Air Transat for Dogs
Jun 12th 2006, 8:25 pm
#16
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Re: Air Transat for Dogs
Originally Posted by apfairhurst
Hello. What a terrible story. I dare not let my Wife read it because our two dogs are more important to her than I am. We have looked into buying our own plastic containers and i have asked my Wife to contact Air Transat to arrange our flights and the transportation for the dogs. Wouldn't it be lovely if life was simple and moving to Canada could be stress free...oh well
Booking the animals onto our flight was time-consuming- went online to check which flight we wanted, phoned Air Transat in Canada to check OK to take animals on that particular flight (they only take up to 5 per flight), given the OK, rang off, went back online to book own seats, rang Air Transat back with booking number and paid for cats by credit card over the phone. They then e-mailed confirmation of booking to me and I was able to bring it to the airport for checkin.
The airlines are used to carrying animals all the time, so, although its strange for us, they know what to do!
Good luck!
Jun 12th 2006, 8:35 pm
#17
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Re: Air Transat for Dogs
Hi All,
We have just booked air transat, first you have to dial a freephone to canada to confirm the space on the aircraft, then book the seats for yourselves ( we lost the seats & had to phone back three times Agghhh ), then with a flight and booking reference you then dial freephone back to canada and reserve the space for your dog and pay the £125.
Reasonably painless so far, ( a lot cheaper than any other airline, and this means we have more in our pot when we reach vancouver ),
We are flying on 17th July, so we will post here after the dog has flown and let everyone know how it went.
Cheers
Jerry
We have just booked air transat, first you have to dial a freephone to canada to confirm the space on the aircraft, then book the seats for yourselves ( we lost the seats & had to phone back three times Agghhh ), then with a flight and booking reference you then dial freephone back to canada and reserve the space for your dog and pay the £125.
Reasonably painless so far, ( a lot cheaper than any other airline, and this means we have more in our pot when we reach vancouver ),
We are flying on 17th July, so we will post here after the dog has flown and let everyone know how it went.
Cheers
Jerry
Jun 13th 2006, 4:12 am
#18
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Joined: May 2004
Location: Milton,Ontario
Posts: 24
Re: Air Transat for Dogs
Sorry to hear the bad story... 
We flew our 2 cats and 2 dogs as excess baggage with BA and found it was reasonable (we paid by weight for each pet) and from beginning to end they were well looked after and the process was simple and stress free considering I was panicked about them to start with.I dont know about air transat but I think you will hear good and bad stories with every airline 
We flew our 2 cats and 2 dogs as excess baggage with BA and found it was reasonable (we paid by weight for each pet) and from beginning to end they were well looked after and the process was simple and stress free considering I was panicked about them to start with.I dont know about air transat but I think you will hear good and bad stories with every airline
Jun 13th 2006, 12:39 pm
#19
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Location: Guelph, Ontario
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Re: Air Transat for Dogs
Originally Posted by suede
Hi
We arrived in Toronto From Gatwick with Air Transat with two Golden Retrievers on 19th May 2006. We were told by Jets4pets (who we paid to fly our dogs) to get the dogs to the Cargo departure 3/4 hours before their flight and that the crates were there waiting for them. When we arrived at the Cargo departure (7.30am) we were told that we were late and that the dogs should have bee there by 5am. We showed them our paper work and they sorted it out. Next problem they had to hunt the warehouse for our crates. Once found my husband and daughter placed our beloved dogs into their carriers. The Take off, flight and landing was excellent. Once at Toronto airport and after going through Customs/Immigration etc (1 1/2 hrs), we were ready to collect our pets. We collected rental car and toured the airport looking for them (2hrs). You have to take paperwork one end of airport to get their landing papers, go to the other end of airport to get them stamped and payment and a vet to check them (another 1hr wait), then take papers back to where you started. (We did ask at Air Transat desk for help to locate dogs, but they told me that it had nothing to do with them, very unhelpful). When we finally saw our pets they had not been taken out of their crates since landing and had been laying in their excretion for sometime. We took them out of their crates. They were very dazed not like our pets at all. It took us 2 days to settle them down and get them back to normal. My husband has e-mailed jets4pets and they are looking into this matter as we do not want anyone's pets going through what ours did. They have been very nice. Air Transat have not replied yet, but we will get and answer. Stay in touch and let us know how you get on. always check and double check arrangements and get everything in writing. Good Luck with your move. Jets4pets cost £926. We are living in Winnipeg now.
We arrived in Toronto From Gatwick with Air Transat with two Golden Retrievers on 19th May 2006. We were told by Jets4pets (who we paid to fly our dogs) to get the dogs to the Cargo departure 3/4 hours before their flight and that the crates were there waiting for them. When we arrived at the Cargo departure (7.30am) we were told that we were late and that the dogs should have bee there by 5am. We showed them our paper work and they sorted it out. Next problem they had to hunt the warehouse for our crates. Once found my husband and daughter placed our beloved dogs into their carriers. The Take off, flight and landing was excellent. Once at Toronto airport and after going through Customs/Immigration etc (1 1/2 hrs), we were ready to collect our pets. We collected rental car and toured the airport looking for them (2hrs). You have to take paperwork one end of airport to get their landing papers, go to the other end of airport to get them stamped and payment and a vet to check them (another 1hr wait), then take papers back to where you started. (We did ask at Air Transat desk for help to locate dogs, but they told me that it had nothing to do with them, very unhelpful). When we finally saw our pets they had not been taken out of their crates since landing and had been laying in their excretion for sometime. We took them out of their crates. They were very dazed not like our pets at all. It took us 2 days to settle them down and get them back to normal. My husband has e-mailed jets4pets and they are looking into this matter as we do not want anyone's pets going through what ours did. They have been very nice. Air Transat have not replied yet, but we will get and answer. Stay in touch and let us know how you get on. always check and double check arrangements and get everything in writing. Good Luck with your move. Jets4pets cost £926. We are living in Winnipeg now.
Do not go through a cargo company if you want to keep your sanity at the other side.
Jun 13th 2006, 1:59 pm
#20
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Re: Air Transat for Dogs
Originally Posted by Rock God
You may find that BA and AC have an embargo an shipping pets at cetain times of the year> I made enquiries into both airlines and as well as being stupidly expensive they both stated that they wouldn't take pets after June 20th until September sometime (i forget when exactly). There were two reasons I believe, one to do with temperature (they have embargos around christmas/January time too) and the other, more believable reason, that they need the designated space for more profitable reasons. Call them though as this all may have changed recently. If it's any help we booked Transat Gatwick to Vancouver for June 17 and got our cat on the same flight. The cats ticket was $250 - more than ours but still cheap compared to other methods. Oh, some airlines will ship pets as cargo. I called Air Canada cargo a few months ago, again enquiring about the cat, and they quoted me £700+.
Transat, as far as i know, do not have any of these embargos either so they win hands down for me!
Transat, as far as i know, do not have any of these embargos either so they win hands down for me!
Jun 13th 2006, 8:34 pm
#21
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Location: Nine Mile River, Nova Scotia
Posts: 11
Re: Air Transat for Dogs
Some of these 'dog' threads scare the hell out of me
We have a rotty which is 51kg. We are hoping to do our landing at the start of August. Its mentioned that AC has a limit of 32kg but which airlines can definately take a dog of this weight?? Does Air Transat impose any limit as I can't see any on their website?
Cheddar Man
We have a rotty which is 51kg. We are hoping to do our landing at the start of August. Its mentioned that AC has a limit of 32kg but which airlines can definately take a dog of this weight?? Does Air Transat impose any limit as I can't see any on their website?
Cheddar Man
Jun 13th 2006, 9:37 pm
#22
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Thread Starter
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Posts: 143
Re: Air Transat for Dogs
Originally Posted by Cheddar Man
Some of these 'dog' threads scare the hell out of me
We have a rotty which is 51kg. We are hoping to do our landing at the start of August. Its mentioned that AC has a limit of 32kg but which airlines can definately take a dog of this weight?? Does Air Transat impose any limit as I can't see any on their website?
Cheddar Man
We have a rotty which is 51kg. We are hoping to do our landing at the start of August. Its mentioned that AC has a limit of 32kg but which airlines can definately take a dog of this weight?? Does Air Transat impose any limit as I can't see any on their website?
Cheddar Man
Alex.
Jun 13th 2006, 9:59 pm
#23
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Re: Air Transat for Dogs
Originally Posted by apfairhurst
Hello Cheddar Man. My Wife has contacted Air Transat and they have no weight limit which is good for us too because we have a big dumb arsed lab cross Doberman and he probably weighs 35/40 KG. They said the cost is £125 per dog plus $30 import fee on arrival in Canada. They can only allow for 5 animals in the aircraft hold so you need to book in advance and get confirmation of booking to take to the airport otherwise you will be charged twice. We have done some research and plan to buy the approved dog plastic boxes from www.caninekennels.com and I would assume you will need the biggest box for a rotty. You also need to get a rabies certificate and a health check certificate. The dog does not need to have a blood test. Hope this helps.
Alex.
Alex.
Thanks for the advice, I just hope we're lucky when it comes to booking.
Man that's going to be one real stressful week. What do you do if you've booked the tickets and can't get the dog on the same flight??
We bought the Vari-carrier for our dog - the 40" one. It's BIG. There is a bigger one, 48" must be huge!!!
Thanks and regards
Cheddar Man
Jun 13th 2006, 10:11 pm
#24
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Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 143
Re: Air Transat for Dogs
Originally Posted by Cheddar Man
Hey Alex,
Thanks for the advice, I just hope we're lucky when it comes to booking.
Man that's going to be one real stressful week. What do you do if you've booked the tickets and can't get the dog on the same flight??
We bought the Vari-carrier for our dog - the 40" one. It's BIG. There is a bigger one, 48" must be huge!!!
Thanks and regards
Cheddar Man
Thanks for the advice, I just hope we're lucky when it comes to booking.
Man that's going to be one real stressful week. What do you do if you've booked the tickets and can't get the dog on the same flight??
We bought the Vari-carrier for our dog - the 40" one. It's BIG. There is a bigger one, 48" must be huge!!!
Thanks and regards
Cheddar Man
Jun 14th 2006, 8:23 am
#25
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Location: 100 mile house BC (tiz a long way away from devon)
Posts: 888
Re: Air Transat for Dogs
Originally Posted by apfairhurst
Hello Cheddar Man. My Wife has contacted Air Transat and they have no weight limit which is good for us too because we have a big dumb arsed lab cross Doberman and he probably weighs 35/40 KG. They said the cost is £125 per dog plus $30 import fee on arrival in Canada. They can only allow for 5 animals in the aircraft hold so you need to book in advance and get confirmation of booking to take to the airport otherwise you will be charged twice. We have done some research and plan to buy the approved dog plastic boxes from www.caninekennels.com and I would assume you will need the biggest box for a rotty. You also need to get a rabies certificate and a health check certificate. The dog does not need to have a blood test. Hope this helps.
Alex.
Alex.
Hi
We just used caninekennels, not a company I would recommend ,
We ordered an in stock , next day item, on wednesday, It never turned up until monday, got fobbed off on my five phone calls asking what was happening, ( we will call you back, I don't have access to that computer screen , etc )
We never got a response from them to at least confirm they were sending the kennel and never an explanation why it was late.
If you do use them, order it early with plenty of time spare,
Only plus with them was it was a fair price and the kennel is good.
And it reminded us of one of the reasons why we are leaving the UK .......
Cheers
Jerry
Jun 14th 2006, 8:28 am
#26
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Joined: Apr 2006
Location: Nine Mile River, Nova Scotia
Posts: 11
Re: Air Transat for Dogs
Originally Posted by jerry brewer
Hi
We just used caninekennels, not a company I would recommend ,
We ordered an in stock , next day item, on wednesday, It never turned up until monday, got fobbed off on my five phone calls asking what was happening, ( we will call you back, I don't have access to that computer screen , etc )
We never got a response from them to at least confirm they were sending the kennel and never an explanation why it was late.
If you do use them, order it early with plenty of time spare,
Only plus with them was it was a fair price and the kennel is good.
And it reminded us of one of the reasons why we are leaving the UK .......
Cheers
Jerry
We just used caninekennels, not a company I would recommend ,
We ordered an in stock , next day item, on wednesday, It never turned up until monday, got fobbed off on my five phone calls asking what was happening, ( we will call you back, I don't have access to that computer screen , etc )
We never got a response from them to at least confirm they were sending the kennel and never an explanation why it was late.
If you do use them, order it early with plenty of time spare,
Only plus with them was it was a fair price and the kennel is good.
And it reminded us of one of the reasons why we are leaving the UK .......
Cheers
Jerry
Jun 14th 2006, 5:30 pm
#27
little snowy owl
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 6,921
Re: Air Transat for Dogs
Originally Posted by Cheddar Man
Thanks for that advice Jerry, and A-men to one of the reasons why you're leaving.
But the flight thing. Decide what flight you want to go on, check there are seats available.... call the dog line and book them on (if that is available) then immediately get back to airline and book your seats, or vice versa. ... ie check both first then book pronto before somebody else does!
Jun 14th 2006, 7:22 pm
#28
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Re: Air Transat for Dogs
Originally Posted by Morwenna
You think they are efficient here ????? You think they ever call you back when they say they are going to?????????
But the flight thing. Decide what flight you want to go on, check there are seats available.... call the dog line and book them on (if that is available) then immediately get back to airline and book your seats, or vice versa. ... ie check both first then book pronto before somebody else does!
But the flight thing. Decide what flight you want to go on, check there are seats available.... call the dog line and book them on (if that is available) then immediately get back to airline and book your seats, or vice versa. ... ie check both first then book pronto before somebody else does!
Difference is I won't mind if they don't call back in Canada ......
I have that much trouble concentrating on the subject, when I hear those cute Canadian female accents, I forget what I am talking about
But more seriously,
I sent an e mail air transat yesterday for confirmation of booking the dog and got an e mail back today with the confirmation....
Cheers
Jerry
Jun 14th 2006, 10:43 pm
#29
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Re: Air Transat for Dogs
Anyone know how far in advance the fit to fly certificate you get from the vets, can be done? 24hrs? 48hrs? etc.
Vet said it was airline dependant, Globespan Gatwick didn't know and neither did the Air Transat woman in Canada but she thought that as it didn't specify max number of days in advance there probably wouldn't be a problem in getting it done a few days before the flight.
Thanks
Vet said it was airline dependant, Globespan Gatwick didn't know and neither did the Air Transat woman in Canada but she thought that as it didn't specify max number of days in advance there probably wouldn't be a problem in getting it done a few days before the flight.
Thanks
Jun 14th 2006, 10:45 pm
#30
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Posts: 15,706
Re: Air Transat for Dogs
Originally Posted by h_henry
Anyone know how far in advance the fit to fly certificate you get from the vets, can be done? 24hrs? 48hrs? etc.
Vet said it was airline dependant, Globespan Gatwick didn't know and neither did the Air Transat woman in Canada but she thought that as it didn't specify max number of days in advance there probably wouldn't be a problem in getting it done a few days before the flight.
Thanks
Vet said it was airline dependant, Globespan Gatwick didn't know and neither did the Air Transat woman in Canada but she thought that as it didn't specify max number of days in advance there probably wouldn't be a problem in getting it done a few days before the flight.
Thanks
gatwick-toronto