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The Definitive Flying with Dogs on LH from Heathrow Thread

The Definitive Flying with Dogs on LH from Heathrow Thread

Old Oct 15, 2013, 5:44 am
  #16  
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
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Hi! I'm nearly certain you've been misinformed by Lufthansa... I'm 99% sure that any animal flying ex-UK has to travel as cargo in the hold, due to DEFRA regulations. I'm 100% sure of this flying into the UK. My advice is to call or visit the Lufthansa ground staff at Heathrow well in advance to confirm, as the people at the call centre are not likely to know the peculiarities of pet travel from the UK. Note that when I say "as cargo", literally you have to book it with the cargo department of the airline, not with the reservations department.

I just moved back to the US from the UK, and wound up having my father-in-law drive me to Paris so we didn't have to fly our dog as cargo. She still had to travel in the hold, but the cost was US$195 as opposed to the 1000 we were quoted by pet travel agents in the UK. As your dog is <6kg, you should be fine taking him in the cabin with most European airlines from anywhere on the Continent.

Regarding your Sherpa, I don't think you'll have any issue there. I sincerely doubt any airline employee will inspect the carrier or even be aware of what the rules are when you board the plane. But it's Lufthansa and they like their rules, so your mileage may vary.

Unfortunately, there is no easy route with a common carrier out of the UK where you can take a pet. Eurostar doesn't allow pets. No airlines allow pets in the cabin or in the hold as luggage. You can either have someone drive you via Eurotunnel to Calais and take the train, or you can take the train to Dover and most ferry companies have accommodations for pets on the short journey to Calais. SNCF allows dogs on all trains for a small additional fee.

The easiest airport to access by train from Calais is Brussels, with Paris being number 2. Further afield, you have AMS and FRA.

I also looked into routes ex-Ireland, but ultimately found that the Paris option was the cheapest and best.
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Old Oct 17, 2013, 7:11 am
  #17  
 
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I'd second that.
LH's weight limit for in-cabin animals is 8kgs combined weight (including the kennel). And your soft-sided carrier definitely will not meet their requirements - in addition to being leakproof it also needs to be biteproof. You'd need an IATA-approved kennel - I have a Petmate Vari-Kennel Ultra for my dog which LH has had no objections against. These weigh more than 2 kgs, though so you may go over their weight limit... In my experience, at least in FRA, they are really rigorous about their rules.
Definitely contact them beforehand (call their UK service center at 0 871 945 9747) and discuss everything with them.
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Old Oct 26, 2013, 4:35 pm
  #18  
 
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One of my 8 week old puppies flew from LHR to DEN via FRA on LH in cabin 2 years ago. He was in a soft sided sherpa bag and there were no issues with it at check in at LHR despite it being over the size LH state (his new owner had another smaller one on standby in case they didn't accept it but it was not a hard sided carrier). He did require a pet passport and they inspected it both at LHR and FRA. I've written a little more on the subject here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...ght-limit.html

LH were the only airline we could find that would allow a pet in cabin ex UK, and we got all sorts of conflicting advice from almost all airlines we spoke to unfortunately, but the LH trip did work out fine. LH did weigh the pup in the bag at LHR. Note that my experience is from 2 years ago so you'd need to check that the regulations haven't changed. I know for a fact however that the water tight requirement was one of the regulations back then but they seemed to accept the sherpa bag without question.
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Old Oct 27, 2013, 4:50 pm
  #19  
 
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Nightmare...

Hi HeaAndrews,

Im also traveling to Germany with Lufthansa from the UK with a pet, and it's been a nightmare trying to get it arranged. The contact numbers given on the Lufthansa animals page are rubbish, and after 2 weeks and trying (honestly!!!) around 15 different numbers and email addresses, I have a few answers.

I was able to book my pet on the flight out of the UK. I requested an updated ticket with the dog booked on and stated on the ticket, plus I had email confirmation. You don't want to get to the airport and have any issues.

Getting my dog back into the UK is a different matter altogether and one which I am still trying to resolve.

Just be sure your crate + dog weight isn't more than 8KG, which might be tough if your dog is already 6KG?!

It's a frustration process, but call the reservations team, and keep calling until you speak to someone that will confirm your dog has been booked on the flight. For written confirmation you can contact customer care at: customer [email protected].

There are also restrictions on the age of the dog, and i'm surprised the post below says that an 8 week old puppy was allowed to fly - but maybe the age restrictions are new? Things are changing all the time, and soon dogs will be able to fly in and out of the UK without such hassle.

Once I had booked with Lufthansa, I called DEFRA to confirm it was allowed, and they told me that their regulations have laxed, but the airlines still have to catch up - so as long as you get your confirmation from LH (written!!!), and conform to the weight and carrier restrictions, then you should be fine leaving the UK.

Hope this helps a bit... you'd think the process would have been streamlined and standardised by now, but it seems that most people answering the phones at LH don't have a clue about any of this.

Good luck!

Debbie.
gook is offline  
Old Dec 3, 2013, 9:26 am
  #20  
 
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Also just flown cats out of the LHR in cabin. It was to N America though, not Europe.
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Old Jul 9, 2014, 11:28 am
  #21  
 
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Pets entering the UK in the Cabin

Hi everyone,

I really hope anyone can help me!

I called Lufthansa today in order to book my dog to fly with me in the Cabin from Frankfurt - FRA to London City - UK. The reason I picked Lufthansa straight away is because of its reputation of taking Pets in Cabin which its website can confirm.

I was then told that my pet reservation could not be confirmed in the system due to the UK regulations. The careful attendent then said he was gonna make an unconfirmed sort of reservation and then advised me to contact the UK department of animals DEFRA in order to check about it. So I did and I was happily informed that they have recently changed their rules and I can now take my dog in the Cabin as long as the airline takes it.

However, getting in contact again to Lufthansa in order to get a confirmation I spoke to a bitter attendent this time who didn't care much and just said no, cannot book it.

Now, has anyone recently done this?

Thank you.

Leandro
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Old Jul 9, 2014, 12:24 pm
  #22  
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Hi folks,
I have merged three threads on the same flying with a dog on LH from LHR & the UK subject into one thread and also removed some dupe posts.

RSSrsvp - Moderator
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Old Jul 9, 2014, 12:28 pm
  #23  
 
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Ok my current understanding is no PETC (pet in the cabin) are allowed on flights TO the UK.

You are however allowed to take a PETC ex UK as long as the airline also allows it. Worth noting that as an example KLM do allow PETC, howeever have a blanket ban on the UK in and outbound.

So its worth checking that even though your airline allows PETC, that it allows it EX UK too.
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Old Jul 9, 2014, 2:50 pm
  #24  
 
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Originally Posted by leocintrao
However, getting in contact again to Lufthansa in order to get a confirmation I spoke to a bitter attendent this time who didn't care much and just said no, cannot book it.
Call the LH animal service center at +49 69 86 799 799. They should give you a definitive answer.
LH's UK animals website does not mention any restrictions ex UK.
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Old Jun 1, 2015, 2:58 pm
  #25  
 
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Any updates on flying into LHR with PETC on LH?
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Old Jun 4, 2015, 2:44 am
  #26  
 
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Originally Posted by ANstar
Ok my current understanding is no PETC (pet in the cabin) are allowed on flights TO the UK.
This is still valid. LH does not allow PETC on routes to the UK but will refer you to cargo.
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Old Sep 5, 2019, 1:08 am
  #27  
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
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Traveled to England by car and out of LH to US

I traveled in 2016 with my papillon puppy from the US - layover in Amsterdam -Naples - Paris - London

Getting to London was a huge stress because the documentation says you require a specific worm vaccination 7 days before entering the country. Dogs are not allowed on the train from Paris, I was under the impression you could not fly into LH arriving with a dog but could depart with a dog.

I did depart part with a dog no problem flying KLM.
I want to return to England with my dog and fly into LH, has anyone arrived with a dog? What was your experience?

I have a Pet passport, did you get the worm vaccination before entering? Do they allow dogs to enter through the airport? Thanks
Samantha Draupadi Johns is offline  
Old Sep 6, 2019, 8:10 am
  #28  
 
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1. LH usually refers to Lufthansa, occasionally to Long Haul, never to London Heathrow; that's LHR. In this thread it's so far been universally used to mean Lufthansa.

2. All animals (other than service animals) arriving into the UK on an airplane MUST travel in the hold of the airplane as cargo and be collected from the LHR Animal Reception Center (ARC) or an equivalent facility at other approved airports.

How did you get your dog into the UK in 2016? You need to follow the same procedure, nothing has changed with regards to the legal framework... yet.
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