Lufthansa Pet Policy: Cabin Limits, Hold Rules and Routings

The routings that quietly rule pets out

This is the section specific to this airline, and it is the reason a booking that looks fine on a fare screen can fail.

• Certain hub transfers do not accept animals in the hold. Live animals cannot transit one of the airline's main German hubs in the cargo hold, with assistance animals the exception. If your itinerary connects there and your dog is too big for the cabin, that routing does not work.
• Some destinations are restricted. Flights into the United Kingdom and Ireland are limited for pets, because those countries require animals to arrive as cargo rather than in the cabin or as accompanied baggage. That is a national import rule, not an airline preference, and no airline can waive it.
• Snub-nosed breeds are barred from the hold entirely. Bulldogs, pugs, boxers, Persian cats and similar breeds cannot travel as standard checked animals because of the breathing risk. They may fly in the cabin if they are within the weight limit, or through cargo under controlled conditions.
• Different airlines in the group apply different rules. A ticket sold under one name is frequently flown by a sister carrier whose pet rules are not identical.

So the question is which carrier operates each leg, and whether that leg accepts your animal in the way you need it carried. That has a definite answer, and it needs asking before the ticket is issued.

Minimum age, and the extra rule for dogs going to the US

• Around 12 weeks for most flights.
• Around 15 weeks for flights to or from Germany, reflecting EU rabies vaccination timing.
• Six months for dogs travelling to the United States — because that is the US entry requirement, not the airline's.

That last one matters for any dog flying into the US, including an American family's own dog coming home. Every dog entering the United States now needs a CDC Dog Import Form receipt, must be at least six months old, must carry an ISO-compliant microchip and must appear healthy on arrival. The receipt has to be shown to the airline before boarding — so a missing form is not something to sort out on arrival; it stops you at the departure gate. Dogs that have been in a high-risk rabies country in the previous six months face additional requirements.

Documents for Europe and beyond

• An ISO-compliant microchip, implanted before the rabies vaccination, not after. The order matters and getting it wrong means starting again.
• A current rabies vaccination, with the waiting period after it observed.
• An EU pet passport or a health certificate, depending on where you are coming from and going to.
• A tapeworm treatment administered within a set window before arrival for some destinations.
• Destination-specific paperwork, which is a national requirement and often the longest lead time in the whole trip.

Start this as soon as the trip is decided. Vaccination waiting periods and titer tests cannot be compressed, and they are the reason pet travel is planned in months rather than weeks.

Booking it

• Book by phone or through your agent so the routing can be checked against the restrictions before anything is paid for.
• Register the cabin pet within the deadline, and get the confirmation in writing.
• Weigh the animal in its carrier first, so you know which of the three routes you are discussing.
• Ask which carrier operates each leg.
• Ask about the per-flight pet limit on your dates.
• Prefer nonstop routings. A connection adds a transfer the animal has to survive and a hub rule that may not accept it.

Preparing a pet for a long flight

• Introduce the carrier or crate weeks ahead, left open at home with a blanket in it.
• Put something that smells of home inside — a worn t-shirt beats a new blanket.
• Exercise the animal properly before you leave. A tired pet travels better.
• Limit food beforehand but not water, and offer water again after landing.
• Do not sedate without veterinary advice. Sedatives affect breathing and temperature regulation at altitude and most vets advise against them for flying.
• Label the crate with your name, both phone numbers and the animal's name, and make sure the microchip is registered to a number you answer.
• Expect to carry a cabin pet through security while the carrier is scanned. Use a harness so a startled animal cannot bolt.

What can go wrong, and how to reduce the chance

• The routing does not accept animals in the hold. The commonest failure on this airline, and answerable in one call before you pay.
• The combined weight is over the cabin limit. Weigh the carrier with the animal in it, not the animal alone.
• The registration deadline was missed, or the registration did not follow a flight change.
• A snub-nosed breed was booked into the hold. It will not be accepted.
• The destination requires cargo. A national import rule that no airline can override.
• A dog under six months booked into the US, or without the CDC form receipt. Both stop you at the gate.

A realistic timeline

Pet travel is planned backwards from fixed biological deadlines, not from the fare. Nothing here can be compressed by paying more.

• Four to six months out: confirm the destination's import rules and whether your routing accepts animals at all. Book a vet appointment. If the animal is not microchipped, do it now — it has to come before the rabies vaccination.
• Three to four months out: rabies vaccination, then the waiting period. If a titer test is required for your destination, the blood sample has its own lead time and the clock starts after the vaccination.
• Two months out: book the flights, with the routing checked against the pet rules. Buy the carrier or crate and start leaving it open at home.
• One month out: register the cabin pet or arrange the hold booking. Confirm the operating carrier for each leg.
• Two weeks out: health certificate appointment booked. Confirm the destination's paperwork is complete.
• The final week: health certificate issued inside the destination's window, documents printed, crate labelled, CDC form completed if a dog is entering the United States.
• The day before: trim the animal's nails so they cannot catch in the crate door, and confirm the flight.

How Fond Travels can help

• We check the routing against the pet rules first — which hub, which operating carrier, which destination — because that is where these bookings fail.
• We work out which of the three routes applies to your animal, so you are not reading cabin rules for a dog that has to fly in the hold.
• We register the pet and confirm it in writing, and re-register it if the flight changes.
• We flag the US entry rules for dogs early, including the six-month minimum age and the CDC form, which catch families bringing their own dog home.
• We build the itinerary around the animal — nonstop where possible, sensible times of day, no marginal connections.
• We are reachable on the day, which matters when a flight is delayed and your pet is in a crate.

To plan a trip with a pet, call +1 (323) 800 6001. A travel expert answers any hour.