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We are moving to CR with 2 dogs and want to charter a plane to do this. We know its very expensive but are looking for people who would like to share the cost either for a vacation or their own move. Our dates are very flexible, thinking April through June as move dates. Don’t care where the charter originates, FLorida or Texas would be the least expensive I would think, but just looking for ideas and extra passengers. All advice, suggestions, etc. greatly appreciated!
Do you anticipate flying to SJO or LIR, and have you any idea what the cost will be. I know the cost will depend on the size, range, propulsion of airplane, etc., but do you have any preliminary idea?
are you doing this to save money on the dogs? i know someone who did this a few years ago. it cost her an arm and a leg and then she only stayed a year or two.
I contacted one private charter company based in FLorida and they said 12,000. But I also saw an article on a pet travel site that said a couple negotiated a flight for themselves and their two dogs for 2,000. Tried to track them down but no luck, so I figure the 12,000 is the highest and I think I can find something cheaper. But that’s all I have at this point.
Is there a problem for the airline not accepting the breed of dogs?
I remember reading a request on a post, where a pilot had responded and said a larger plane, possibly a small jet or pressurized plane with a very long range would be required, then you’ll still be required to make a few stops in various countries along the way for fuel, clearing customs, immigration, etc at each stop.
If using a small plane, possibly a Cessna 206 that could carry multiple animals in their crates comfortably, he said, it would still take two full days to get here.
$12,000 may be a good estimate … or more like a expensive one.So you would still need to purchase crates and the dogs would need to be in them, the entire time.
You would be required to use the service of a broker.
The pilot also stated that he would never even consider transporting his own pets this way, sent them here, on a commercial carrier.
[quote=”costaricafinca”]Is there a problem for the airline not accepting the breed of dogs?
I remember reading a request on a post, where a pilot had responded and said a larger plane, possibly a small jet or pressurized plane with a very long range would be required, then you’ll still be required to make a few stops in various countries along the way for fuel, clearing customs, immigration, etc at each stop.
If using a small plane, possibly a Cessna 206 that could carry multiple animals in their crates comfortably, he said, it would still take two full days to get here.
$12,000 may be a good estimate … or more like a expensive one.
So you would still need to purchase crates and the dogs would need to be in them, the entire time.
You would be required to use the service of a broker.
The pilot also stated that he would never even consider transporting his own pets this way, sent them here, on a commercial carrier.[/quote]
Thank you costaricafinca! That is good to know. I’m not giving up yet – but all info is good info as long as it answers our question. There is no problem with the breeds – just the thought of maybe them not making it – I saw some horror stories on dogs in planes. But we will get there one way or the other, and I’m still hopeful that we can do it the way we would like to. Thanks again!We just had some guest arrive last week from Houston via United with 2 large dogs in crates and 1 small dog that came in the cabin.
They were scheduled to fly into Liberia and they were afraid that they may not be able to get the dogs on the plane because United’s policy is that if the temperature at the destination city is 85F or higher at the scheduled departure time for the flight – no dogs in “cargo”.
Fortunately they had scheduled the flight that arrived into LIR just after 8pm, and it had rained that day so the temperature at LIR was OK at take-off time.
With that knowledge in hand, it may be wise to only consider SJO as the destination airport.
Several airlines have a policy of “no pets in cargo” – period! JetBlue still has their “Jet Paws” pet flight program but only for small pets in the cabin.
American Airlines website says “Passengers should also be mindful that American Airlines will not allow pet travel in cargo if extreme temperatures are anticipated.”
I have been told that other airlines have announced that they will no longer permit pets in cargo after “x date”, so it is difficult (and it is getting more difficult) to fly your pets, especially internationally.
A couple of things . . .
First, when I was investigating all this in 2005, I was told consistently that if the airline’s own weather forecasting predicted a temperature of 85 degrees F at any point along the route then they would not fly a live animal except in the passenger cabin. So if your itinerary includes a layover, not only must the temperature be less than 85 when the animal begins and ends its journey but it must be less than 85 anywhere that it will land along the way.
Second, we had similar concerns about our dog’s safety en route and I looked into chartering a flight. I could never find anything in the $12,000 range. The cheapest deal I could find ($25,000) was for a twin-engine six-seat propeller-driven plane which would have had to refuel in Havana. The trip was projected to take about twenty-two hours in the air. And since the likelihood of finding someone who wanted a charter back to the U.S. from Costa Rica is virtually zero, we’d have had to pay for a round trip.
We opted instead to fly Max, our Labrador, via Animals Away! whose business is flying pets all over the world. It certainly wasn’t cheap, but it was a lot cheaper than a charter flight. And he came through just fine.
Longtime WLCR.com Forum participants know that I [b]AM[/b] the cat. The bearded dude is just there to provide someplace to perch.
[quote=”salamander”]We are moving to CR with 2 dogs and want to charter a plane to do this. We know its very expensive but are looking for people who would like to share the cost either for a vacation or their own move. Our dates are very flexible, thinking April through June as move dates. Don’t care where the charter originates, FLorida or Texas would be the least expensive I would think, but just looking for ideas and extra passengers. All advice, suggestions, etc. greatly appreciated![/quote]
I know nothing about sending animals other than from a friend who used to work for an airline some years ago and he said he would never fly his animals…he saw bad things happen too many times.
I don’t know if it’s possible, but what about a cruise from FL that has a stop in CR? You could take a one way cruise and it would certainly be cheaper than chartering a plane. I don’t know if a cruise lines accepts animals but, if I were transporting animals, I would contact a couple of cruise lines to ask.
Good luck. I know how important our animals are.
When we moved down 4 years ago we went through exactly what you are going through now. After spending hours and hours checking out everything we possibly could, i.e. driving down(which we seriously considered but were concerned about Mexico and all border crossings), boats, planes etc. We finally decided the only thing that we could do was fly our two labs down on our commercial flight. To avoid the danger of losing the dogs at a transfer point and to cut their flight time down we drove from So. California to Houston and put them on the Continental flight there. We flew from Houston to Liberia and except for a request for $40 for paperwork “fees” to release the dogs we had no problems. Good luck!
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