Direct flight LHR - BKK airline with a dog - cheapest excess rates?

[cliveshep]

Hi All,

Can anyone reccomend an airline who don't go in for highway robbery with their excess baggage charges? We will be flying out from the UK to BKK at the beginning of October and bringing our dog. Dog is a cocker spaniel bitch so around 13kg, an IATA intermediate size crate is another 4.6kg, add bedding and food the total would be max 20kg.

One airline (Eva) offered excess baggage x double rate making for bringing the dog, so an eyewatering excess of £2000 plus. I can ship a container for half that, it's insane.

So - given that we don't want any stopovers at all for all our sakes, a simple non-stop flight does limit our options I guess and we don't want the dog as cargo either in case it doesn't travel on the same plane - can anyone reccomend an air-line?

Cost of excess baggage per kg would be good too if fairly up to date.

My wife will cut the throat of anyone who suggests leaving the dog behind!

Thanks guys.

[MAZ3]

Ask EVA/THAI and BA cargo department's directly for a quote,your Dog will be looked after very well and flown on the same flight as you.

Live cargo,always carries an 100% extra cost, because of the special handling and allowing extra airspace on the aircraft etc. It will be placed in the bulk(loose compartment of the Aircraft)hold,exactly the same as an excess baggage Dog would. They are com pines that will handle it for you, but at a cost. Good luck.

[slightlychilled]

Your dog will travel as "AVIH" or animal in hold and not as cargo / freight. You need to contact normal ticket booking and not cargo if you want your dog to travel with you. There are only 3 airlines currently offering direct flights from LHR to BKK - British Airways, EVA and Thai International so it should be easy for you to get prices from all three. Lots more options ofcourse with one stop along the way.

[Johnnyy]

There are specialist freight forwarders who offer this type of service. They will also know all the documentation requirements.

[cliveshep]

These "Specialists" charge an absolute fortune for their "Services" and the paperwork etc really isn't at all hard, tiresome maybe but not hard. One document can be downloaded for the animal import into Thainland, the dog is chipped, we'll have our own scanner with us to prove her chip matches documentation, she'll have had all her jabs, be certificated as such, have her pet "passport" and certificate as "fit to travel". She'll be in an IATA approved Vari Kennel with all necessary absorbent bedding etc plus food and water for the gtrip. All those are organizational items easy to deal with. The killer is the sheer cost of shipping her out that I wanted the advice on - which airline operating direct flights is reccomended as cheapest, out of, apparently, only three options.

[MAZ3]

Your dog will travel as "AVIH" or animal in hold and not as cargo / freight. You need to contact normal ticket booking and not cargo if you want your dog to travel with you. There are only 3 airlines currently offering direct flights from LHR to BKK - British Airways, EVA and Thai International so it should be easy for you to get prices from all three. Lots more options ofcourse with one stop along the way.

AVIH can be Cargo or baggage and can be booked to travel on the same flight as you and your wife,sorry I'm in Thailand and retired or I could have helped you directly.

I've not got any Cargo phone numbers anymore,but I'm sure you can find them,online or via the Airlines reservations call centre.

[cliveshep]

Thanks for that, as we get a little nearer the flight booking time (tied to sale of house in UK) I'll ask the airline for a cargo quote for the dog on the same flight.

[rajyindee]

The killer is the sheer cost of shipping her out that I wanted the advice on - which airline operating direct flights is reccomended as cheapest, out of, apparently, only three options.

You've already had a quote from Eva ... all you have to do now is get a quote from BA/IAG and Thai.

Edited March 2, 2015 by rajyindee

[slightlychilled]

To give you an idea, my airline charges EUR150 or $200 for the medium sized crate for intercontinental flights for your dog to travel with you but is a mainland Europe based airline. If you find BA and THAI are very much more expensive then perhaps consider spending a little more on your passenger flight tickets with a stop to save loads on your dogs transportation costs. It's the total cost for all 3 of you that is going to make the difference rather than individual costs - swings and roundabouts.

Edited March 2, 2015 by slightlychilled

[cliveshep]

I'm beginning to wonder if a single stop might not have to be accepted. What airline arer you referring to?

I assume the EUR 150 for a crate refers to shipping a dog in a crate?

[slightlychilled]

Yes the EUR150 is for shipping your dog on the flight you are on. Airline is Lufthansa and you'd need to fly via Frankfurt.

Thai International rates will vary depending on whether you buy weight or piece concept tickets. Piece concept will cost you 2 units approx. $240, weight concept approx. EUR42 per kilo of dog+crate. Figures are from memory flying out of Germany as we do the handling for Thai but will be pretty similar for flying out of LHR. These costs are again for your dog to fly on the flight you are on.

No idea about BA, we consider them to be an inferior airline .

[cliveshep]

Hahahahaha - I love the bit about inferior BA airline - I totally agree with that.

I quite like Lufthansa having flown Far East long haul with them before. EUR 150 is amazing - when Thai want over 2.5k greedy s**s!

So we can take dog on plane on same flight from LHR via Frankfurt to BKK for around EUR 150? Is that as cargo or extra baggage? Sorry to say I don't understand "piece concept". Does that mean price for an item and "weight concept" means price for weight of the item?

[slightlychilled]

Assuming you have got your dog measurements correct, EUR150 for dog in medium sized crate. Large crate costs EUR300. Your dog travels as excess baggage as AVIH (animal in hold) and not cargo. I wouldn't recommend sending your dog as cargo as it will not travel with you.

Weight concept means that you can check in as many pieces of luggage as you like as long as they do not exceed a predefined total weight. Piece concept means that you can check in only a predefined number of bags irrespective of how little they weigh. Anything over either of these limits becomes excess baggage but animals, be it as "pet in cabin" for small dogs or "animals in hold" as in your case, are always excess. Thai International generally has a weight concept on checked baggage, 30kgs eco, 40 kgs biz, 50 kgs first but I'm only familiar with their flights ex Germany and not LHR. I would think though that you would be charged the $240 piece concept rate but you need to double-check yourself.

Edited March 2, 2015 by slightlychilled

[Nienke]

Or KLM/Air France: http://www.klm.com/travel/th_en/prepare_for_travel/travel_planning/pets/index.htm

[slightlychilled]

Or KLM/Air France: http://www.klm.com/travel/th_en/prepare_for_travel/travel_planning/pets/index.htm

You need to think of total travel time and the dogs welfare as well as the cost. KLM with their EUR200 for the dog is not expensive and their total travel time of about 13 hours from LHR is also reasonable for the dog to manage. Depends on whether OP can get a good price for his particular travel dates for himself. The actual travel dates are always going to be crucial as prices can vary hugely just from one day to the next.

With one transit stop very many other airlines will also fit the bill but the deciding factor for cost I would think would be the actual travel dates.

[cliveshep]

Thank you so much for the advice - we were getting a bit worried about this - so much to do associated with moving to Thailand and so many costs.

[welsh wizard]

Hi, I just took a dog with EVA in November. You need to contact their sister company called ours travel who will reserve your tickets without payment, then you contact EVA reservations to see if they have room for your dog, as it does not travel as cargo and space is limited. It seems as if you are pricing from the internet ,but you need to speak with them first. My dog was 7+ks with the cage and was about £230 , it is quite a simple process believe me ,you must make sure you have all documentation and a DEFRA certificate.

[Motherchicken]

I've spoken to Thai air about transporting my cats on the same plane as us. Total weight for 2 cats + crates is 20kg. Thai count that as 3 units and the current charge for that is 450USD (150USD per unit), from LHR to Phuket (same price to BKK). They don't seem to mind which brand of pet carrier you use, provided the vet doing your export documents certifies it as complying with IATA standards. I've therefore gone for Suresafe Carriers (Luxx) as they are IATA approved and lighter than others (plus a little cheaper!).

[cliveshep]

That is useful - thank you very much.