Pet travel

New Home

Does anyone know whether it's possible to purchase an actual seat on a flight for a pet, a bit like musicians do with cellos, harps, etc., so they don't have to go in the hold? Has anyone done it?

I've emailed four of the major airlines but I haven't heard anything back, yet.

Thanks.

cocker5

New Home wrote: »

Does anyone know whether it's possible to purchase an actual seat on a flight for a pet, a bit like musicians do with cellos, harps, etc., so they don't have to go in the hold? Has anyone done it?

I've emailed four of the major airlines but I haven't heard anything back, yet.

Thanks.

Flying from where OP? Dublin?

Most airlines don’t allow animals upfront unfortunately.. some European airlines allow small dogs in a carry on .. as in yorkies etc
But I’ve yet to see them in a sit.

Nody

New Home wrote: »

Does anyone know whether it's possible to purchase an actual seat on a flight for a pet, a bit like musicians do with cellos, harps, etc., so they don't have to go in the hold? Has anyone done it?

I've emailed four of the major airlines but I haven't heard anything back, yet.

Thanks.

Pet travel usually only comes in two forms; either in a small carry on cage fitting under the seat OR in the luggage area and only in a certified IATA cage and this is limited not only to airlines but also flights as it's plane dependent if they accept it or not.

New Home

Thanks guys, I knew the general rules from travelling with a cat in the hold before, but I was wondering about purchasing a separate ticket, as opposed to a "travelling with an animal" one. It's just that I haven't been able to find anything specifically forbidding (or allowing) it.

aonb

For what its worth, I met someone in Dublin airport recently, whose med/smallish dog travelled in the cabin on a seat beside her. Her doctor had 'certified' her dog as an emotional support dog!!

New Home

I've been very tempted to do that, aonb, and not only because the poor thing gets stressed very easily, but would anyone certify a cat for that, and how would one go about it?

Oh, and in case this helps someone else, KLM have replied and they said no. Still no answer from the other companies - very poor customer service, if you ask me.

Nody

New Home wrote: »

I've been very tempted to do that, aonb, and not only because the poor thing gets stressed very easily, but would anyone certify a cat for that, and how would one go about it?

Let me start this with stating I've not done this but based on what I know and read I'd guess you need to speak to a GP and potentially a specialist to get the confirmation your cat is required as emotional support for you as a person to remain stable. How difficult such a discussion would be is obviously dependent on your GP (from experience some are happy to sign off pretty much anything while others actually do their job). Once signed off you'd still need to probably call the airline to get it approved as I'm sure there are restrictions on which airlines would allow it as well.

Oh, and in case this helps someone else, KLM have replied and they said no. Still no answer from the other companies - very poor customer service, if you ask me.

I expect you'll get no from everyone as stated earlier; I went through this type of issue before and ended up going to a professional import/export firm to handle it for me (but I was moving with 4 adult cats and hence a bigger problem in terms of the space etc.).

em_cat

I really hate the idea of ESA animals, but that’s a bit off topic... I travel a fair bit abroad & have always taken one of my pets in the cabin, but could never pretend to suffer from emotional stress or anxiety just to skirt the rules.

OP can you not train your pet to be comfortable in a carrier and put them under the seat in front? You can always let them poke their head out during the flight if they are comfortable enough to do so.

Darc19

If it's a cat that already gets stressed, then travel is not a runner.

Even the best behaved and calm cats get stressed traveling as they are very much territorial and become uncomfortable when out of their "area"

Plenty of cat kennels about or maybe look at getting a house sitter?

New Home

TBH, I was half joking about trying to make him an ESA, I wouldn't lie about it either.

If he weren't so big in size, I would definitely prefer for him to stay under the seat (at least he'd be near me and he'd be able to smell me and he wouldn't be as stressed), but the carrier's too big, he needs to be able to stand up, and with a smaller carrier he wouldn't be able to. Besides, carrier and cat weigh more than 8 kilos, so that's out of the question anyway.

I hate to have to make him travel in the first place, if there were other options I'd take them...

Darc19

Google threw this up from 2016

https://www.independent.ie/life/travel/travel-with-pets-which-airlines-will-take-my-dog-or-cat-on-board-34481377.html

Also, companies get literally hundreds of emails and very easy for an email to be missed, best to call directly or contact a good travel agent.

New Home

Thanks for that, I read it during the week.

I already phoned a few of the pet travel companies, they all asked me to submit my query through their web forms. I'll give the other airlines another day or two, and then I'll start phoning them again. Also, I'm pretty sure the emails get logged, as I got back reference numbers for all of them, so it's much harder for them to go astray.

New Home

Nody wrote: »

I went through this type of issue before and ended up going to a professional import/export firm to handle it for me (but I was moving with 4 adult cats and hence a bigger problem in terms of the space etc.).

Would you mind sending me a PM with the name of the company you used, please? How did you find them, were they good? And did they bring your cats home, or did you have to collect them at the airport?

em_cat

New Home wrote: »

TBH, I was half joking about trying to make him an ESA, I wouldn't lie about it either.

If he weren't so big in size, I would definitely prefer for him to stay under the seat (at least he'd be near me and he'd be able to smell me and he wouldn't be as stressed), but the carrier's too big, he needs to be able to stand up, and with a smaller carrier he wouldn't be able to. Besides, carrier and cat weigh more than 8 kilos, so that's out of the question anyway.

I hate to have to make him travel in the first place, if there were other options I'd take them...

I agree it’s not very nice to leave pets at home if you can avoid it & I’ve travelled long haul with cats before, many many years ago before I developed a nasty allergy to them but also I know that cats & most dogs really don’t feel comfortable in planes, not to mention the poor American esa pets.

Have you looked at using one of the SturdiProduct bags, we had one for our 7 kg Havanease, 6.5kg if she had a groom beforehand. We use 2 large now, one for Esmae who is about 4kg and she can stretch out Pom style & Mr C can stand and turn around in his but he tends to sleep fox style. Both are airline approved. I know people use them for cats too.

We usually fly BA, Lufthansa or Emirates and have never had issues with them nor have they ever been weighed.

I like the Sturdi ones because have soft but secure sides and can be mushed a bit to fit

New Home

I'll look into those, thanks.

Just in case anyone was wondering, this is not for a holiday, I'm collecting the 10 y.o. cat of a person who can no longer look after him, and since he's had a rake of expensive health issues and he was first abandoned and then rehomed twice, leaving him with a rescue place again would be just too cruel. I mean, it's hard enough to get a healthy kitten adopted, it'd be impossible to rehome him. At least he knows me very well. But, to be clear, I'm not doing this lightheartedly. I only hope he'll survive the trip.

New Home

em_cat wrote: »

We usually fly BA, Lufthansa or Emirates and have never had issues with them nor have they ever been weighed.

BTW, I don't know if it's short haul only, or if it depends on the routes, but BA won't take pets in yhe cabin any more, I checked yesterday.

em_cat

New Home wrote: »

BTW, I don't know if it's short haul only, or if it depends on the routes, but BA won't take pets in yhe cabin any more, I checked yesterday.

Hmm, that stinks, I wonder does it have to do with Brexit? Check with Air France, it’s been a few years since I flew with them but a friend of mine always travels with her pug & she flies with them.

Fair play to taking on a oldie, although 10 for a cat seems young, I’ve had a couple who lived to 19 & 22.

Also taking pets on hols isn’t a bad thing, as long as they enjoy it or at the very least aren’t stressed by it.

Whereabouts are you trying to get to & from?

Edit: I find Lufhstansa to be really good in terms of pets in cabin & tbh I’d say that you wouldn’t have an issue with the weight. Also, one thing, I used fabric folding type food & water bowls in which I’ve used super strong Velcro sewn to each side & they fold out from the sides if that makes sense. However only Esmae tends to eat when flying, Mr C just sleeps.

Nody

New Home wrote: »

Would you mind sending me a PM with the name of the company you used, please? How did you find them, were they good? And did they bring your cats home, or did you have to collect them at the airport?

The company I used had done giraffes and other wild animals etc. previously so obviously cats was a walk in the park for them and they were very professional about it all. What they do is dependent on the company but usually they handle the paper work at departing side; ensure the papers for arriving are available and you can then choose to do it yourself (pick up at customs) or have a local agency (they will give you one or more agencies you can contact about it at the arrival side) to handle it all for you on arrival (and then you agree with the arrival agency on where you pick them up; personally I choose to pick them up at their cargo location as I wanted them ASAP and had a car ready so they would hear me as soon as possible). I'll PM you the company but mind you they are not cheap; we paid about 2k EUR all inclusive for our 4 cats.

Graces7

New Home wrote: »

I'll look into those, thanks.

Just in case anyone was wondering, this is not for a holiday, I'm collecting the 10 y.o. cat of a person who can no longer look after him, and since he's had a rake of expensive health issues and he was first abandoned and then rehomed twice, leaving him with a rescue place again would be just too cruel. I mean, it's hard enough to get a healthy kitten adopted, it'd be impossible to rehome him. At least he knows me very well. But, to be clear, I'm not doing this lightheartedly. I only hope he'll survive the trip.

if this helps? When I came to Ireland I brought one of my cats with me; the other 2 came in the car later ( I was too ill to go by land and sea). She had been very ill and no way to not take her.

There were 3 flights involved; small island to mainland island, mainland island to Edinburgh; then the last leg to Dublin before train etc the next day.

The first flight was in a tiny islander and it was rough and she was messy when we got out but I cleaned her up and we had a few hours before the next flight.
A hold up at Edinburgh as it was soon after 9 /11 and no one knew how to put a cat through customs....

Ryanair by the way.

She was fine when we got to the hotel and afterwards. She knows you well. put a small garment from you in with her. They are resilient than we think. and cats have a way of closing down in stressful situations. She was around ten years then.

Murt10

I contacted Aer Lingus about flying with my dog (Springer Spaniel) to Alicante Spain earlier this year.

They sent me back a totally outlandish quote for £850 sterling for a one way trip for the dog alone. (£850 = €950) Plus I would also have to pay for my own ticket. So the cost of the trip over was €1,100 and the same for the trip home = €2,200.

Add to this the cost of hiring a car in Spain and the trip was totally unaffordable.

I ended up travelled by Brittany Ferries, Cork to Santander, for €900 (return) in my own car and drove down. Slower, but at least better value than Aer Lingus

New Home

Update on this: Lufthansa have an embargo on bringing pets into Ireland, both in the cabin and in the hold. Obviously, it would've been too much to ask to have them mention it on their website... KLM allows them, but the carrier's dimensions for the cabin can't exceed 46x28x24, and the total weight can't be more than 8kg.

New Home

In case anyone needed to know, Iberia DO bring pets into Ireland, and the maximum dimensions for the pet carrier for the cabin are 45cm by 35cm by 25 cm, with a maximum allowed weight of 8 kilos for carrier + pet. And their customer service agents are remarkably helpful (unlike LH'S, who are as bad as Ryanair's used to be).

This carrier is only 1cm over their limits, but it's soft so it should fit. https://www.fressnapf.de/p/more-for-rucksack-supreme

New Home

Just a few lines to report that Iberia were brilliant, everything went very smoothly with both the paperwork and the flight itself. The flight assistant very kindly brought me some water for the cat, too, during the flight.

The cat wasn't stressed - he was a bit nervous at first (different environments, sounds, smells, and carrier), and he meowed a couple of times when the noise of the plane got to a different pitch (literally, no more than a couple of times), but he slept through most of it, and was over all quite relaxed. I let him stretch his legs in the toilets at the airport, but he was absolutely grand. The carrier was excellent, it was waterproof but had some weaker spots at the seams, so beware, but the cat was very comfortable in it. It's advertised for a maximum weight of 5 kilos, but even though my cat was nearly 6 kilos, it was well able to handle the extra weight. If I ever need to get the cat to travel in it again, I'll bring a larger stash of puppy pads... I had to change them three times, but we had a long layover in Madrid, so that's understandable.

Rosie_F

Hi there, figured I was better to resurrect this thread rather than starting a new one. We are moving to Germany soon and want to fly with our dog in the cabin and come back to Ireland with her at Christmas. Lufthansa is allowing us to fly to Germany with the dog in the cabin as she is only small but they won't allow us to fly back to Ireland with her in the cabin! It seems easier to fly with a dog in the cabin to and from America but it's proving hard to find an airline in Europe.

Lufthansa said it's Irish Law but it's not - See Section 2 part 5
(www. agriculture.gov.ie/pets/bringingyourpetcatdogorferretintoireland/) "It is up to the airline to decide whether to carry the animal in the cabin or as excess baggage – the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine does not decide on this." I've pointed this out to them but it's like dealing with a brick wall that just goes in circles.

Also to point out to those mentioning it, airlines in Europe don't allow emotional assistance dogs unless to and from the US. I have a disability and use a wheelchair and as there's a 5-year waitlist for a disability service dog we instead adopted a dog and got her trained to a high level to help me. We had to get her certified as an emotional assistance dog in order for me to be able to bring her around to help with my daily errands etc, but no airline in Europe will accept this or even a letter from my hospital consultant backing up the need. It's all very black and white so hoping we can just find an airline that allows them in the cabin.

@New Home where did you fly from with Iberia? If it's Europe I'll just make sure to travel to said airport if they don't fly from Germany.

New Home

Hi Rosie, I had typed a long reply from my phone this morning, but when I went to post it all I was left with was a stupid URL...

Lufthansa, over the past 10 years, have grown worse and worse. They've a customer service that's so bad that make the old Ryanair one seem like top notch service. Rude, incompetent, and utterly unhelpful. When I booked with them I specifically mentioned pet travel and my route, and they said they wouldn't be able to check for availability without me booking first. Rubbish. Anyway, the first person I spoke to told me first that they were fully booked for pet travel, on all flights, for the entire week. Then I asked her to check other routes. Same reply. I told her it was impossible, unless there had been an invasion of pets in airports. Eventually, she told me that after speaking to a colleague she had discovered there was a clause in one of their documents (which wasn't available online, and which not everyone in LH was aware about) saying they had an embargo on pet travel to the UK because of Brexit. I lost the plot. I told her to check a map. She put me back on hold. 10 mins later she told me she found another document where it says the embargo covers Ireland, too. No explanation as to why. I tried to get a refund on my ticket (which I had booked in business class, and which was fully flexible, and I was told that before going ahead I'd have to agree to accept whatever refund LH would decide to give me, without knowing in advance what that amount was. Then I asked to move the flight to another date, and I was told it'd cost me €70 plus the difference in price. I told them to check the T&Cs on my ticket, before handing out incorrect information. Abysmally bad. I've been left stranded in Frankfurt at 11:30 at night because of a delayed flight with no LH staff at all around to whom I could ask for a voucher for a hotel, transport, etc. Nobody answered the customer service phone number, and I got no email regarding accommodation, or re-booking of my flight. There was someone else who was supposed to catch a connecting flight to Brazil that night but who had also missed the flight because of the delay, and that person had a dog with them.

Like I mentioned, I ended up flying with Iberia. They were all spectacularly good, and couldn't have been helpful if they had tried (bar one idiot at the boarding gate who took issue with my documents after they had been already checked and approved at the check-in desk, at a customer service desk, at two security points, and by airport security). I flew via Madrid to Dublin, because the connection via Barcelona was too short, but I was prepared to go to Santander (18 hours away from Ireland) and to take the ferry afterwards. That would have left me with the problem of dealing with a pet and public transport in Ireland, though.

Most pet removals companies seem to be ok at dealing with pets when you have direct travel, or outbound flights from Ireland, but if you have a connection to somewhere else, or are coming in from somewhere else, they won't consider it and they ask you to contact someone locally.

Rosie_F

Thanks for getting back to me @newhome. I only spotted your reply. I had the same issue recently with Lufthansa and I informed the operator that Ireland got Independence over 100 years ago. She put me on hold and came back saying what she'd said to you. I quoted the Irish Dept Ag law then and she said yes, well, Lufthansa don't allow it into Ireland then. Our issue is that we'd be flying out of Germany and I checked with another airline and they're exactly the same as Lufthansa, although I've since found out they're owned by them. I even asked the lady on the phone and in repeated emails to them if they could please pass the correct information on to their superiors regarding the correct Irish laws. I find it hilarious - although sickening too - that Germany of all places has airlines that still see us as part of the UK.

Anyhow, I ended up too sick to move over before Christmas sadly so the little dog is still with me in Ireland yet. We're going to try find a good pet minder who'll take care of her in their own or our home in Germany and depending on how long we're coming back to Ireland for we may just have to get a train to Holland or France and fly out of one of those instead or get two flights from Germany. The madness of it all!!!

shanos

Has anyone ever travelled with their cats in the hold? We are thinking of moving abroad in the near future, flight being max 3 hours and have two cats that would need to come with us. I am very nervous to bring them like this because they will be very stressed locked up for so long and away from home but will not move country without taking them as they are part of the family. 😊

New Home

That's how one of mine had to travel (over 10 years ago, now), he was a big cat and over the 8 kilos allowed for the cabin. Things may have changed a lot in the interim, but it all depends on where you're going and what airline you're using - some of them are wonderful, others are abysmally bad. At the time I used Lufthansa, but a. they've grown progressively worse in these last few years, I really avoid them as much as I can even if I have to fly myself; and b. the last time I checkd they didn't fly animals to Ireland or the UK any more.

With my most recent trip with another cat I flew with Iberia, the cat was with me in the cabin, but from start to finish I can't praise them highly enough.

The first cat was a bit anxious and frankly bewildered when I collected him at the other end, I did hear him meow but only during some turbulence when the plane got noisier, but he was unscathed. I think it was more the fact that he was in a strange, noisy environment. They do tend to settle down when they're in the dark, and they're kept in a pressurised, heated area of the hold.

Having said all that, if you have the chance of travelling by car/ferry/train, it might be less stressful for them because they can be beside you, but the duration of the journey would be much, much, much longer.

josip

This thread seems the best place for a couple of questions I have.

A friend of ours intending to fly with their dog shortly was told they will need to get certification from the regional Veterinary Office (Kildare) before they travel. We left Ireland (by boat) in early July and weren't aware of this so I was wondering if it's a recent requirement or we got lucky that nobody asked us for those forms in Rosslare?

We had also planned to bring our dog with us, to and from Ireland when we fly at others times during the year. Usually with Lufthansa. New Home's post above now casts doubt over those plans. It seems that Luftahansa don't carry to Ireland. Lufthansa in some of their online replies have said that Ireland only allows pets to travel as cargo into Ireland. Is that correct?

For outbound I've also seen this from gov.ie, but it doesn't seem to preclude cabin baggage small pets.

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/21d40-pet-travel/#travelling-or-relocating-out-of-ireland-with-your-pet

"...https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/21d40-pet-travel/#travelling-or-relocating-out-of-ireland-with-your-pet...."

Does anyone have any recent experience of either of these restrictions?

Griffinx

Hi,

I'm hoping to move to Gran Canaria for 6 months to work and would like to bring my 7y/o lab with me. I don't know where to start about trying to get her there. Does anyone have any experience of getting pets to the Canaries?

Thanks :)

New Home

Canaries? Spain? Definitely Iberia, as airlines go!

Officer999

Hi all, old thread but wanted to mention this as the previous comments were relevant.

So as previous posters said, you can fly out of Dublin with Lufthansa with your pet in the cabin but can’t fly back into Ireland. You can add KLM to that.

So we booked our pet dog on a flight from Dublin to Amsterdam in October but weren’t allowed to book it for the return trip. They have it on their website that you can’t fly into the UK with a pet in the cabin. Ridiculously like Lufthansa they have grouped in Ireland with the UK! I have tried ringing the KLM customer phone number but gave up after no one answered after 45 minutes of being on hold.

Does anyone know of any European airlines which allow you to fly your pet back into Ireland in the cabin?

New Home

Two years ago, Iberia were the only ones I could find, and they were excellent. There were weight and size limits, though. Back then, LH didn't even say that they'd allow pets in the hold at all - when I went to book my pet, I was told that all the flights were fully booked. When I questioned how that could be, considering how few pets (compared to people) do fly, the woman I spoke to went off to talk to a supervisor who told her that there was another little-known regulation that said that LH didn't permit the transport of pets to the UK at all. When I challenged that, saying that the Republic of Ireland is not part of the UK, and that it'd be like LH stopping pet travel to Spain because they don't allow it to France, she went off again to check with her manager, to confirm that it wasn't permitted in Ireland, too. This was pre-Covid, I'd say things have gone downhill since. Funny because they did allow it, 11 years ago.

cromelex

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942558#Comment_117942558

TAP Portugal allow pets in cabin, but you have to ring them to book it.

I flew mine just last month with them.

josip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942558#Comment_117942558

That's weird. I've just booked our pooch out and back from Dublin via Schipol and it's showing as 'Confirmed' on their website. I booked it all online via the MyTrip link. I wonder will they cancel the booking in the next few days.

Bykobap

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117948494#Comment_117948494

Hi cromelex, could you please go into more detail regarding boarding with your pet at Lisbon and disembarking in Dublin.

I thought there was a blanket ban on pets travelling to Ireland in cabin, cargo travel only etc.

Tia

Officer999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117964094#Comment_117964094

Really. We could only book our pooch on the Dublin - Amsterdam route via the My Trip link. When we tried booking her on the return flight to Dublin it didn’t allow us to select the option of a pet. Just a bike.

cromelex

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117964398#Comment_117964398

There is no ban for sure.

I flew Dublin-Lisbon and then Lisbon-Dublin with TAP Portugal. Booked the flight online and then rang to add the pet to my booking. It must be under 8kg (with the carrier) to be allowed in cabin, and TAP charges 70 euro each way. Not all breeds are allowed.

In both airports I only had to go to the check in desk for them to check my cat's passport.

After this it was pretty much straight forward - only had to hold her outside the bag while going through security (not ideal for a cat) and that was it.

No additional checks on boarding nor arrival. Much simpler than I expected. Provided that you're flying within the EU there are no additional checks.

Officer999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942558#Comment_117942558

Hi all, update on this. So we finally got through to KLM on the phone….40 minutes wait. But the good news is our pooch is now booked on the return flight from Amsterdam to Dublin. Will let you know how we get on!