Beginning in July, Air Canada will no longer allow passengers to take pets along, even if the animals are placed in the baggage compartment.

The airline announced this week in a letter to the Canadian Transportation Agency that it will cease allowing pets on its aircraft as of July 15, Canada's CBC News reported.

With baggage allowances shrinking, Air Canada said it had to make a choice between using cargo space to carry pets for a few passengers or making room for more luggage.

Airline spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick denied to the CBC that the pet ban is related to an incident in January 2004 when a dog belonging to a British Columbia family died of carbon monoxide poisoning while traveling in the cargo hold of an Air Canada jetliner.