Lucy83

Hi,

Can anyone recommend a company that could fly my Labrador over to join us in BC? I have read lots of threads but they all seem fairly old.
I have looked up crates and she has all the relevant vaccines and I intend to get her paper work sorted next week. As I am already in BC I'm finding it difficult to get through to uk call centres ie aircanada. I have spent the last few days getting increasingly frustrated listening to automated recordings!
Any advice would be great, or just to know it is possible without costing £5000! (Previous quote from airpets)

Siouxie

Hello and welcome to BE!

Do you want to fly your dog out unaccompanied? Do you have anyone who could take your dog to the airport rather than using a pet carrier company (which will be very expensive)?

Have you tried Air Transat? They would be cheaper than Air Canada if you have someone to take the dog to the airport.

Flying With Pets and Airline-Approved Pet Carriers | Air Transat

There have been a couple of recent threads/posts about transporting dogs/pets, http://britishexpats.com/forum/canad...dog-us-835102/
http://britishexpats.com/forum/canad...monton-841464/ and there is also a wiki article you might find useful.

Transporting Pets-Canada : British Expat Wiki

Lucy83

Thank you for your help. Yes She will be travelling unaccompanied. I have someone back in England willing to take her to the airport.
Thanks for the links, I will have a gander now

withabix

It might actually be cheaper for you to fly to the UK and bring the dog back with you...

Air Transat will be the cheapest accompanied.

Lucy83

The air transat prices are definitely the best I have seen so far. Will they not except her unless someone travels with her?
Ok one more question that may seem really thick but I can not get through to this number air transat provide 00800-28 38 76 73
I am calling from a uk phone in Canada and have tried putting the +44 in front but I just keep getting the number is wrong message!

Siouxie

Call the Canada number instead and talk to them? You would need to drop the first '0' to call the UK number. 011-44-0800 xxxx xxxx

withabix

011 44 800 xxxx

You may need to find a geographical number for Air Transat and it may actually be better to call their Canadian office anyway, because you will end up calling that office eventually, because they handle all pet bookings in either direction.

Air Transat's UK geographical number appears to be 020 7616 9187 (so 011 44 2076169187)

Siouxie

You drop both '0's?

Yes, I have suggested they call the Canada office too for the same reason.

It would be the cargo department in the UK I believe?

withabix

No UK numbers start with two zeros, so the number must be wrong to start with.

Lucy83

Thank you everyone for your help, it's very much appreciated.

Geordie Lass

We flew a 60lb lab over with Skymaster at Manchester airport. They were great. Easy to deal with and sorted everything out for us.

Oakvillian

00 800 (or more accurately +800) is an international freephone prefix, not a country-specific number. From Canada you'd need to dial 011 800 28 38 76 73 to reach that Air Transat call centre.

Siouxie

I'm glad somebody knows their stuff, lol.

Thanks