Built around the bond between people and their animals, the British pet travel company brings a different understanding of luxury to private aviation: staying together.
By Olivia Laurent
A dog does not understand an itinerary. It knows the person who fills its bowl, the familiar rhythm of a walk, the place where it sleeps. For the person planning a journey, those ordinary attachments can become the most difficult part of leaving.
A flight may take a few hours. Deciding how an animal will make that journey can occupy considerably more thought.
Vicuna Air begins with this concern. The London-based company arranges private jet travel with pets in the cabin, offering shared charter journeys alongside private bookings. Its proposition is straightforward: the animal belongs within the experience of travelling, close to its owner or an accompanying caregiver.
The Dogs Behind the Idea
According to the company’s account, founder Jamie Everett began confronting the limitations of international pet travel as his family business, Naked Kitchens, expanded into the United States. Transatlantic journeys became more frequent. Leaving his dogs behind for extended periods felt incompatible with the life he wanted to lead.
Those dogs, Arthur and Monty, give the story its personal scale.
Arthur, a rescued Sprocker Spaniel adopted at seven, helped shape Everett’s motivation for the company. Monty, a terrier of mixed ancestry, became its visual companion, appearing in illustrations throughout the brand’s website.
Everett also describes a longstanding relationship with aviation, beginning with flying lessons at sixteen and continuing into the Royal Air Force. Vicuna brings these two parts of his life together: familiarity with flight and attachment to the animals who share his everyday routines.
The resulting idea carries an emotional logic that many pet owners will recognise. A life divided between countries still needs room for the relationships that make it feel continuous.
A Cabin Planned Around Its Passengers
Vicuna’s accompanied service, called Furs Class, allows a passenger and their pet to travel together. The company says it generally limits flights to around ten human guests travelling with animals, using Gulfstream GV aircraft.
Its approach to seating considers the pets themselves. Information gathered before departure, followed by observation during a pre-flight introduction period, helps determine where passengers sit.
A nervous dog may need more space. Familiar animals may settle near one another. Larger dogs generally remain on the floor close to their owner.
The cabin is therefore a shared environment requiring preparation. Vicuna’s published policy requires dogs to wear a secure harness attached to the aircraft seat through its supplied restraint system throughout the flight. Cats and other approved small animals remain in appropriate carriers. Breed restrictions and individual suitability assessments also apply.
These details matter. An image of a dog beside a private jet communicates a certain lifestyle; the arrangements inside the aircraft determine how that lifestyle actually works.
When the Owner Cannot Fly
Biscuit Class addresses another situation: an animal needs to travel, but its owner cannot accompany it.
The service keeps the pet in the cabin under the care of a Vicuna Concierge. Preparation includes conversations with the owner and guidance on documentation, while updates during the journey help maintain contact between departure and reunion.
For someone coordinating a relocation or travelling on a different schedule, the appeal is understandable. The practical task is moving an animal between places. The emotional task is entrusting someone else with its care.
The Work Behind the Journey
Vicuna says its flights include a concierge trained in dog handling and certified in canine first aid and CPR, alongside the operating crew.
The distinction between the travel brand and the aircraft operator is also relevant. Vicuna does not own or operate aircraft; its published FAQs identify Talon Air as the carrier operating its flights.
Documentation remains part of the owner’s responsibility. The company offers guidance and reviews copies, but passengers must ensure that the required paperwork is correct and complete. In-cabin travel changes the setting of the journey without removing its administrative demands.
A Different Measure of Luxury
Private aviation places this service within a premium market. Its emotional appeal, however, comes from something familiar: wanting the dog who shares your home to share your arrival.
Through that lens, luxury is measured in proximity, attention and the ability to preserve an everyday bond across an unfamiliar journey.
Vicuna Air gives that desire a place in the cabin. The most meaningful part of the experience may be the simplest: looking down during a flight and finding a familiar companion beside you.
Discover more at vicunaair.com.
QEditorial Magazine — Fashion · Culture · Identity
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