Flying with dog through Dublin Airport with Lufthansa

Pipertine

Hi folks,

Wondering if there's anyone out there who might have any advice on flying with a large dog (German Shepherd) through Dublin airport with Lufthansa? EU destination. Neither the airport nor the airline seem to be able to explain what the process is when I get to the airport.

I'm wondering if it's actually necessary to bring her into the airport first for check-in, or are they just going to tell me to go drop her off at a a far-away cargo building, the one we collected her from on the inbound journey. I'm wondering if I can be saved the trouble of getting her into the crate and into the main airport building if it's not required. The crate is not on wheels and I'm just imagining a fiasco of Father Ted proportions playing out when we get there...

Thanks in advance.

doubter

Your dog will be treated as luggage. I am presuming you are transferring from one flight to another? Can you give us a bit more detail on waiting time etc?
Is your dog fully vaccd against rabies?

Pipertine

doubter wrote: »

Your dog will be treated as luggage. I am presuming you are transferring from one flight to another? Can you give us a bit more detail on waiting time etc?
Is your dog fully vaccd against rabies?

Thanks, yep all health stuff is sorted and up to date. It's a direct flight within the EU. I'm more wondering what happens when we arrive at the airport. I know that she is going in the cargo hold of the plane.
Not sure what you mean by waiting time? I've been told to arrive 3 hours before flight to check-in.

doubter

your saying *through* i.e. I presumed you are in transit and dublin is a stop over. If thats the case, your dog will be placed in a quarantine area (it's near one of the hotels on the back of the airport) until he is ready to be loaded on the next flight.
If you are flying from dublin direct to your destination you have to hand him in at the same area - life cargo i think it's called, where he will be checked and loaded. He will have to stay in his crate all the time.Personally, when i was moving to ireland with my (very) large dutch shepherd, i opted for land transport as I don't really like the idea of my dog being handled by luggage handlers.

Pipertine

doubter wrote: »

your saying *through* i.e. I presumed you are in transit and dublin is a stop over. If thats the case, your dog will be placed in a quarantine area (it's near one of the hotels on the back of the airport) until he is ready to be loaded on the next flight.
If you are flying from dublin direct to your destination you have to hand him in at the same area - life cargo i think it's called, where he will be checked and loaded. He will have to stay in his crate all the time.Personally, when i was moving to ireland with my (very) large dutch shepherd, i opted for land transport as I don't really like the idea of my dog being handled by luggage handlers.

I've been trying to find out if it's necessary for me to bring her in to the actual airport before we go to that 'life cargo' building. I'm just going to allow for loads of time I guess.

New Home

When I brought my cat on a flight from Dublin to Europe with LH four years ago, I checked myself in as normal in the main part of the airport, not in the 'cargo' area; at the check-in desk they checked the cat's passport and I was given a form that I had to bring to an information desk (could've been a servisair desk) to pay the charge for the cat (apparently the cost varies depending on the weight/size of the pet), and then I went back to the check-in desk with my receipt. Then I was sent to the oversize baggage area to get the pet carrier scanned (I had to take the cat out of the box first), when that was done I put the cat back in his box and then someone came along to bring the kitty 'behind the scenes' to a quiet area ready for his flight. I'm probably stating the obvious but you have to call the airline to book the flight for your dog, they won't accept him/her if you just turn up with your pet. Also, it's at the discretion of the pilot on the day whether your pet will be allowed on the plane, they have no obligation to accept him/her, so it might be best if you had someone on standby to pick up your dog from the airport just in case, especially if you really need to be on that flight. In my case all went well on the day, but I was really anxious. The people who dealt with my cat were all brilliant, though, and very gentle with my kitty-cat, which helped a lot.

I think - but I stand to be corrected - that you bring him to the cargo area of the airport only if he flies on his own in a cargo plane, but if he comes along with you on your very same flight then he goes in a special area of the airplane hold which is heated.

doubter

Pipertine wrote: »

I've been trying to find out if it's necessary for me to bring her in to the actual airport before we go to that 'life cargo' building. I'm just going to allow for loads of time I guess.

Hiya,
you won't be allowed to bring her into the actual airport. You have to drop her off first. Keep about an hour reserved for that and have all the paperwork ready and in order.Don't feed her before the flight, if you can, give her some rescue remedy before you hand her in. Good luck. :-)

Pipertine

Thanks both. I hadn't heard that the pilot can decide on the day...that's worrying but I hope everything will be ok. I called Lufthansa when I was booking my ticket to get the dog confirmed on it aswell and they sent me an email confirmation, it says "Pet in cargo compartment - confirmed". They explained there's a few flights each week which pets can travel in the cargo, and on those flights that are 1-2 places only. So yep, it is necessary to check with them and get it confirmed, I have that much done anyway.

@ New Home I'm probably worrying too much but it's helpful anyway to hear from someone who's been through it! Glad to hear your cat was handled properly.

@ Doubter - Lufthansa told me the dog is allowed in to the airport as long as she is inside her crate, and Dublin Airport confirmed it by email. "Dogs are allowed in their carriers that you are using for the flight, so you can bring her into the terminal in that whenever you’re coming in yourself." Fingers crossed...

New Home

By the way, whatever you do do not give any sedatives/tranquilizers to your dog before the flight, it's very dangerous. Rescue Remedy is perfectly fine, though - mind you, I tried it on my cat and I got my arm shredded to smithereens (I'm sure that was his way to thank me for my concern...), so I figured I'd take a few drops too...

Safe travelling, both of you.

doubter

Pipertine wrote: »

Thanks both. I hadn't heard that the pilot can decide on the day...that's worrying but I hope everything will be ok. I called Lufthansa when I was booking my ticket to get the dog confirmed on it aswell and they sent me an email confirmation, it says "Pet in cargo compartment - confirmed". They explained there's a few flights each week which pets can travel in the cargo, and on those flights that are 1-2 places only. So yep, it is necessary to check with them and get it confirmed, I have that much done anyway.

@ New Home I'm probably worrying too much but it's helpful anyway to hear from someone who's been through it! Glad to hear your cat was handled properly.

@ Doubter - Lufthansa told me the dog is allowed in to the airport as long as she is inside her crate, and Dublin Airport confirmed it by email. "Dogs are allowed in their carriers that you are using for the flight, so you can bring her into the terminal in that whenever you’re coming in yourself." Fingers crossed...

In the carrier-yes that is true. I didn't even envisage that given the possible weight of the dog. and New home- once a dog is booked on to the flight, the Pilot has no authority to decide not to load him. Thats the airlines responsibility.The pilot could only decide between cargo and passenger space but that wouldn't be applicable in the case of a GSD. :-)

New Home

Good to know, thanks for that Doubter! I must have misunderstood at the time, then... I was told the pilot could refuse to load the animals in case of unforeseeable problems, like faults with the heating system in the 'animal-designated' area, but it's reassuring to know that once you're booked, you don't have to worry any more.

Pipertine

In case this is helpful for anyone who may be flying with a dog from Dublin airport with Lufthansa.

Also - quick note about the cost. From Frankfurt to Dublin it cost me approx €1560 for my dog's travel - not including my ticket. There is a large animal facility at Frankfurt Airport and a company called Petair takes care of the animals. I'm only taking a guess that that's what you're paying for. You drop off your pet about 5 hours before the flight, and the Petair staff take care of them for the day until the flight.

The cost on the return journey from Dublin to Frankfurt was €215 for my dog's travel - not including my ticket. So. Yeh. Bit of a difference.

In the weeks before my flight:

- I booked my dog onto the same flight as myself
- organised her vet certificate, up to date rabies vacc & tick and tapeworm treatment.

My dog is large so she was travelling in the cargo hold. Lufthansa have 1-2 places for dogs on certain flights so before you book your flight, call them and check what's available. Then book your flight and call them back. They'll email you a confirmation that your pet is booked in.

I got to the airport 3 hours before my flight. I wasn't sure if my dog's crate would sit properly on a normal luggage trolley so I went inside to ask for help. (We pulled in at the drop-off point to unload luggage and pet). The Lufthansa desk is right inside the door there. The kind steward *came with me outside*, helped us get the crate onto the trolley - it did sit, just a bit slanty, we used rope to secure it. Once inside he led me to weigh the dog & crate, and the crate was checked by security. Then we headed to a service desk to pay for my dog's travel in cash. He checked our passports (mine & dogs). While I was waiting in line to pay, he went back to the ticket desk and printed out the boarding pass and labels for the crate.

At some point, the steward had called someone from cargo handling to come and get the dog and crate, so a few minutes later a nice chap arrived, assured me she would get water, and wheeled dog and crate off to be loaded onto the plane.

A few nervous hours later we landed in Frankfurt. Didn't have to wait long to collect my bag, wasn't sure then where to go to collect my dog, so headed for "Bulky baggage pick-up" just a short walk away. As I approached, the crate was already there, looked kind of abandoned. There was a cargo guy who appeared when I approached, and he helped me load the crate onto a trolley.

He didn't check my i.d or papers, which I found a bit disturbing! At Dublin airport I wasn't asked for the vet certificate, and I don't know if they checked her microchip - it wasn't done in front of me at any point. The Lufthansa steward had checked the dog passport at check-in, but that was the only check that I saw done.

Sooo, overall it was a very stress-free experience. The helpfulness of Lufthansa staff at Dublin airport no doubt contributed to that. I'd say it took us less than a half an hour from when we arrived at the airport until my dog was handed over to the cargo staff.

Good luck to anyone else travelling with a pet!

New Home

Glad to hear all went well. I must say, I know it was 4 years ago and I was travelling with a cat, but I only paid €100 for my cat's 'ticket' - I guess they might have a 'charge-by-weight' policy...