High Points: Bark!

You always know a dog lover by the way they turn and prick up their ears at the sound of a barking dog. And here in Aspen, we have plenty of dog lovers.

I thought about this the other day when I was at the Van Nuys Airport in Southern California and heard the barking of a rusty red Irish Setter who was about to board a private jet for a flight to New York City with his owner. And he wasn’t the only dog there for the 10 a.m. departure. There was a whole pack of pampered pups parading across the tarmac to the BARK Air charter flight, which would wing them on their way to the Big Apple. Or, more precisely, Teterboro Airport.

One can’t get on a commercial flight to or from Aspen these days without seeing a comfort dog or two onboard. So it only makes sense in a world where more people are flying private that a charter company catering to four-legged furry friends would evolve. Enter BARK Air.

Founded in May 2024 by a pedigreed creative entrepreneur named Matt Meeker, BARK Air is billed as “the world’s first air travel experience designed specifically for dogs first and their human companions second.” If that sentence doesn’t resonate with Aspen’s dog owners, I don’t know what will. BARK Air currently offers regularly scheduled service from New York to and from Lisbon, Los Angeles, London, Madrid, Paris, and San Francisco, with more destinations on the agenda.

BARK Air partners with local charter companies to book flights with an average of around 10 seats. They facilitate the rental of the planes and, once confirmed, sell shared seats for a price. So, say you want to take Fido from Frisco (San Francisco) to New York on Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. on a Bombardier Challenger 600, you would go to air.bark.co and check the availability for seats for other dogs with their humans. From San Francisco to New York on that day and at that time, the cost for one dog and one human companion would be $7,100. That is, if it were available. It seems that Bark Air flights are extremely popular. And when you think about it, $7,100 is not that bad when you consider a single first-class seat on a United flight that day without your dog would set you back $3,700.

Of course, service is what any upscale offering is all about, and BARK Air emphasizes that a luxury experience awaits every dog that boards one of their flights. The Companion Concierge is BARK Air’s premium travel planning service. They will greet the dogs and owners at the airport, provide bones and broth treats on the planes for the canines and leather seats for the humans on the jets. If you can’t be there with your pups, say you are in a shared custody situation with your Vizsla, they provide chaperones for the journey.

If this all sounds a little over the top for a dog, you may be right. But really, is there anything more important in your life than your dog? Being able to travel with your dog may well be the best experience that money can buy.  

Oh, and while we are on the subject of Aspen dogs, Saturday, Oct. 11, is the first annual Rubey Rescue Run, which benefits the Aspen Animal Shelter. Dogs and their humans will ascend 1,700 feet from the base of Buttermilk to the Cliffhouse on what promises to be an epic morning for the local canine community. You can sign up at rubeyrescuerun.org — but hurry because registrations are going fast.

Kind of like seats on BARK Air.