Pets on jets: how dogs, cats and even ponies can fly in style as travel corridors open

There has been a surge in enquiries into travelling with pets since lockdown began, according to UK-based private jet charter companies PrivateFly and Luxaviation UK - and with travel corridors opening up all over the world this month, the interest looks set to continue.

Few of us knew we'd be stuck in one place for so long and if that has happened to separate us from our beloved pets, we've been keen to be re-united with them. Lockdown has also given people a chance to re-consider where they really want to be for the foreseeable future and in some cases that will mean deciding to transplant the whole family - pets included - to a second home.

Some people simply can't live without their pets. Take Elizabeth Taylor. Once, in 1968, when she and then-husband Richard Burton were both due in London on film shoots, Taylor was so unwilling to be parted from her dogs Cuthbert, Georgia, Oh Fi and E'en So (two Pekinese, two Yorkshire Terriers) that she hired a yacht to sail them from Calais to London, so they could remain on the boat, docked in the Thames, avoiding touching English soil and therefore its stringent six-month quarantine laws.

Thankfully, things are a bit easier today, although it seems there's always something to worry about. I was recently reading Nicholas Coleridge's memoir The Glossy Years, about his three decades at Condé Nast. Among his many yarns is one about the late Si Newhouse, the chairman emeritus and owner of Condé Nast, who was famously devoted to his pug dog Nero and then when Nero died, to his new pug, Cicero. Coleridge recalls a conversation in which Newhouse asked him to find out whether the late Nero's huge tally of British Airways air miles could be transferred to Cicero (they couldn't).

We have been travelling with our pets for millennia: cats were first domesticated about 9,500 years ago, and it wasn't long before they were taken on ships as good luck charms to ward off evil spirits and keep the rats at bay. Today, more people travel with their pets than ever. There were 91,661 new pet passports processed in 2017 - that's around 23,000 more than in 2013.

While dogs are the most popular animals to travel with (don't tell Taylor Swift, who won't go anywhere without Meredith Grey and Olivia Benson, her Scottish Fold cats, nor last year's addition, a ragdoll cat called Benjamin Button), on domestic flights in the US, where each airline has its own policy, people have also been known to bring everything from miniature horses to pot-bellied pigs. Some allow pets to travel in the cabin if they are small enough to fit comfortably in a carrier that in turn fits under the seat. But increasingly, only service pets trained to help people with disabilities, or 'emotional support animals' providing therapeutic benefits, are allowed in the cabin.

After a series of incidents in which travellers have attempted to bring squirrels, peacocks and turkeys into the cabin by calling them 'emotional support animals', the US Department of Transportation specified last year that only dogs, cats and miniature horses are currently recognised as such. In September, pictures emerged of a docile little pony named Flirty on an American Airlines flight from Chicago, Illinois, to Omaha, Nebraska.

But when is the last time you saw Katy Perry boarding a regular commercial flight with her micro teacup poodles Butters and Nugget, or Lady Gaga with her French bulldog Gustav, or Marc Jacobs with his bull terrier, Neville? Quite. Generally speaking, famous people travelling with pets will go by private jet or yacht. Private Fly, a company that arranges on-demand private-jet charters to clients in the UK, Europe and the US, said it could send me and my pet from London to Malaga in a six-seater Nextant 400XTi for around £11,000 one-way.

"It doesn't matter who you are, you can't get around the rules," says Carol Cork, Private Fly's marketing director, as Johnny Depp and Amber Heard learnt the hard way back in 2015, when failing to declare the arrival of their two Yorkshire terriers, Pistol and Boo, in Australia. Is their excruciatingly scripted, televised apology coming back to you? The rules include ensuring your pet is microchipped, has a pet passport, has been vaccinated against rabies and, when travelling with dogs specifically, that they have had a tapeworm treatment. "But obviously when you fly by private jet, things happen much more quickly and seamlessly," Cork notes.

According to Cork, whose briefs have included a family move from the UK to Alicante with 10 dogs, cats and birds ('smooth but noisy') to 30 falcons being flown from the Middle East to Mongolia: "It's not always the usual private-jet clients. Quite often it's a one-off travel need due to a relocation, where the owners don't want to put their pets through the stress of having them in the hold."

When deciding how or whether to travel with your pet, there are some fundamental things to consider. Are they mentally and physically strong enough to do it? Flat-nosed dogs such as chow chows, chihuahuas, pugs and boxers, for example, are brachycephalic, which means they are more likely to have airway obstruction issues and breathing difficulties when hot, stressed or tired. It also tends to get worse as they get older.

Since immense wealth and horse riding often go hand in hand - the competitor list for the annual show-jumping Longines Global Champions Tour includes Jennifer Gates, Sofia Abramovich, Georgina Bloomberg and Athina Onassis - it comes as no surprise that there's a service in the States nicknamed Air Horse One, a Boeing 727 specifically kitted out to transport racehorses. It can accommodate 21 of the prized creatures at a time - plus their trainers and groomers - and while flying horses may seem a little extreme, it substantially cuts down on the stress and strain of a much longer road trip.

Another popular option is to sail. "People are bringing their pets onboard more and more," says Siobhan Brade, who runs the Superyacht Veterinary Service. "Dogs in particular adapt well to new environments. They tend to feel very at home on yachts, where they are often as adored by the crew as they are by their owners." But does it always go well?

"There are definitely things you should do before taking your pet on a trip for the first time," says Brade. "Practise being on a boat with them before you go. Dogs don't automatically all have sea legs." Other tips include remembering that even dogs can get sunburn and heatstroke so ensuring there is shade, keeping them cool with regular swims and spraying them with doggy sunscreen; leaving water bowls all around the place, as dogs can get dehydrated and try to drink sea water; synchronising meal times so they are never moving on a full stomach. It's also vital to have a contingency plan in case it's just not working out and you need to send your dog home.

Private yacht owners are increasingly asking for pet-friendly features such as door sensors at animal height and fake patches of grass for 'pet pit stops' while on the move. "When we built Monaco Wolf, the client's canine guests were very much a part of the family and their health and happiness had to be treated as such," says Mark Cavendish, director of sales for Heesen Yachts, of a recent project. "To give the dogs the freedom to roam outside on the deck safely, we adapted the design to use glass or grilles to fill the spaces between the railings, to prevent any over-eager pups from falling overboard."

The biggest transporter of pets in and out of the UK is Eurotunnel. In many ways, it's the best option when going to mainland Europe, because your pet stays with you in your car throughout the journey. Currently about 350,000 animals pass through the tunnel every year. "The week leading up to and immediately after Crufts, we have the cream of the canine world going through the tunnel, specifically so they can be pampered all the way through the process," says Eurotunnel's John Keefe.

The key to everything is keeping animals as relaxed as possible at all times. "At Eurotunnel, we build up personal relationships with them, particularly the frequent travellers, who will be known to the staff," explains Keefe.

"There's a bulldog called Maurice who goes through on a fairly regular basis. The staff in the pet control room absolutely love him. He wanders in off his lead - he's a very cool character - saunters up to the counter, gets his chip scanned and waits while his owner has the paperwork processed." Sign up for Eurotunnel's Flexiplus service and you're guaranteed a place on the very next crossing (35 minutes, up to four an hour), otherwise at busy times you might have to wait for several before you get on.

So why are we so hung up on our pets that we can't just leave them at home? "We receive a very uncomplicated form of love from them," explains psychotherapist Lucy Clyde. "We take care of their physical well-being and they love us in return. Stroking animals reduces our stress levels, it slows our heart rate and reduces anxiety. That may be because the action of stroking and the feel of fur is soothing. It may also be because, in that moment, we know we are being loved and appreciated unconditionally. And how often does that happen?"

Five creature comforts for travelling

The carrier

Monogram canvas and leather dog carrier, £1,920, Louis Vuitton

Cotton tent dog-carrier bag, £304, Mungo & Maud

The shampoo

Animal Shampoo, £27 for 500ml, Aesop

The leash

Dog lead, £240, Poldo Dog Couture & Moncler

The shirt

Crete de Fleur motif hooded dog shirt, £225, Versace

Sign up for the Telegraph Luxury newsletter for your weekly dose of exquisite taste and expert opinion.