On Thursday, May 23, 2024, Bark Air–the new airline for dogs–launched service on a sold-out flight from New York to Los Angeles on a Gulfstream G5 jet. Will this new carrier be a winner?
Bark Air Launches New York – Los Angeles Service On Gulfstream G5 Jet
BARK Air plans two routes from the New York City area geared toward affluent pet owners:
- Westchester County Airport (HPN) ⇄ Van Nuys, California (VNY)
- Westchester County Airport (HPN) ⇄ London Stansted (STN)
(Paris is also under consideration)
Ticket prices will start at $6,000 one-way for travel between New York and Southern California and $8,000 one-way for travel between New York and London. Currently, the service between New York and Southern California runs once per week. Service between London and New York will also run once per week and begins on June 14, 2024.
Bark promises a “semi-private jet experience” in which dogs are welcomed in the cabin like human passengers. Each flight, operated by a Gulfstream G5 jet, is limited to 10 dogs and 10 humans.
- Children under the age of 18 are not permitted aboard
- There are no size or breed restrictions for dogs
> Read More: BARK Air – A New Airline Geared Toward Dogs
CEO Matt Meter compared his new airline to…VCRs:
“This is cost-prohibitive for most families, but less expensive than most options today. And this is also how most innovative products and services began. Televisions, telephones, VCRs and DVD players, to automobiles, train and boat travel, and, yes, even human air travel — all of these started with very high prices until demand was proven and the costs could be brought lower by serving the masses.”
He’s quite right…
But the test now will be whether Bark can at least fill the Gulfstream jets.
Those passengers I notice who appear to be gaming the system with their “fake” service dogs tend to fly first class (and if you think there is no correlation to the wealthy believing that the rules don’t apply to them, I invite you to open your eyes) and there is a definite market. But since the US regulations make it so easy for passengers to take their “service” animals onboard with no real verification, I suspect many potential travelers see flying commercial as more viable because it is a fraction of the price. Put another way, perhaps the long-term health of Bark Air is tied to commercial airlines cracking down on those who bring their pets onboard with the “service animal” vest they bought on Amazon. That will be no easy task.
CONCLUSION
Bark Air has taken off with 1x-weekly service between LA and NY. London service will launch next month. Kudos to Bark Air for offering a unique product and I wish it great success. But I’m not certain it can succeed since it is so easy for dog lovers to bring their pets onboard any commercial flight right now.
Will Bark Air work?
image: Bark Air
Flea air .
Fly the flying flea .
Dogs are plainly stupid. They have small brains and literally bark at everything and anything. Dogs depend on humans for about everything. So stupid and basic they are.
Those boneheads shouldn’t be allowed to fly.
Cats on the other hand are smart and beautiful and intelligent. Cats should have their own airline.
@fifi … herding cats up a jetway ?
LOL!!! I agree….I was always a dog person until our Bianca adopted us, and she quickly opened my eyes to how intelligent cats are. A plane full of dogs? No thank you….even when limited to 10. But a plane full of cats, that might be interesting!!!
So when are we seeing a trip review on this blog?
ROTFL
Rumor has it OMAAT’s got the leg up on this review
Can’t stand them.
I am disappointed in your class warfare comment against the wealthy and certainly don’t agree. There are people who feel the rules don’t apply to them on all levels of the socioeconomic ladder. Some of the most outrageous behavior I have witnessed was from coach passengers
It’s not that there are not poor people who disregard the law or conventional norms, but I work with rich people all day long and have for decades…it’s my own observation that the rich and even some of the upper middle class truly live in a world in which they think they sidestep rules and norms that they demand others abide by.
@Matthew … Many rich people are all right . I’ve known a few , and they are quite decent folks .
You’re late to the party on the class warfare statement. Rich people have been at war with the lower and middle classes for decades. Why do you think that we’re the only first world country without socialized medicine? Result: the number one cause of bankruptcy is due to medical expenses. Even Warren Buffet is begging to be taxed at a higher rate. Doing so would make for a happier country, like Denmark, which rich people hate. They think that they should set the rules and not have to abide by them.
@Christian … If you will notice the shambles of the British National Health System (NHS) , you will see the end result of socialized medical care : big bureaucracy and difficulty in obtaining an appointment .
Denmark has a much smaller population , which makes all the difference . Rich people do NOT “hate” “a happier country, like Denmark” . ( Next to last sentence .)
Furthermore , rich people are Not “at war with the lower and middle classes for decades” . ( Second sentence.)
Never wish for a big bureaucracy … it stifles all humour .
You didn’t address any of my points.
I’m in England right now and asked people – admittedly only around ten as I was looking for a general feeling rather than conducting a scientifically valid survey – and people here recoil at our system and love the one here. Why do you think Canada – and again, every single other first world country – sticks with their system? If ours was so good for the vast majority of the population we would have Canada emulating us, but that just doesn’t happen. And how would YOU address the biggest cause of bankruptcy being medical bills?
Why can’t we do the Danish system? Or the German? Do you know there are no homeless people in Germany?
What do you call it when rich people consistently induce/bribe/lobby members of the government to make laws that pass tax burdens onto the lower and middle classes to avoid paying out themselves? That pretty much defines class warfare. Now Elon whines about everything while paying nothing in income tax and fights unions that would help normal people. That’s not class warfare?
I’m genuinely interested in valid retorts to my assertions.
@Rolf … +1 . There are good people everywhere … I’ve found that belief in religion is a frequent indicator . Many rich people are all right and decent folks .
I just don’t see this working. A plane full of dogs? Even a small plane? Noisy, smelly, and stressful. No thank you.
The CEO sounds delusional, and like he is still trying to raise money from people who have too much of it and don’t think clearly. The large carriers already allow dogs for a comparably small fee (my niece recently paid $150 each way to bring her lap dog from LA to NYC). And even if she wanted a separate seat for the animal it would not have cost anything close to $6K each way.
This is a fantasy trip that will end soon.
You’re crazy if you fly HPN-VNY for $6K. Just take an Uber to EWR and fly United to LAX. You can either use PlusPoints or nab a TOD upgrade. Dogs fly free, just make sure to choose an aisle seat.
There are many many people in London (mostly Americans) with dogs who decamp to the Hamptons for the summer. I know a few… but none of them are talking about doing this. Maybe taking the dog on holiday is too much hassle for them? Or the marketing just hasn’t landed? I have to make a 14 hour drive with my dog 6 times per year, and would love this service on that route. Am really interested to see whether this succeeds and am following it.
The point about fake service dogs is irrelevant for the London service. Only private jets are allowed dogs in the cabin on UK departures and arrivals.
The NYT just recently had a piece on the price associated with shipping a dog to London from the U.S. and the tax increase being applied. One quote was one large dog costing $15k. This is why this airline is launching a LON route and K9 out of Teterboro launched exclusively with LON. This just might be the economical option …
“…since it is so easy for dog lovers to bring their pets onboard any commercial flight right now.” Easy? Have you tried to get a dog inside the cabin that does not fit in an airline approved carrier that fits under a front seat? The dog that is bigger and heavier than 18lbs? Do you even know what you are talking about?
Bark’s commercial success more likely lies with transatlantic transport than with US transcons because the transcon is more discretionary than overseas transport when we’re taking about people’s beloved pets that cannot fit in a carrier under the seat in front of you.
Relocating with your dog that doesn’t fit in a carrier is what Bark is all about. People, myself included, have day- and night-mares about putting a beloved dog in cargo for an 8hr flight. We’ll pay the $8K. It’ll hurt for some and be easy for others but we’ll pay.
Here’s why:
I got quotes to move our husky last summer from DC to Portugal (Lisbon) of $7-9.5K. (Those quotes did not include my own transport cost, btw.) I even worked out a DIY transport on TAP for $5000, but again not including my own seat.
Much more important is the issue of our Husky sitting in a freight terminal warehouse at Dulles in DC’s August temperatures, in a strange crate, with loud noises and greatly limited views, for at least 4 hours before departure. Imagine the sheer terror that your dog endures while that is happening. I thought *I* might have died not knowing if she was ok or if she was dying.
For a pet lover, the cargo option is very close to the same as putting your aged parent or very young child in cargo. You just wouldn’t. So you pay WHATEVER it takes to not do that. And please don’t judge us. Every person reading this has whatever money they have, and we each have the right to spend it on things we value. Some people buy boats; expensive guitars; art; trips; 2nd houses; expensive educations for their kids; first class upgrades; etc. I judge no one for how they spend their $. Please don’t judge me and others like me who would spend it on comfortable and safe transport of our canine family members.
All of the above is why there is a private FB group that helps people arrange charter flights across the Atlantic on the same Gulfstream jets that Bark is using. Prices run from $9-$12K one-way (which everyone is doing, just one way.) Organizers are filling the flights with strangers who all agree to put in their share of the $100K+ that these flights cost.
The Bark Air CEO is most certainly not delusional. He faces a very difficult startup period, for sure, and the business may well fail. But it won’t be for lack of demand or desire for this product. I can see a day when an A321 Neo painted with big beautiful dog’s and cat’s face on it might regularly cross the pond filled with cats and dogs and their humans – oh, and with their luggage too (which you CANT bring on the Gulfstream, only a small carryon allowed).
(Bark should consider Lisbon or Madrid as well as Paris from the East Coast.)
Good! We need to separate the ANIMALS from the HUMANS, At least in a species-specific way.