flying to UK from mainland Europe

[Jelena Kreitmayer]

Hi :)
has anyone recently flew a dog to UK from the mainland Central/Western Europe ( Germany, Austria, Italy etc...) ?
Need some help with looking into the transport for a friend. She has already completed all required paperwork for PETS scheme, just need to figure out the transport option.
All suggestions welcome...
thanks ! :)

[Laura Kolbach]

http://www.airmaxcargo.com/ - sent it to you already but maybe others appreciate it as well.

[silvia]

HI!

I havent done yet, since Oberon is still in the process of having his passport, but I have collected some info. Apparently the only way to fly a dog back in UK is using a cargo flight AND only with a few registered airlines (KLM, thompson, BA, and a few others listed in the PETS website). The problem is that it has to go via cargo, instead of flying in your same plane as excess baggage (as all pets do in EU..).

This makes the flight super-expensive: I get a few quotes, all of them around 6-900£ for just a return flight. (If I rememebr well, Thomson was the cheapest, but bear in mind it has the disadvantage that the company has not his own offices/assistance points abroad). Moreover, it means that there must be two of you travelling back in separate days: one must be abroad to flight the dog -it takes several hours to send him with the cargo process- and one person must be here, in the same day, to welcome him (I would never flight Oberon in a flight different from mine without to make sure that somebody is already here in UK to pick him up, just in case my flight is cancelled or delayed, if this makes sense for you..)

That being said, we worked out that the simplest and cheapest way is to drive (or having somebody who can drive there and pick you up) to Brussels or Paris and flight from there. In this case the dog can take a normal EU flight with whatever company and be in the same aircraft as you, pets often travel for a small fee (around 100E). Brussels is only 3h drive from London and has excellent and cheap long-term parking spaces, so if you are going in holiday and back it makes lot of sense. The Eurotunnel is very dog-friendly.

Otherwise, if it is just once in the life and/or you are happy with the cargo prices, just ask for a few quotes. A colleague of mine, he is japanese, travelled to Japan last month (and he is staying there for two months) with all his family and their greyhound Luna.. I was surprised they did such a long trip, and in fact he said is not fun neither for Luna nor for their money... but in the end they did, and Luna is having a great time with the whole family instead of waiting here:)

good luck, and if you find some other info please keep us posted :)

Ah: I would suggest to avoid changing plane in Switzerland: they seem to have quite strict rules for the quarantine (I may be wrong) so if the second flight is delayed you may have problems.. But I dont have detailed info on this

Regards

Silvia

[silvia]

http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/pets/travel/pets/documents/eu...

Hi!

in the link above there are the companies/routes that you can use, there are a few cities in each EU country, that can be used as a departure point. You need to use their cargo service, just phone the company for a quote :)

Also: remember that the dog must be treated for thicks and tapeworms not less that 24h and not more than 48h before to be checked in to enter the UK, this should be taken into account if you plan to drive to a suitable airport which is not in your city.

Several info are in the DEFRA website.

Again, if I was you, I would just take a normal flight to Brussel and arrange for somebody/ a friend to pick me up there with a car, maybe offering a nice restaurant dinner as a thankyou ;)

Regards

Silvia

[silvia]

sorry, Jelena, I realized you live in Chicago, so probably my suggestion to drive was a bit pointless.. Are you visiting the UK from the States? I guess it makes a difference in the whole organization. Maybe in this case the best stop is Amsterdam: KLM is an approved carrier and at least you minimize the time spent in the cargo (and the cargo costs)

sorry if I am confusing you rather than helping :)

all the best

Silvia

[Laura Kolbach]

thanks Silvia, Jelena is in Vienna at the moment and helping a friend who moves back to the UK from Vienna. she will surely soon reply to you :)

[silvia]

Ah ok! Just a clarification: when I wrote "6-900£ for a return flight" I meant this was the quote for the return leg only: i.e. the cost of a one-way flight from EU to UK. The a/r flight costs twice, with the cargo, i.e. 1200-1800£. But you only need the cargo while fying into the UK, not flying out

From Austria I would consider to do the whole trip by car.. I did few times from Italy (the previous IS we had was nervous flying ;) and in the end is not bad at all, is not too long :)

best of luck !
Silvia

[Jelena Kreitmayer]

Hi Silvia :)
sorry for being unclear and thank you for the responses - just saw those :)
Friend has gotten all the necessary paperwork as well all the requirements have been completed ( except for the tapeworm/tick treatment right before the trip). She is considering having someone drive her all the way to Calais as well.
Thompson air is an excellent suggestion - getting quotes as we speak. I just wanted to see what others' experiences were with this issue because I am sure there have been some other people going through the same thing - or will in the future. :)))
I really appreciate all your help :))
jelena

[silvia]

>She is considering having someone drive her all the way to Calais as well.

Hi Jelena, i hope the trip of your friend goes well, and keep us posted:)

I am afraid is more complicated than that.. If somebody drives her to calais only, she has to take a ferry and, for foot passengers, as far as I know it is required to have a cage. Pets can travel in the ferry, but only downstairs in the car park (if you have a car they just stay on it) or, in some lines, if you are a foot passenger the dog can stay in a secured cage that is also supposed to be downstairs (not sure what this means, it may be just as unconfortable as a short EU fly, just check..)

I guess that the best option is that this friend buys a cheap same-day return ticket for the car in the ferry, drive her to dover and go back in the same day. From dover she can board a train: hopefully no cage is required then (I havent done before, so just check!)..

i guess that is not very confortable to carry a cage + dog+lagguage as a foot passenger in a ferry..

best of luck, and let us know how is going !
regards

Silvia

[Silvia]

if she is in Vienna ... pls best for the dog ... drive to Calais use the Chaneltunnel or one of the ferries
so save for the dog and the people at PetStation at the Chaneltunnel are just great!
it takes you 2 Minutes to check through

Flights : as far as I know they will allow British Airways transport only into London Heathrow