This Christmas, furry friends are finally getting the holiday they deserve. PassportCard Australia is giving Aussie pets free domestic flights this festive season, so they can join their humans on holiday.
The initiative launches alongside PassportCard’s new Holiday Season ‘Pet Guilt’ Report, revealing just how emotionally charged pet travel has become for Australians. The findings show that leaving pets behind isn’t just tough, it’s guilt-inducing.
Pet Guilt by the Numbers
- 31% of Aussies hate leaving their pets behind, yet 46% still do over the festive period.
- More than half (54%) say their pet is the one thing they’d take on holiday if they could, ahead of their own bed (32%), family (31%) or even their car (27%).
- 50% are more excited to reunite with their pet after a trip than with their spouse (22%) or kids (20%).
- Kids are devoted too: 21% of Aussie parents say their child’s top Christmas wish is for their pet to come on holiday.
- Aussies worry twice as much about their pet getting sick or missing (49%) than about a break-in at home (29%).
Pet guilt isn’t just emotional, it’s practical. 21% have skipped weekends away, 15% have passed on overseas trips, and 10% have missed friends’ birthdays, all because of their pets.
But the skies are opening up: 19% of Aussies have flown with their pets, and 36% say they’re ready to jump on new pet-friendly routes. PassportCard’s festive flights aim to make pet travel easier than ever.
Matt Murdoch, Chief Customer Officer at PassportCard Australia, will be talking all things pet-friendly travel, the free-flights initiative, and what 2025-6 has in store for families wanting to holiday with their four-legged companions.
Whether it’s a beach escape with your dog or a city adventure with your cat, this festive season, Aussies and their pets can finally take off together.
