESAs), and the rights of disabled passengers. The ruling of the Department of Transportation came into effect on March 1st, 2021 and it changed the way ESAs are treated. Emotional support animals are subject to pet travel policies now. Hawaiian Airlines is no exception.

If you plan to travel with an emotional support animal on a Hawaiian Airlines flight, please make sure to announce your plans to the Reservations Department at 1-800-367-5320 at least 48 hours in advance. Pets are not permitted to travel in the cabin on the following routes:

• International flights
• Flights to/from PPG, JFK, BOS, AUS, and SLC

Emotional Support Animals, service dogs, and pets are expected to comply with the animal import regulations at the countries of origin and arrival. Domestic flights with an ESA in the cabin are still possible. Please note that they will be treated as pets and will need to comply with the airline’s pet policy.

How to Fly with a Pet or Emotional Support Animal on Hawaiian Airlines?

Any passenger with an ESA/pet will be expected to submit evidence for their animal being properly vaccinated, in good health, and accompanied by the proper animal entry permit for their route. We recommend you check the US Department of Agriculture's veterinary requirements for animals and carefully read the pet travel page.

Every passenger can have a single pet carrier with them in the passenger cabin. Additionally, self-service check-in options will be restricted. Please, arrive at the check-in desk at least 3 hours in advance of the flight so your animal can be vetted.

Does Hawaiian Airlines Accept Psychiatric Service Dogs?

Yes, they do! Fully trained service dogs are welcome on all flights. You do not have to pay any fees. Depending on your route and completed service dog training, limitations may apply for connecting flights so make sure to learn about the service dog regulations at your destination. Self-trained service dogs are welcome as long as they behave properly and comply with health regulations. Additionally, no more than two service dogs will be accepted per passenger.

Do Psychiatric Service Dogs Fly for Free?

Service dogs of all types dogs fly free of charge but you should make sure your dog complies with the animal import regulations. If you have a small service animal that you are transporting in a carrier please make sure it complies with the airline’s requirements. Non-compliant carriers will only be accepted as checked baggage and you may have to pay extra for the carrier.

How to Fly with Your Psychiatric Service Dog on Hawaiian Airlines?

Hawaiian Airlines clearly says that all responsibility for the well-being safety, conduct and health of the service dog falls to the handler/user. The service animals have to be supervised at the airport and for the entire duration of the flight. You are responsible for notifying the airline about your service dog at a minimum of 48 hours prior to departure. Of course, you have to present the appropriate paperwork for your dog. Canine Crosses with wolfs are not permitted on the territory of the state. Any non-domestic dogs and cats and hybrids are not permitted entry into the Hawaiian State.

You can complete the required US DOT Service Animal Air Transportation Form at the airport with a Complaints Resolution Official or you can do that online and email it. It is important to note that if you are flying to London Heathrow or London Gatwick International Airports with a service dog, you must have Animal Reception Centre approval in advance. This letter is obtained via emailing the airport authorities at least a week prior to your flight. If you are traveling to Edinburgh Airport with a service dog, you must contact arc@extrordinair.co.uk at least two days before travel. Please, refer to the State of Hawaii Animal Industry Division page for more details.

Service dog handlers have to fill out the Service Animal Application and send it electronically to the Reservations department or present a hard copy at the check-in desk at least 48 hours in advance of boarding. A health certificate stating that your Service Animal is fit for travel must be signed and dated by a licensed veterinarian within 14 days of your arrival in Hawaii and shown to one of their agents.

A Neighbor Island Inspection Permit issued by the State of Hawaii Industry Division is also required if your Service Animal is traveling from North America directly to OGG, LIH, or KOA. If you do not have the required documents, your Service Animal will not be allowed to travel.

If you are traveling with a large service dog or two service dogs, your animal(s) must fit within the footprint of the seat(s) you have purchased. You will have to talk to the airline support staff to check the size constraints of the foot space at least a week in advance. This will help you switch flights in case better accommodation is available on another aircraft. Please, remember that you can not buy extra seats for service animals, pets, or emotional support animals. They may not physically occupy a seat in the aircraft.

You may want to read our article: Flying With A Large Service Dog

How to Get Your Legitimate Psychiatric Service Dog with a Service Dog School

Our company provides owner-trained psychiatric service dog courses to disabled citizens in the US, Canada, Ireland, the UK and many other countries. The service dog regulations in the US permit domestic and foreign passengers to travel with self-trained service dogs within the US and to the country provided they meet the US DOT, CDC, and public safety requirements. We discuss the primary law on service dogs and disability rights – the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – and the rules for service dogs in training.

Please, refer to the following pages:

ADA Service Dog Laws

Service Dogs in Training (SDiT) State Laws

Get Your Psychiatric Service Dog Certification

You are welcome to check the learning plan (syllabus) for the Psychiatric Service Dog training course and consult our team. We would be happy to assist you in properly training your canine and meet industry standards for safe conduct. At the end of your course, you will be provided with a certificate for completed service dog training to attest to your achievements. Each certificate has a unique number that companies like Hawaiian Airlines can use to quickly verify the status of your service dog.

What is the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA)?

The Air Carrier Access Act from 1986 (49 U.S.C. § 41705) prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in air travel which includes a policy on service dogs. The Department of Transportation (DOT) is the government body that enforces and protects your rights as a passenger. The policies of the DOT apply equally to domestic and foreign-based airlines servicing flights to and from the US. We sincerely recommend reading the “Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights”. You can find a fact sheet published by the Research and Training Center on Promoting Interventions for Community Living.

What is the Difference Between an Emotional Support Animal and a Psychiatric Service Dog?

We recommend reading the article: Service Animals vs Emotional Support Animals vs Therapy Animals 

Under the ADA service animals are defined as follows:

“Service animal - means a dog, regardless of breed or type, that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a qualified individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Animal species other than dogs, emotional support animals, comfort animals, companionship animals, and service animals in training are not service animals for the purposes of this part.”

Emotional Support Animals can be any domesticated species while service dogs can be only canines. ESAs do not undergo any specialized training beyond basic obedience while service dogs undertake individual training to directly aid the daily lives of their users and be safe to use in public.

Hawaiian Airlines’ Service Dog Policy

Hawaiian Airlines adheres to the following description of a service animal on their website:

“A Service Animal means a dog individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a guest who is a qualified individual with a disability. Services animals are always accepted when they are accompanying a qualified individual with a disability.

Service animals that are too big to be transported in the passenger cabin may have to travel in the cargo hold. For cargo arrangements, please visit our cargo page at: HawaiianAirCargo.com or call them at 1-877-HA-CARGO (422-2746).”

“All Service Animals must remain harnessed, leashed, or otherwise tethered and under your control at all times. For the safety of everyone on-board the aircraft, we reserve the right to deny transport of any Service Animal in the cabin of the aircraft in our sole discretion for disruptive behavior. Disruptive behavior shall include, among other things, running freely around an aircraft, boarding area, or airport, growling repeatedly at other people, biting, nipping at, or jumping on people (other than on the owner guest as trained for a health alert), or urinating or defecating in undesignated relief areas such as at the gate or in the cabin of the aircraft.”

Quotation from: Hawaiian Airlines | Domestic Contract of Carriage

Hawaiian Airlines — Required Documentation

As mentioned above, the service dog handlers have to fill out a Service Animal Application and send it to the airline agents. You will have to procure a health certificate that is signed and dated by a federally certified veterinarian, which you can locate here.

In addition to that, you may have to obtain a Neighbor Island Inspection Permit if the service animal is flying from North America directly to the OGG, LIH, or KOA airports. For North American flights arriving in HNL before Animal Quarantine opens at 8:30 AM please note that you will have to remain in the terminal with a Hawaiian Airlines agent until the facility opens and you can be escorted there for inspection.

On any flight of eight hours or more, you will be required to submit a completed version of the DOT’s ‘‘U.S. Department of Transportation Service Animal Relief Attestation’’ (“DOT Animal Relief Form”) as a condition of transportation.

Your pet, ESA, or service animal requires a health certificate indicating that the airport inspection took place no more than 14 days prior to your return flight's arrival. If you are planning a stay longer than two weeks you will have to procure a newly minted health certificate for your paw partner.

Other Hawaiian Airlines Policies To Know

A disabled passenger accompanied by one or two Service Animals will not be allowed to sit in any exit row, any seat where an animal would obstruct an aisle or any seat that must remain unobstructed to facilitate an emergency evacuation.

Additionally, individuals accompanied by a Service Animal in a carrier are also restricted from sitting in any seat without a hard stowage location for the carrier beneath the seat in front, including bulkheads. No Service Animal may occupy an empty seat. All Service Animals are limited to your floor space and any floor space of an adjacent empty seat only, or your lap, provided that the animal is no larger than a lap child, as determined at their discretion.

Source: Rule 6 Restricted Seating

If any Service Animal is deemed too large to fit safely in the floor space in front of you, the staff will try to accommodate you and your animal by relocating you to empty adjacent seats in the same class of service. This can be done when space is available that does not otherwise obstruct emergency evacuation routes, and your relocation will not cause a delay in the flight. If there are no adequate alternatives available for you then you may be rescheduled for another flight with more space.

Please remember that your canine has to be fully vaccinated. If the dog has booster vaccinations left to take then they may have to be quarantined for up to 120 days. Additionally, the airport authorities will expect you to have printed (hard copy) lab results for a passed rabies blood test at least 14 days prior to boarding.

Source: State of Hawaii | Animal Industry Division

Hawaiian Airlines Pet Fees

You may book your pet online via your preferred web browser or the Hawaiian Airlines mobile app.

The pet fee (per animal) for a flight within the Hawaii State is 35 USD and the fee for a flight from North America to Hawaii is 125 USD. This fee includes connecting interisland flights occurring on the same day, when booked in the same reservation. Strollers or wagons used to transport pets will be considered baggage and you will be expected to pay fees for them. Alternatively, small animal strollers or wagons may be taken onboard the aircraft as one of your two allotted carry-on items if it meets Hawaiian Airlines’ carry-on size limit.

You can bring a single pet carrier on board and you can not buy additional seats for your pet, ESA, or service animal. It is important to note that the airline does not offer any pet carriers for sale or rent so be prepared.

Hawaiian Airlines Breed Restrictions

The dimensions of the pet carrier can vary depending on the airplane servicing your flight. Please, remember to call at least 48 hours in advance of departure to make sure your carrier is compliant. You will not be offered the opportunity to have your pet/ESA/service animal travel in the passenger cabin if they are big and heavy. The airline points out that only domesticated dogs, cats, and birds may be accepted for transport. Any exotic animals will have to be transported as cargo and will be subject to strict import regulations.

Hawaiian Airlines Pet Carrier Size Requirements

The airline invites passengers to check the size restrictions prior to booking a flight. You can call this number ahead of your flight: 1-800-367-5320 More phone lines can be found via this page: https://www.hawaiianairlines.com/contact-us/call

You should take into account that only a pet carrier that can comfortably enclose the entire body of your pet/ESA/service animal will be considered acceptable. No service animal, pet, or ESA will be allowed to have any of their extremities stick out.

The maximum allowable pet carrier dimensions are 17 inches long x 11 inches wide x 9.5 inches tall. That translates to 43 cm long x 28 cm wide x 24 cm tall. Carriers will be measured during check-in to ensure compliance.

F.A.Q.

Can My Dog Sit on My Lap During a Hawaiian Airlines Flight?

-They can if they are sufficiently small and approved to do so by the crew on your flight. In general, pets/ESAs are expected to remain in the kennel until you disembark the aircraft and leave the airport.

Can Hawaiian Airlines Ask for Proof of Completed Training?

-The airline can ask you to show proof of completed training but you are not legally obligated to present one as long as you are doing a domestic flight. An evaluation can be done at the discretion of the staff at the airport. Please, remember that when you are flying internationally on a connecting flight – you may be required by law to show a certificate for completed professional dog training depending on your route.

Can Hawaiian Airlines Deny a Psychiatric Service Dog?

-Yes, they can. This usually depends on the size of the dog due to space limitations, the route you are taking as some countries have strict regulations, missing documentation, or legitimate concerns about the dog's health. Disruptive behavior from the dog at the airport can be grounds for refusing boarding too. Make sure your dog is properly trained.

Where to Call or Visit for More Information on Hawaiian Airlines’ Pet Policy?

-The airline’s pet travel policy can be reviewed in full here.

The best way to reach the Hawaiian Airlines support team is via their mobile app: https://www.hawaiianairlines.com/app

How to Notify Hawaiian Airlines You Will Be Bringing Your ESA/Pet/SA?

-You can do so after booking your flight online. You will have to use the mobile app to reach their support team or you can try to talk on the phone to the Reservations Department at 1-800-367-5320.