The Dog Flight Guide mobile app is out today, for iPhone, iPad and Android. It is free, and it does the one thing the website cannot: it keeps every airline dog policy on your phone, so the answers are still there when you have no connection.
Why a mobile app, when the website works on a phone
Fair question. The website is where you plan: you compare airlines, check the weight limit, look at the fees, and book. But the moments when you need that information again rarely happen at a desk with good Wi-Fi.
They happen at the check-in counter when the agent is not sure about the cabin limit. On a layover when a flight gets cancelled and you need to know which other carrier takes dogs. Abroad, with roaming switched off. That is where Nala and I kept getting stuck, and it is what the mobile app is built for.
What it does
- The whole database, offline. The app downloads every airline once and keeps it on your phone. That includes airlines you have never opened, so you are not limited to what you happened to look at before.
- The same facts for every airline. Cabin or cargo, the cabin weight limit with the carrier included, fees, breed restrictions and assistance dog rules, plus the Dog-Friendly Score.
- Filters that match your trip. Region, how your dog is allowed to travel, sort by score or popularity, and search by name or IATA code.
- Favourites. Star the airlines you are choosing between and they stay at the top of the list.
- English and German. Both languages ship with the offline data, so switching works without a connection too.
Same data as the site, same rules
The app reads exactly the data you see on the airline pages. When we verify a policy or an airline changes its rules, the update reaches the website and the app together. Every entry still links to the airline’s own policy page and shows the date we last checked it, because policies change often and the source should always be one tap away.
The independence does not change either. No airline can pay for a better score, in the app or on the site.
Get it
The mobile app is free on both stores:
- Download on the App Store for iPhone and iPad
- Get it on Google Play for Android
More on what it can do is on the mobile app page.
This is version one, and it is deliberately simple. If something is missing, confusing, or wrong, tell me. And if the app helps you, a rating in the store helps other dog owners find it.