Dog crate size for Labrador 38" long 84 pounds
 

Hello, looking into the right crate size to fly my 38" long 26" tall and 10" thick and 84 pound labrador with Lufthansa from Vancouver to Frankfurt to Madrid. I have a 40" long x 30" high x 27" wide crate that I was hoping it would do the job, but debating if they will as for the extra large 48" size one? After hours on the phone with Lufthansa, cant get a straight answer of the relation between dog size and crate size. Only on the IATA I find graphs saying length should be the dog length + half of dog leg, and height just as tall as the dog is. Based on this the 40" is not long enough, but the 48" crate feels mega big. I only see 2 options, going in person to Vancoucer airport check in days before flying to ask, or bringing both crates and return whatever I dont need. Any feedback on this would be really appreciated, first time flying with my dog so you know how I feel :)

If you already have the crate, that's easy: Or take the dog along when crate shopping (don't buy online, go to a store...)
LH basically took the wording from the IATA animal regulations handbook and describes this as follows: "The dimensions must be such that the animal can stand, move and lie down in its natural position".
If your dog can do this in the 40" crate, you're set to go. If it looks tight, get the larger crate.
Make sure the ears don't touch the top of the crate when sitting, that's what LH agents are checking for sometimes.
Honestly, for a dog that large and the almost sixteen hours the dog is destined to remain in the crate (the ten-hour flight YVR-FRA, a 100-minute layover in FRA where time is too short to short-check and go for a walk, followed by a two-hour,forty-minute flight backtracking east to MAD, plus one-and-a-half hours he'll be in the crate between check-in and take-off and after landing until retrieval at the oversize baggage delivery - this adds up to close to 16 hours and would be more than I`d be comfortable with) I`d get the largest allowable crate to make this more bearable for the dog.
It is highly unlikely our dog will be let out of the crate during the rather short time he'll spend in transit at the Frankfurt animal lounge.
I`d have booked another itinerary with another airline, preferably one with no backtracking and much shorter total flight/crate time like Air Canada via Toronto with a longer layover allowing for a walk between flights.