I have a two year old 40 kgs Golden Retriever called Archie.

Anyone a good suggestion to convey him to Madeira from say Lisbon. He's too heavy for commercial airline cabins and I don't want to put him in a hold.

Chartered aircraft will cost 7000 pounds but anyone a cheaper alternative?

regards

Ray

Do they do ferries?

Also, I know you say you don't want to put him in hold and I was the same with my cat but in the end it was the best way.

Sarah

Sibs

Thanks for the suggestions.

2 questions:

What ferries exist - Lisbon to Funchal?

I have no idea what an airplane hold looks like - is it like the cabin but without seats or is a bit bleak? Does anyone go in there during the flight to check on animals? Can a passenger go in there?

regards

Ray

hi my dad was an safety engineer for BA and was always working in the hold before take off,
basically the hold is the same as the cabin without seats, it is totally secure and has oxygen feed.If animals are traveling on the aircraft, a member of the cabin crew, will check every hour on the animals and check well being.(hence why you must no longer sedate for animals before the flights)animals are given fresh water for the flight but no food,u can understand why
search around for some more prices for the dog on different airlines as prices can change alot!! you can also rent the dog crates from most airlines now a days you simply need to measure the dog. good luck

Aaron & Jo

Thanks for that info - that seems a lot better than I thought!!

no problems

Aaron & Jo

Can I clarify something. These holds you speak of I assume they are not part of the normal scheduled aircraft or are they? I assume we are talking about non-passenger aircraft - what you might call a cargo plane ?

If that is so I would have to go on another flight I assume? - who looks after the loading and unloading?

warm regards

Ray

HI THEY ARE PART OF THE PASSENGER PLANES, MONARCH BRITISH AIRWAYS ETC.
PLANES DONT JUST USE THE HOLD FOR PASSANGER BAGGAGE, IT IS ALSO USED FOR TRANSPORTING GOODS TO OTHER COUNTRYS SUCH AS LIVE STOCK, DEAD BODYS, FOOD , POST ETC.THIS IS ALSO HOW THEY MAKE THERE MONEY.IF TRANSPORTING LIVE STOCK I.E YOUR DOG THEY HAVE A HOLD AREA AIRSIDE WHERE THE DOG IS CHECKED OVER BEFORE THEY BOARD THE AIRCRAFT. THEY ARE ALSO BOARDED LAST TO ADVOID UPSETTING THE ANIMALS.
TRY LOOKING ONLINE FOR AIRLINES,TO CHECK THERE POLICY WITH DOMESTIC ANIMALS,AND INSTEAD OF BOOKING ON LINE I WOULD PHONE AND TALK TO SOMEONE,ABOUT BOOKING YOURSELF AND PET ON THE SAME PLANE.
ALSO WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT YOUR CHOOSEN DESTINATION THE PET IS TAKEN OFF FIRST AND YOU CAN COLLECT THEM FROM A SECURE AREA.
HOPE THIS HELPS, REMEMBER MOST AIRLINES PREFER YOU TO PROVIDE A HEALTH CERT TO CONFIRM THE PET IS FIT FOR TRAVEL FROM YOUR VET THIS MUST BE OBTAINED 24HRS BEFORE TRAVEL.

FORGOT TO SAY THE GROUND STAFF IS IN CONTROL OF LOADING AND UNLOADING.

I flew Monarch airlines from Birmingham to Faro with my cat. I decided to fly on the same plane but you don't have to do it, in our case it was the most obvious thing to do as I did not want to be parted from her for too long.

She used her normal cat container with water for the flight (no food). You may need a special carrier for your dog but many airlines hire these out as well. From what I gather the hold is kept dark and warm to encourage them to sleep. We dropped her off at the cargo hold and she was loaded on last. On arrival at Faro I watched her get whisked off to cargo as we boarded the bus to the terminal.

She was a bit bewildered but soon settled down, definitely better than a ferry!

Sarah

Very helpful thank you. Just had a quote today from Heathrow to Faro for my cat £650 plus £275 to collect him and take him to Heathrow

If you go on the same flight it is probably cheaper.
My cat cost me about £360, my seat cost me £90!

Sounds like a bargain Sibs,well done! Will get some more quotes I think.

It is because I didn't use an agent so to speak. BA recommend not going on the same flight but that was no good to me. I used Monarch but actually I thought it was a bit expensive considering my seat was so cheap!!

Good idea not to use an agent I think,guess I'll just contact the airline directly when the time comes. I wasn't surprised about cost, we are a nation of animal lovers and this gives airlines et al a good opportunity to make lots of money. They know we won't leave our pets behind!