benandjess2013

We are moving from Washington DC area to Spain and are taking our 60lb dog with us. Two potential flights - AirFrance with layover in Paris or British Airways with layover in London. BA is more expensive and uses IAG to facilitate dog travel, AirFrance handles it them selves and is cheaper.

Urgently looking to hear experiences good or bad with either airline to help us make our decision.

bhomburg

With Air France, your dog will accompany you and be on the same flights as yourself. This ensures time spent in transit /in his/her crate will be minimal.
Also, check-In as well as delivery will be at the passenger facilities - exactly like your checked baggage. This will be much simpler and quicker for you to handle.
Apart from the humongous price difference (USD 400 - which is double the amount charged pre-covid and already an annoyance by itself) vs at least $2500 using cargo), the far shorter time spent inside a crate and in transit when traveling as checked baggage vs. as manifested cargo is a very compelling argument in favor of the former.
Travelling as manifested cargo with IAG, you have no influence on which flights your dog will be flown on. You will need to .hand him/her over to the agent handling the transport a lot earlier before your flight and get him/her back much later. Also, animals travelling as cargo are never handled at the passenger terminals but at cargo facilities. Dropping off and retrieving your dog from there has its own logistical issues and takes a lot more time and effort.
When traveling as manifested cargo, airlines and shipping companies only let animals under their care out of their crates during layovers in exceptional circumstances.
Should you have to spend a longer layover in Paris when traveling on AF, you also have the option to short-check the dog to Paris, retrieve him/her there and go for a walk before rechecking for the connection flight.. In this case, your dog will have to pass through agricultural inspection and enter the EU in France instead of Spain, that means you will have to complete the paperwork for France instead of Spain (this document instead of this one)

Depending on what your final destination is you might have to do that anyway as not all airports in Spain are legally able and equipped to process animals arriving from non-EU countries. The only airports in Spain accepting animals arriving from outside the EU are A Coruna (LCG), Alicante (ALC), Almerķa (LEI), Barcelona (BCN), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (LPA), Madrid (MAD), Malaga (AGP), Palma de Mallorca (PMI), Santander (SDR), Santiago (SCQ), Tenerife (TFN/TFS), Valencia (VLC) and Vigo (VGO).

My advice : If at all possible, check your dog as baggage, it's best for everyone. Peace of mind for you, knowing your family member is right beneath you on your flight and you will get to see them again a few minutes after landing, the animal as it has to spend the least amount of time in their crate, and finally your wallet.
I have flown with animals as checked baggage on AF about two dozen times in the past decade- and -a-half and never had any issues. They all arrived at their destination safely. Not always on time, but safely .

What breed is your dog? Not that it falls under the 'snub nosed' category or is on the French government's ban list. Air France will not let you travel with either category.
France has BSL and there's import bans/restrictions in place. AF will not transport dogs commonly referred to as 'pit bulls', Mastiffs, Tosas and Rottweiler-type dogs as checked baggage as they are on the "categoryI' or "categoryII" ban/restriction list. See the AF website for details.
If you have one of those 'dangerous' breeds, fly with an airline that doesn't have these restrictions like KLM

The snub-nosed limits were imposed by IATA and are pretty much the same on all airlines, should you have one of these. In this case, it'll have to be cargo. Contact several agents for quotes, the price differences can be massive. IAG forces you to use an agent anyway.
If this is a work-related move and the employer bears the cost, speak to the people handling this, At larger companies, they usually have experience and can point you to resources.