Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

Hi, we are taking our Cocker Spaniel with us to Toronto next March, he is booked on our same flight with Icelandair.

Just wanted to know what happens when we arrive, where will we pick him up from?

Any help would be much appreciated, thanks

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

Hey Zippy,

I'm not sure how different some of the airports our but we fly our 2 dogs in to Calgary and we had to clear ourselves through immigration, go to the cargo region of the airport to collect clearance documents, go back to immigration to clear the dogs then go back to the cargo hold to collect the pooches with clearance paperwork. It was a long day... :blink: but hey, it worked and was all good in the end!! Hope it goes well :fingerscrossed:

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

Hi, thanks for that,

But we were hoping for someone who had done this at Toronto with Icelandair,
We are worried because our flight does not land until 7pm we have two children, and no car to be getting around from one side of the airport to the other if that is how we have to do it.

So any info on Toronto and pets would be great

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

No shortage of cabs or hire cars at Toronto should it be necessary.

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

There are details in this thread:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=471807

It's a similar process to if you have cargo on the same flight - when my son flew over, it took us about 4 hours to get everything done. You might want to check the closing times of the cargo department too, if your flight doesn't land until 7pm. I would suggest perhaps one of you stays with your children and the luggage whilst the other does the traipsing around getting customs clearance and then collecting the dog.

You could email Iceland Air Cargo office in Toronto and ask them details :)

Handling
Name CAS CANADA
Address 2710 BRITANNIA ROAD EAST CARGO BUILD 2 ENTRANCE NR 5
City TORONTO
Country CANADA
Telephone +1- 9056730388
Fax +1-9056760373
Email [email protected]
SITA YYZFHTS

I am suprised that they are allowing you to transport your pet in March, normally pets are not allowed in the hold of planes between November and the end of March because they are unheated and it gets too cold.

"... Cold Restriction: Pets cannot be accepted when the ground temperature is below 45 degrees Fahrenheit at any location on the itinerary UNLESS the pet has a veterinarian's statement of low temperature acclimation...."

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

The part of the hold animals will be in is heated (If it's 45F on the ground, imagine how cold it is at 30,000 feet) but they don't turn the heaters on until the plane is off the ground for some reason. The problem is the time when you're sitting on the ground.

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

4 hours! That's gonna be a long day for us.

Is it different as he is travelling as excess baggage not cargo?

Thanks for all the help so far, has anyone else took there dog as excess baggage!

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

Thanks for the heads-up on the dog info Sue, we were thinking about travelling at the start of March with the dog.

Will need to look into that now.

What about dressing him in a onesy :eek:

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

On Iceland Air's website it says that..

"... All pets transported on Icelandair travel in special climate-controlled transport areas in the cargo area of the aircraft*. A maximum of 4 animal crates can be carried on each aircraft, however two animals can share a crate if both are small and of the same species. Passengers must provide their own pet crates. The charge for pet transport is the excess baggage charge applicable to the destination..."

Perhaps it would be a good idea to give them a call and ask them what their procedure is for pets - whether they are treated as 'excess baggage' and kept within the passenger terminal or whether they are treated as 'cargo' and sent to the cargo terminal. Until you know that, it is difficult to determine how long it is likely to take.

http://www.icelandair.co.uk/informat...rt/contact-us/

I know Air Transat and Air Canada had restrictions on carrying pets during the winter, but you should be able to get the info from them. Iceland Air seem very cheap for transporting pets! http://www.airtransat.co.uk/en/gamme...voyageur&id=20 http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelin...gage/pets.html

:)

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

Thanks siouxie, he is booked as excess baggage in the climate controlled area, we have emailed Icelandair just waiting for the reply! Just wanted to get real info from anyone who had done it.:D

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

We flew into Toronto and our dogs followed a week later so we were ready waiting for them at the cargo area. You will need a car as it is a good distance from the terminal.
Once there you hand over the documents you have, wait for the vet to check the dogs over. You then have to go to the customs area which is in another area but can be walked where you pay the fee (can't remember the cost) more paperwork. Go back to the cargo area hand in the paperwork and pay another fee then you get the dog.
The guys at cargo would not let us leave the wooden crates they were in at the airport either so luckily had a mini van to fit it in so you may want to consider that too as you will also have all your luggage.
It took us about 2 hours from when they landed to us seeing them, the were very thirsty and hungry we brought water and food to give them some and they settled in after a couple of days.
We used a pet shipping company and ours flew Thomas Cook from Glasgow in July.
Hope this helps, I found it very stressful not being on the flight with them 7+ hours of not knowing was awful.
Good luck

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

Hi guys.

I just phoned Transat to enquire about taking our dog.

We plan to fly out early March.

They told me all their flights have heated holds, and can transport dogs all year round.
Cost is $275 plus a customs fee at their end of $30 plus tax.

They require a plastic crate (metal door allowed) and big enough for the animal to turn around in.

We will need to take care of any documentation required (vaccinations records etc)

So that's based on us organising everything ourselves. MUCH cheaper than using a company, especially if I can buy a used crate off the internet.

However, we may still use a company as it's being paid for as part of a relocation deal, so why not ;)

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

The pet shipping companies charge a fortune - cheapest quote we got was just under £1000.

We are being charged 100 euros by Icelandair plus the $30 tax when we arrive.

Pet planet.co.uk have the IATA approved crates and ours cost 59.99, and was delivered free.

We have emailed Toronto airport to ask what the procedure is for pets being sent as excess baggage as this seems to make a difference as to where you collect them from.

Good luck with your move:D



QUOTE=Dave n Ailsa;10421112]Hi guys.

I just phoned Transat to enquire about taking our dog.

We plan to fly out early March.

They told me all their flights have heated holds, and can transport dogs all year round.
Cost is $275 plus a customs fee at their end of $30 plus tax.

They require a plastic crate (metal door allowed) and big enough for the animal to turn around in.

We will need to take care of any documentation required (vaccinations records etc)

So that's based on us organising everything ourselves. MUCH cheaper than using a company, especially if I can buy a used crate off the internet.

However, we may still use a company as it's being paid for as part of a relocation deal, so why not ;)[/QUOTE]

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

Thanks for the info and link.

Can I ask, what size of crate did you buy, and what size is your dog?

The biggest they have is 80 x 56 x 59 cm. Do you think that's big enough for our dog: (he's on the left)

http://www.carartz.com/other/can/hemid.jpg

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

http://www.animalinstinct.co.uk/petp...-carriers.html

Hi, this is the link which shows how to measure the dog, they need a certain amount of room to lie down and turn around, our dog will not be 6 months so will be much smaller than yours, so we have bought the medium size 71x52x54.

I have seen that some of the pet shipping companies can provide special made crates for bigger dogs, just measure him and see how it goes!

Good luck



QUOTE=Dave n Ailsa;10421147]Thanks for the info and link.

Can I ask, what size of crate did you buy, and what size is your dog?

The biggest they have is 80 x 56 x 59 cm. Do you think that's big enough for our dog: (he's on the left)

http://www.carartz.com/other/can/hemid.jpg[/QUOTE]

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

hahaha, have you ever tried measuring a curious dog? lol

That was a fail! I need a crate about 2 metres long apparently :rofl:

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

The dog is easier to import than a vehicle. The dog can be less than 15 years old and doesnt need daytime running lights nor does it need to meet CMVSS standards. There are no bilingual requirements for a dog and it doesnt need a work permit if its going to be used for pulling a sleigh or herding sheep. No police certificate or IELTS required either. There are no restrictions on the dog sponsoring another dog from the UK if you wish to let your dog have a mate. No need for the dog to be checking ECAS to see if a decision has been made.
Pretty easy being a dog eh
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/animals/.../1331876307796

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

Are you sure the fee you are being quoted is not for a dog going as excess baggage. From the look of the size of your dog, it is very unlikely you will be able to take it as excess baggage. Fees for cargo are much higher.

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

That's interesting as when I called airtransat they said they take pets and the costs etc but that they don't deal with it directly at the airline and I would need to use an approved pet travel and they gave me the number of a company to call. Maybe I need to call them again:(

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

When we started looking at flights we were going to go with Airtransat and the price was £475.

We just got confusing info from Icelandair, so we are desperate to hear from anyone who has taken their dog as excess baggage, thanks:D

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

It's possible that the price is date dependent.

For example, the costs for us humans is around £220 each in March, wheres as it is costing me just under 500 to fly tomorrow.

But no, I definitely described the dog as Husky sized, and she also never said anything about using a private company. She just specified that the crate had to be plastic.

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

Most airlines only permit a dog to travel as excess baggage if the weight of the dog and crate combined is less than 32kg IIRC.

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

I'm not quite sure who you are arguing with here, lol.

Did I mix up my words or something?

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

I am not arguing:p

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

lol, ok, ya big stirrer!

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

:D

Re: Importing a dog - how does it work?
 

We brought our dog as excess baggage with Air Transat, we landed at Vancouver. Our dog was waiting for us at the oversize luggage area before our bags came out!