Airports are long. Between the drop-off, the queue, security and the walk to the gate you are on your feet for the better part of an hour, and a pet in a shoulder bag gets heavier every minute of it. A carrier with a retractable handle and wheels turns all of that into pulling a small suitcase, and a calmer arm makes for a considerably calmer animal at the other end.

It is built to travel-bag proportions rather than as a household crate, with ventilated panels along the sides so air keeps moving in a warm terminal and your pet can see out instead of sitting in the dark wondering. The closures fasten properly, which matters in a crowd more than anywhere else. The same handle-and-wheels arrangement earns its keep on a railway platform or a long corridor at the vet, not only at an airport.

• Retractable trolley handle with wheels
• Sized with cabin travel-bag dimensions in mind
• Ventilated panels for airflow and visibility
• Secure closures
• Works as a wheeled carrier for trains and long walks too

About the words airline approved. No carrier is approved by every airline, and we would rather say so than let a product name do the work. Each airline sets its own cabin dimensions and its own rules, and most UK-based carriers do not take pets in the cabin at all; assistance dogs aside, pets flying into Great Britain generally travel as booked cargo.

Who it's for: Travellers who want a wheeled carrier for terminals, stations and long walks, and who will check their airline's rules rather than trust a label.