Travel London-Palma With Dog

[RSDonovan]

I am investigating the possibility of taking a medium sized Jack Russel from London to Palma, Mallorca and back. I see that EasyJet only take guide dogs and BA will only take dogs under the most stringent conditions and very expensively!

Has anyone successfully taken a dog from London to Spain and back? If so I'd love to hear their experiences and things to do, and avoid doing!

Thanks in advance, all info gratefully received!

PS my U.K. Airport of choice is Gatwick but Luton and Heathrow are also possible.

[ladybirder]

Sorry I can't answer but I'm bumping in the hope someone else can.

[EDDIE51]

As far as I know animals, apart from guide dogs can only travel as 'freight' in a pressurized part of the hold. Heathrow has a special animal handling unit where all animals are sent on and collected off flights. You can not take an animal ,apart from a guide dog, on the plane with you, there are very severe penalties (including haveing the animal destroyed) for trying to get a pet on a flight. Coming back a dog MUST go into quarantine for 6 months unless it has had the full rabies tests and inoculations.
You can only take animals out of the country or bring them back in by using an airport that has a special animal handling unit and I think Heathrow has the only such unit in the UK.

[ladybirder]

Looks like Manchester does it. http://book.manchesterairport.co.uk/mancargo.nsf/Content/animalsbyair

[EDDIE51]

Good advice here
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/advice/Flying-with-pets-travel-advice/
Be warned it is going to be VERY expensive!!! You need to use one company to get the dog to Spain and another Spanish company to arrange the return!! It is not a 'DIY' job!

[EDDIE51]

Going by car ferry and train is a much easier and cheaper option, but I don't suppose that is what you want.

[ladybirder]

Says here Monarch Airways take dogs out of Gatwick RSD. Not sure if they do your destination though.
http://www.monarch.co.uk/faq/flights/flying-with-children-and-pets/flying-with-animals

[RSDonovan]

Thanks for all your help! Air travel seems very complicated so I will consider sailing Portsmouth/Plymouth Santander/Bilbao, driving to Barcelona then sailing to Mallorca! Days instead of hours, plus probably an overnight stop. I'll have to weigh up the extortionate air fees against petrol & hotel fees plus time lost.

[ladybirder]

FlyBe does it as well. Plenty of choice. I wouldn't give up yet if I were you. This is a good link.
https://www.skyscanner.net/news/airline-pet-fees

[Khandro]

On a recent flight from Stuttgart to Budapest (Lufthansa) a young woman had a small - J. Russel sized - dog in a holdall, zipped with its head sticking out of the bag! A woman friend always travels by plane with a small Deer Pincher on her lap. It depends on the airline and the dog.

[RSDonovan]

Ladybirder- YES Monarch fly Gatwick to Palma from £29!

Will scour your link to thei web pages re animals.

Thanks for an excellent answer!

[ladybirder]

Brilliant. So pleased to help. Bit more info for you.

//Monarch is happy to carry pets, under the current PETS Passport Scheme as authorised by the DEFRA. The rules? A maximum of six animals are permitted per flight. Pets can be carried from all of Monarchs scheduled UK departure airports, but for the time being can only be returned via London Gatwick and Manchester Airport. No pets are carried on Saturdays and Sundays. A small charge is made - please contact the airline for more information and exact fees. \\

A SMALL charge - Yay!

And Thank you for BA:-))