As someone who has coordinated bird transport for medical care and understands the challenges of sanctuary re-homing and placement, I’ve seen firsthand how vital safe, in-cabin travel is for avian companions. This issue is not abstract—it affects real lives, real families, and real outcomes.

Alaska Airlines once led the industry in humane pet transport—allowing small household companion birds to travel safely in-cabin with their human guardians. This policy protected avian family members during medical emergencies, increased sanctuary adoptions (helping ease the re-homing crisis), and honored the bond between birds and their people.

Hawaiian Airlines, by contrast, has long banned birds from cabin travel entirely—even for veterinary care or sanctuary relocation. In a shocking reversal, Alaska Airlines quietly adopted Hawaiian’s restrictive policies—without public explanation—following its acquisition of the carrier. Instead of using its power as Hawaiian Airlines' new boss to upgrade Hawaiian’s harmful stance, Alaska tragically and inexplicably embraced it.

This regression is more than inconvenient—it’s dangerous and discriminatory.

🩺 Veterinary Access Denied

In Hawai‘i, birds on outer islands often require short inter-island flights to reach qualified hi-level veterinarians on O‘ahu or Maui. With birds banned from the cabin, many cannot access lifesaving care without enduring a highly traumatizing cargo ride. Birds needing specialist veterinary care often will not survive such shock treatment, which is patently brutal. In fact, Hawaiian Airlines (under the watchful eye of Alaska) cruelly requires owners to sign declarations that the bird is NOT sick, before even allowing the bird into cargo --- effectively forbidding gravely ill birds access to life-saving treatment in Oahu or Maui. Owners are sadistically denied the ability to save the lives of their beloved animals, a short 45 minute flight away.

🕊️ Sanctuary Adoptions Blocked

Across the country, sanctuaries are overwhelmed with surrendered parrots in need of new homes. Access to adoptive families, even a short plane ride away, could greatly increase placements, but Alaska now refuses this—insisting that newly adopted, terrified birds must be transferred in cargo rather than in-cabin with their adoptive humans. Without safe, humane transport, adoption options shrink to a narrow drivable radius near the sanctuary itself—leaving birds isolated and unplaced. The crisis of overcrowded parrot sanctuaries is clearly exacerbated by Alaska's cruel and senseless discrimination.

⚖️ Hypocrisy in Pet Policy

Dogs and cats are still allowed in-cabin—even when noisy or allergenic. Birds, often quieter and less disruptive, are excluded without justification. This double standard is indefensible.

We call on Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines to:

✅ Restore in-cabin bird transport for small, caged birds, and only exclude individuals with a proven history of disruption—just as is done for dogs, cats, and humans
✅ Recognize veterinary access and sanctuary relocation as essential travel and a fundamental humane right
✅ End discriminatory policies that treat birds as cargo, not companions. Birds should receive the same ethical consideration that cats and dogs receive on your airline.
✅ Honor Alaska’s legacy of humane transport and ethical leadership.

Birds are not luggage. They are intelligent, bonded companions who deserve safe, dignified travel. This policy change is not just a logistical failure—it’s a betrayal of humane values.

Sign and share this petition to demand humane reform. Tag @AlaskaAir and @HawaiianAir to let them know: birds are family, not freight.