“I’m helping you get home today and you’re gonna have an awesome family when you get there.”
These are the words that California resident Amanda McGee recites to her four-legged travel companions, whether they’re road-tripping across the country or flying through the skies.
Caretakers like McGee are called “flight nannies” and their job is to transport pets safely from point A to point B. As the founder of PurplePup Pet Transportation, McGee and her team escort companion animals across the country to families welcoming a new pet into their home, or pet parents who need an extra hand.
“The primary reason people utilize flight nannies is experience,” McGee tells Rover. “Traveling with an animal can be stressful, from navigating airline regulations to figuring out where they can go to the bathroom. We take the stress off of pet parents by organizing the logistics and providing pets with love and expert care.”
Each transport is different, McGee says. Many of the puppies that she escorts are traveling to meet their forever family for the first time after being adopted by an out-of-state breeder. In other cases, flight nannies may be hired to help a family during a long-distance move. Nannies like McGee will sometimes even escort animals by car, which comes in handy for pets who can’t fly by aircraft due to anxiety or other special needs or requests.
McGee typically only moves dogs, cats, and rabbits.
Only a few airlines allow other pets such as guinea pigs or birds. For the most part, she says, “Traveling with any pet beyond dogs, cats, or rabbits would need a special broker and would likely fly as manifest cargo,” which means the pet could fly unaccompanied.
Livestock, horses, or other exotic pets require a lot more care, she says, and “there are many companies that specialize in the safe transport of these types of animals.”
For now, McGee says “we plan to stick with dogs, cats, and rabbits because that is what the airlines allow us to travel with in cabin.”
@purplepupgo Replying to @Lauren #flightnannytips ♬ original sound – PurplePup LLC
An Idea Takes Flight
Though PurplePup Pet Transportation is now a thriving organization with a team of dedicated pet caretakers, McGee says she never would have dreamed that this would be her full-time career.
“I lost my job during the pandemic and needed to make ends meet,” she says. “Being emotionally fulfilled was important to me too, so I got creative, did research, and found that there is a huge demand for people to do pet transport. I started to take on ground transport gigs and realized this work combined two things that I love: travel and puppies.”
After a client reached out looking for someone to fly a new puppy home, McGee decided to give it a go and hasn’t looked back since. She attributes word of mouth and good references to her business taking off, which led to PurplePup becoming a certified ground and air transport service four months later. For McGee, this meant getting a business license, finding commercial pet insurance, and becoming USDA-registered (which allows for legal transport of animals).
Since then, a handful of flight nannies have joined McGee on the PurplePup team, employed as contractors.
“We’re located in different parts of the country which has allowed us to expand our reach,” she shares. “It’s an intimate community of people with pet care backgrounds who take what we do seriously.”
iStock/nadisja
The Sky’s the Limit
McGee’s nanny gig is no side hustle; the entrepreneur has leveraged it into a full time career and averages about 12 to 15 deliveries per month. She charges $1500 for a domestic trip, though her take-home pay typically ranges between $300 and $600 per trip.
“No two weeks are the same,” she says, noting that the work is fairly nomadic. “I might drive across the country, which takes about five days, and then hop a few flights on the East Coast for three or four days, before heading home to Southern California for a few days off. Sometimes, the airport is my office. I try to be smart about doing trips in close proximity to wherever I am at the time.”
McGee says that not having kids or pets of her own is the ticket to living this unique lifestyle.
“I love animals and am grateful to get to be ‘auntie’ to my clients. Since my husband is on the road for work, he occasionally gets to go on these adventures with me!”
Flight nannying has taken McGee from Alaska to Hawaii, and her newest adventure is international travel.
“Last month, I was able to visit Brazil and tomorrow I am headed to Portugal,” she says. “Logistics are far more tricky internationally, so these trips are usually me accompanying a family who is traveling with a pet and needs extra hands.”
McGee and one of her adorable clients. Courtesy photo
A Typical Job
While sharing a window seat with a lovable puppy or kitten might sound more like a vacation than a job, a lot goes into ensuring each animal is carefully delivered to their destination. Below, McGee walks us through a typical job.
Step 1: Get to Know the Client
Since every pet is different, McGee says it’s vital to ask a lot of questions upfront to ensure the dog, cat, or rabbit is a good fit to be flying cabin on a plane. What is their temperament? Are there medical concerns? How much do they weigh? McGee says pets must be at least eight weeks old and under 20 pounds to fly on most airlines. (Though flights are typically booked with pets who can sit in the cabin, PurplePet does assist larger dogs with ground transport or, in some situations, by organizing cargo accommodations.)
Step 2: Organize the Logistics
Once the customer has been provided with pricing and paperwork, McGee will reach out to the breeder, rescue, or family to coordinate pick-up details. “We really try to take care of everything so that the pet parent doesn’t have to worry. They review and approve details, but it’s up to us to see it through.”
The preparation before a flight varies depending on the animal’s situation and needs. “Sometimes we’ll fly somewhere, rent a car, pick up the pet, and then drive back to the airport. In certain instances, we’ll arrange a sleepover with the pet at a pet-friendly hotel. The logistics change with almost every trip.”
Step 3: Arrive Prepared!
On the day of travel, flight nannies will come prepared with a pet carrier, potty pads, and a blanket. Often, they request that the family or breeder provide treats, toys, and other familiar things for comfort as well. “We typically meet an hour and a half before departure,” says McGee. “We always have to check in at the ticket counter since we’re flying with an animal, and this might be where we pay the pet fee unless it’s been paid online. Most of us have TSA pre-check so getting through security doesn’t take too long.”
Step 4: Snap Photos!
“One of my favorite parts of this work is sharing photos with the family to keep them updated throughout the trip,” she says. “Especially when I’m delivering a pet to their new home, I love taking pictures of the pet with planes in the background, or finding a photo op at the airport that highlights the specific city we’re in. For many pets and parents, this is Gotcha Day. I don’t take that lightly.”
@purplepupgo Did you know there are people like me who can fly your pets home to you? #flightnanny #pomsky #travelingwithkatziela ♬ In the Bosom – Sweet After Tears
Step 5: Hello, Furever Family!
“Upon arrival, we meet the family in baggage claim. This is the best part,” says McGee. “We’ll go over how the trip went and take a family photo. This photo is so important. It provides the customer something tangible, it’s proof of delivery, and it reminds us why we do what we do.”
Step 6: Onto the Next…
Once a trip is complete, it’s time for the flight nanny to take a return flight home, head to a hotel, or prepare for their next pickup. “When people are first getting started in this work, being economical can be key,” McGee shares. “I’ve gotten to a point where I hop from airport to airport for jobs, and try to schedule days off for myself when I arrive in new cities. Traveling is a huge perk if you can get to a place where you’re offering your customer the best price, and making what you want from a flight so that you can feel comfortable sight-seeing.”
Onward and Upward
For those interested in getting their foot in the door, McGee says that community is key.
“This type of work is a great opportunity for people with some pet care experience who are comfortable flying. Marketing yourself can feel like a full-time job in the beginning, but once you start to book clients, getting jobs comes easier.”
Even for veteran flight nannies, the learning doesn’t stop.
“I learn new things every day, from airline micro-policies to nuances about different breeds,” says McGee. “You also learn a lot about different kennels and breeders and have to figure out the type of people you want to work with. At the end of the day, I only take work that is in the best interest of the animal.”
In the future, McGee hopes to build an online course for new flight nannies that will walk through policies, regulations, and best practices step-by-step.
“This work can be emotional and stressful at times, but if you’re dedicated, it’s entirely worth it,” she says. “Sometimes I find myself wishing I could keep all of the puppies, but nothing compares to that feeling of accomplishment when you deliver a new pet to their family. Being a part of that joyful experience is so rewarding.”
