Flying your dog

Brought back to Spain 2 Cavaliers.I was in the south of England so they came from Heathrow.Contact some of the Airlines,mine came via Iberia.The cost will depend on the weight & size of crate which must be to the correct standard required.

Thomas  Cook and Tui take dogs as cargo. My dog is flying next week to Alicante although I had to go through a special agency who handle dog flights. The cost is around £1000 but that is from Scotland.  My dog is not big as she is a Boston Terrier.

Hi we brought ours and used Lufthansa very good service not too expensive depends on size of crate and weight and size of dog dog will go to Barcelona then you need to collect from there

We would never let our dog fly again. She done one flight and was traumatized for weeks afterwards! Seeing her in a crate being put onto a pallet and forklift trucked off into a warehouse was horrendous! Whatever company you use this is what goes on behind the scenes trust me! 

We travel by car all the time now and she can have regular walks and drinks n snacks etc....not even water allowed on flights! 

Maybe if you can not drive it might be worth the two days for a dog/animal courier to fetch her over? At least she would get walked, fed watered etc and have human contact! 

Not saying all dogs are  the same and maybe younger ones are better etc but personally would never do again and have been half way round the world and back with ours now...by road!

Use pets to go by road don't fly them in the summer I have seen them in crates on the hot tarmac waiting to load them in the hold.

As far as I know there is no airline to UK where they can come in the cabin other airline allow this but not to uk (other animals seem to be allowed like stages and hens)

Part of my business in Spain(for nearly 20 years)was import & export of pets worldwide.There are strict regulations regarding pet transportation by air,they have a special section,air conditioned,allocated to them.Although many were sent to a variety of countries including Australia,Canada,South America,Israel & USA, the majority were at one time going into UK quarantine.So were picked up by responsible people who operated these strictly organised premises which were under UK Government rules & were health checked(again)on arrival.There was never any occasion when a pet did not arrive in good order.Air travel is very much better I believe.Indeed,as a registered breeder myself who has regularly had my own breeding stock sent overseas as well as young pups I know that exhibitors to premier events like"Crufts" coming from other countries,also use Airlines for their dogs which have to be in top condition to take part.It is a personal choice but ,in my experience I found that perhaps pet OWNERS suffer rather more than their pets.And so often nervous dogs have nervous owners.

Hi dogsbody,

I appreciate what your saying and realize what your saying is mostly true.

What I will point out is that we used a very reputable company to fly our dog and although front of house and collection may all look rosy and hunky dory the cold reality is that as soon as they are out of sight they are treated much the same as a battery chicken going off to the slaughter house! 

The air conditioning is correct but still in a hold compartment with no people and limited light...think suitcases and your not far off!

Also the dogs journey is four plus hours longer then yours as they have to be checked in way before yourself and have to be quarantined etc before they are realased at the collection end!

Iam certainly not a nervous dog owner and have had dogs fifty odd years so would consider myself a dog lover and owner.....not in it for financial gain like some!

Hi, we flew out 2 elderly Cavaliers out to Alicante from Liverpool airport on 17th June with BlueAir, they were both fine, loaded after all the luggage, they were collected one hour before the flight took off and we saw them being loaded as we boarded the plane. At Alicante airport we collected our luggage and went to the animal collection point which is at the back of the carousel area and waited about 10 minutes to collect them. Cost was £67 each. Would recommend BlueAir to anyone.

So Glad Marian that your dogs were fine as were my 3 old retired Cavaliers that were transported.I always kept my "retirees"that I had as brood bitches & stud dogs.They were in the company pension scheme so maybe I missed out a bit on the financial gain aspect.Well,Basil I did actually know what went on behind the scenes right up to the loading.As the agent we had access to areas you would not .Our clientele were valued & I imagine we provided a good service since we were involved in similar businesses in 3 different countries over some 55 years.I was registered with the British Kennel Club in 1961.I was trying to make clear that it is a personal choice whether you opt to take your pet by road but it is incorrect to say that air travel is bad or traumatic for animals.Indeed ,as a member of the British Parrot Society I had my collection of birds sent to Spain by air.This included an African Grey(a species known to be "awkward" unless handled properly)& my breeding pair of large Amazons which had never left their aviary previously & certainly never been separately crated.Every creature,including my daughter's elderly cat,arrived in perfect order.Otherwise,as you may imagine,I would have "made a bit of a fuss".As a further comment since I think I have a small experience in animal matters,dogs do not have a concept of time in fact must spend a good portion of their day in resting which is somewhat difficult for working dogs I think.So for the 4 hours+ spent before/after departure perhaps suggests they are not clock watchers as we humans are.Over the years I have been,still am,amazed at how some view their pets,often as a substitute human rather than it's own race of creature on this earth.Never more true I suppose to agree"that we are ONLY human"