Hi there.

We're relocating, and I've got to take my three dogs and a cat back with me to Canada. (It's gonna be crazzzzzy!!)

Anyhow, I am wondering if anyone has ever flown their pets with KLM?

I will contact the airline for detailed information - I am just looking for personal experiences? Was it all pretty straight forward? Was the staff compotent? Were the animals OK?

Whew - I am really nervous about all this. If anyone can reccommend another airline, I welcome all suggestions and advice!

Thank you kindly.

Hi, contact the people at Bluegrass kennel in Thailand: American cocker breeders: they have imported one of their dog through KLM and were very pleased...it came all the way from South America via the Netherlands!

Hi, contact the people at Bluegrass kennel in Thailand: American cocker breeders: they have imported one of their dog through KLM and were very pleased...it came all the way from South America via the Netherlands!

Thanks Mangotogo!!

I have worked in the airline and airport business for the last 34 years. 24 of them with Lufthansa in London and then 9 years with IATA. I shipped my pets with Lufthansa and they were well looked after. KLM also have a very good reputation looking after animals. As there will be at least one transit stop, the carrier you choose should have access to a special facility for animals at the transit airport. Most European airports have them.

The main advice I can give you is to find a reputable animal shipping company here and ensure that appropriate boxes are used. The size and quality of the boxes is critical to ensure the optimum condition for your pets. There are IATA Live Animal Regulations which are explicit, but sadly often ignored by some companies.

Colin

According to the reviews I have read and my friend that raved about them a couple years ago, KLM is the best. Maybe it's a 3* airline for humans but the cargo group knows what it is doing and had longstanding contracts for horses as cargo. You can't do better than KLM.

In case you haven't read the website (the best of all airlines for animals) here's the link. It provides good info links too.

http://www.klmcargo.com/tds/frameset.jsp?h...snederlands.jsp

There is one catch though: If you are not going from AMS to YUL or YYZ as a destination, you might get routed via NWA through the US. NWA is the KLM North American partner. NWA doesn't have the greatest of reps. (Continental is considered better). If you are connecting westward from YUL or YYZ, consider WestJet. Aside from being all around nice people, they have a reputation for being pet friendly.

Please pay special attention to the updated rules (slightly liberalized) at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency website which now administers animal entries. The rabies certificate has to be in english or french. Be advised that the Canadian Border Guard union and other public service unions are currently in a labour grievance mode and are working to rule.