KLM and Air France have been one group since 2004, they sell each other’s flights, and a Paris or Amsterdam itinerary out of the US will often have both names on it. Their pet rules are not the same document. The headline cabin number matches at 8 kg including the bag, and after that the two airlines publish different amounts of detail, different carrier sizes and different breed lists. On a trip where the ticket says one airline and the aircraft belongs to the other, that difference is the thing to sort out first.

This guide sets out what each airline publishes, where they agree, and where one of them simply does not say. Everything is from KLM’s and Air France’s own pages, checked on 8 September 2026. Confirm the current version with the airline before you book.

The One Number They Share: 8 kg in the Cabin

KLM allows a cat or dog in the cabin at 8 kg (17.6 lb) with the pet inside the bag. Air France allows cats and dogs “weighing less than 8 kg / 17.64 lb., including the carrier.”

Both figures are for the loaded bag, not for the animal. That is the same trap Lufthansa sets and it costs people the same way: a 7 kg dog in a 1.5 kg carrier is over on both airlines. Weigh the two together before you price a cabin booking, because the alternative is a hold booking with an entirely different rulebook.

KLM allows one cat or dog in the cabin. Both airlines require the pet to be booked in advance rather than turning up with it, which is covered further down.

Where They Part Company: the Carrier Itself

KLM publishes a cabin bag limit of 46 x 28 x 24 cm, which it also gives as 18 x 11 x 9 in. Air France’s passenger pages set the weight ceiling but do not publish carrier dimensions.

KLM’s number is worth pausing on, because it is smaller than what several other carriers allow. Lufthansa allows more on length and width, so a bag that clears the Lufthansa cabin limit will not clear KLM. If you are comparing European carriers for a small dog, the bag you already own may decide the airline for you rather than the other way around.

Where Air France does not publish a figure, the practical move is to buy to the smaller published standard on the route and confirm with the airline, rather than assume the more generous one applies.

In the Hold: 75 kg, and What Fits

Both airlines set the same hold ceiling. KLM allows up to 75 kg (165 lb) for the pet and kennel combined. Air France allows a pet up to 75 kg / 165.35 lb with its carrier.

KLM also publishes the kennel size limits, and there are two of them. On KLM flights the container may be up to 122 x 81 x 89 cm, or 48 x 32 x 35 in. On KLM European flights the limit drops to 102 x 69 x 76 cm, or 40 x 27 x 30 in.

That second number is the one that catches people moving a large dog with a European connection. A kennel sized for the transatlantic leg may not be accepted on the intra-European leg that follows it, and the crate is not something you can swap at a transfer desk. Size the crate for the smallest aircraft on the itinerary. Our crate size formula covers measuring the dog, and the airline crate requirements guide covers the construction side.

Three Pets in One Kennel

KLM publishes a multi-animal rule that is more generous than most, and useful if you are moving a household rather than a single pet. Up to 3 pets may share a kennel in the hold, provided each weighs no more than 14 kg (31 lb), and provided they are either 2 adult animals of comparable size or 3 animals up to 6 months old from the same litter.

Read the two halves together and the rule is narrower than the headline. Three animals only works for a litter under 6 months. Two adults have to be comparable in size. And the 14 kg per animal cap applies throughout, so two 20 kg dogs travel in separate kennels whatever their relationship. Where it does apply, it is a real saving, because freight is priced on the crate.

The Breeds KLM Will Not Take in the Hold

KLM publishes two lists under the heading of breeds not allowed in the hold.

The cat list is four breeds: Burmese, Exotic Shorthair, Himalayan and Persian.

The dog list is longer: Affenpinscher, American Bully, Boston Terrier, Boxers of all breeds, Bulldogs of all breeds, Bull Mastiff, Cane Corso, Pugs of all breeds, Chow-Chow, Great Dane of all breeds, certain breeds of Spaniel (Tibetan, Japanese, English and King Charles), Brussels Griffon, Lhasa Apso, Mastiffs of all breeds, Neapolitan Mastiff, Pekingese, Small Brabant, Shih Tzu, Shar Pei and Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

Two things stand out. The list includes breeds most owners would not describe as flat-faced, Great Danes and Cane Corsos among them, so checking the list beats reasoning from what the dog looks like. And it includes several breeds that other carriers accept in the hold, which means a dog with a route on one airline can be blocked on another for the same journey. Our list of banned dog breeds by country covers the destination side of the same problem.

Air France’s passenger pages cover weight, booking and fees. They do not publish a breed list of this kind. What Air France does say is that transport “may be refused depending on the availability of the flight or if it does not meet the requirements for transporting an animal in the hold.” So on an Air France booking, breed acceptance is a question to put to the airline directly and get an answer on before a date is fixed, rather than something you can settle from the website.

Snub-Nosed Pets: Cabin or Cargo, Not the Hold

KLM’s reason for the lists is stated plainly: “Your snub-nosed pet may have trouble breathing during the flight due to high temperatures and stress.” Its conclusion is that these animals cannot travel in the hold, but “you can take them with you in the cabin or transport them as cargo.”

That sentence contains a distinction worth spelling out, because it is the one people miss. There are three ways a pet moves, not two. In the cabin, under the seat, on your own booking. In the hold as accompanied baggage, on the same flight as you, still attached to your reservation. Or as cargo, which is a separate freight booking on its own air waybill, and which KLM says to arrange through a specialized shipping agent rather than with the airline directly.

So a Pug over the cabin weight is not out of options on KLM. It is out of the accompanied-baggage option, and into the cargo one, which costs more and takes longer to arrange but is a real route. Knowing that the moment the breed list closes the hold saves the week most people spend assuming the trip is off.

Fees and Booking Deadlines

KLM states that “the cost of traveling with your pet on KLM ranges from EUR 70 to EUR 500 per one-way flight.” That is a wide band because it covers everything from a cabin cat on a short European leg to a large dog in the hold on a long-haul route. Treat the top of the range as the planning figure for a transatlantic hold booking.

Air France charges a flat fee paid at the airport, which it says is not included in the ticket price and varies according to the destination. It does not publish the amounts on its passenger pages, so this is a number to get from the airline for your specific route rather than to estimate.

The deadlines differ. KLM asks for the pet to be booked at least 48 hours before departure. Air France says a pet must be added to the booking no later than 24 hours before departure, and asks for 48 hours for travel involving the United States, with 96 hours for service dogs traveling to or from the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

Air France also applies a surcharge on late additions: 50 percent on flights within Metropolitan France and within the Caribbean, and 25 percent on international flights, where the booking is made within 24 hours of departure. Space for animals is capped per aircraft in any case, so the deadline is rarely the binding constraint. Availability is.

Minimum Age: 15 Weeks

KLM states that your pet “should travel on the same flight as you and should be at least 15 weeks old.”

Fifteen weeks is not an arbitrary number. It is what the EU rabies sequence produces: a puppy or kitten can be vaccinated at 12 weeks at the earliest, and the vaccine needs 21 days to take effect. Twelve weeks plus three weeks is fifteen. If someone offers to fly you a younger animal into Europe, the arithmetic is the reason that cannot be done legitimately, which is worth knowing when you are buying a puppy at a distance.

Which Rulebook Applies to Your Flight

Because the two airlines sell each other’s flights, an itinerary can carry an Air France flight number on an aircraft operated by KLM, or the reverse. The published conditions above belong to each airline separately, and this page does not resolve which one governs a codeshare.

The practical approach is to find the operating carrier on the booking, read that airline’s conditions, and confirm the specifics with it before buying a crate or fixing a date. Where the two differ, plan to the stricter of the two, because a crate that satisfies both is never the problem and a crate that satisfies only one can be.

If the Netherlands or France is the destination, our USA to Netherlands and USA to France cost pages cover the freight and paperwork side of each.

Frequently asked questions

How heavy can my pet be in the KLM cabin?

8 kg, or 17.6 lb, with the pet inside the bag. Air France sets the same ceiling at less than 8 kg including the carrier. Both figures are for the loaded bag, not the animal on its own.

What size cabin bag does KLM allow?

46 x 28 x 24 cm, given by KLM as 18 x 11 x 9 in. It is smaller than the Lufthansa cabin limit, so a bag bought for that airline may not clear KLM.

Can my Pug or Persian fly KLM?

Not in the hold. KLM lists Pugs of all breeds and Persian cats among the breeds it will not carry there. They can travel in the cabin within the 8 kg loaded limit, or as cargo, which KLM says to arrange through a specialized shipping agent.

Does Air France have a snub-nosed breed list?

Its passenger pages cover weight, booking and fees, and do not publish a breed list of the kind KLM publishes. Air France states that transport may be refused if the animal does not meet the requirements for hold transport, so breed acceptance is a question to put to the airline for your specific animal.

Can two dogs share a crate on KLM?

Yes, within limits. KLM allows up to 3 pets in one kennel where each weighs no more than 14 kg, and where they are either 2 adult animals of comparable size or 3 animals up to 6 months old from the same litter.

What does KLM charge for a pet?

KLM quotes a range of EUR 70 to EUR 500 per one-way flight, which spans a cabin cat on a short leg through to a hold booking on a long-haul route. Air France charges a flat airport fee that varies by destination and does not publish the amounts.

How do these compare with other European carriers?

Lufthansa matches the 8 kg cabin ceiling but allows a larger bag, and has its own hold restrictions: see our Lufthansa pet policy guide. British Airways is the outlier, carrying no pets in the cabin at all, which our British Airways pet policy guide covers.

Sources

Checked on 8 September 2026.

We book and coordinate moves on KLM, Air France and the carriers that compete with them into Europe, including the cargo route for animals the hold is closed to. If Europe is where you are heading, tell us what you are moving and when and we will tell you which carriers the animal actually has.

Last updated 8 September 2026