I do not claim that this is perfect information; it I just what I have heard and
verified by talking to pet owners and the animal transport companies. Airports
& Airlines can and do change their policies at any time and often without
notice. Always check with your specific airline.
Inchon airport (and the airlines) have changed their prices and policies for
leaving Korea with a pet.
1. To be in the cabin with you (under the seat), the new weight is now 10
pounds maximum - that is, pet + carrier cannot exceed 10 pounds. I do not know
the price for this.
2. Animals up to 70 pounds may be checked in as excess baggage. (NOTE: Please
double check this with your specific airline; some carriers may have different
policies). However, to check a pet as baggage:
a. the price is extreme.
b. some airlines may have different weight limits. Again, please check
with your specific carrier.
One family at Osan is paying $1,100 to fly their two cats with them to the
States ($550 per pet). They are on Korea Airlines. Another Osan family was
also quoted by Korea Airlines $550 to fly their 14 pound dog to the States.
United is cheaper; the family with the two cats was quoted $380 each to fly on
United. However, United has apparently limited their number of flights out of
Korea. Transportation seems to be booking people mainly on Korean Airlines.
3. Large pets (approximately 60 pounds+) must be shipped via a private pet
transport company. I know of two:
a. Korea Animal Transport
b. Pet Airline company
Korea Animal Transport just quoted $1,620 to send a 100 pound dog to Texas. My
understanding is that the price starts at $1,000 minimum.
Pet Airline is cheaper. It has has quoted a teacher $1,827 to send 3 dogs.
However, they will only handle pets up to 66 pounds. If your pet is above 66
pounds you must go with Korea Animal Transport.
Contact info for these companies is at the end of this email. They well may be
other companies, but this is all I know of so far.
Important:
1. These are prices for going to the States; I do not know prices or policies
for travel directly to Europe.
2. I do not know if requirements for entering Korea have changed; I have not
heard they have.
3. Please always check with your individual airline; their policies may vary.
Airport and airlines can and do change their policies & fees at any time and
without notice.
4. Again, please pass this onto everyone possible. People need to plan ahead
to take their furry family members with them.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Monica Hoagland
Information Specialist
Osan American Elementary School
Osan Air Base, South Korea
DSN 784-6912
Contact info on the pet transport companies:
Korea Animal Transport c/o Chungwha Animal Hospital
Sohee Yoon, Manager
email : soheeyoon@gmail.com
Address : 21-1 Itaewon-Dong, Yongsan-Gu, Seoul, South Korea
website : www.cwhospital.com
tel. : +82 2 792 7602
Pet Airline Company
gina@petairline.co.kr
4 comments:
More info:
ITT will only help you if you are a passenger and need to book a flight for
yourself and your dog.
Danni at the Vet Clinic was very nice and gave me the same contacts for pet
cargo companies as previously posted on this thread. She also mentioned that if
you are able to find someone PCSing that would be willing to "assume custody" of
the pet while in route, the vet clinic would put the health certificate in that
person's name. That person would have to add the dog to their flight
arrangements too. We don't have anyone, so we aren't going that route either.
The third option I tried was to contact Pet airlines. Gina was out of the
office, so I spoke with Mya. She was very nice, and she spoke English very well
and understood everything I asked. They are going to come to Osan, pick him up
and take him to the airport for me. It is a bit pricier than it was to get him
here...but we are willing to pay it for the convenience. Buster fits into the
small kennel, this is 600,000 won for the entire trip. Since he doesn't have as
much room as I would like (they must be able to turn around and stand straight
up in it), we are bumping him up to the medium kennel which will be 800,000 won.
This includes all his traveling and care. They pick him up the day before the
flight, care for him overnight and then get him on the plane the next day. For
an additional 80,000 won, you can even purchase a kennel from them if you don't
have one. Inside the kennel he needs a leash, dog food, toys and immunizations
paperwork. She said this info and pricing is standard pricing and doesn't
fluctuate like normal airline tickets do. The actual flight can only be booked
two weeks out. I won't be making his actual flight reservation for a few more
weeks, but they do know he is coming!
Just a little side note...the rabies shot has to be given 30 days before the
flight (up to a year if you recently got one). Our little guy is due, so I have
to get that done first. The vet clinic is going to get very busy with all of
this summer PCSing...so you may want to keep that in mind. Also, here is the
kennel sizing Pet Airlines uses (in cm.) Small-38W X 54L X 37H. Medium-47W X
67L X 51H.
http://www.usfkforums.com/spouses-club-in-korea/37065-instructions-on-how-to-ship-pets.htm
Here is a link to a recent thread on USFK forums about this.
I can tell you that one month ago, I used Korean Animal Transport, and at first, all seemed nice and smooth, however TWO HOURS before my dog was to fly (full size black lab) it all fell apart.
Sohee called me, and told me that my dog was being bumped to another flight (four hours later), so that some FISH could fly on the earlier flight. When I told her that it was unacceptable, that I had people waiting in the US to pick up my dog, and they could not change their plans to accomodate some fish, rather than dealing with it herself, she had Korean Air call ME directly. After many, many, many phone calls, Korean essentially said my dog had to take the later flight, the fish would die if they did not make the first flight, and that they would take care to ensure my dog was taken care of, first off the plane, and they would call my family in the morning (US time) to explain to them.
Korean Air NEVER called my family. Sohee called my father at 0100 pst to tell him about the flight change (NOT cool). When my dog arrived at SeaTac, it was after 1730, and apparently US Customs for Cargo closes at 1700.
FOUR hours after landing, many, many more phone calls, some brilliant person realized they could ship my dog over to the passenger terminal where he would then be able to clear customs as baggage.
and yes, they did charge extra for driving my dog from one terminal to the next - an extra $35.
When I again called Sohee- she was apologetic and told me that she was sorry, but it was KAL's fault, not hers. She also told me she did not care if I told people about how unhelpful she was.
If possible, i would do everything in my power to AVOID using Korean Animal Transport. When I asked for a partial refund (as once everything fell apart, they just referred the airline to me, rather than fix it themselves) Sohee got quiet and just told me that she was again sorry, and hung up on me.
AVOID KOREAN ANIMAL TRANSPORT IF YOU CAN!!!
Hi,
This is Gina from PetAirline and not sure that it is acceptable to write something here or not.. I was searching online to find something and I found your website.. If Im being rude (being and writing here..), my big apologies here.
we are very happy to see this post because we could be helpful for someone here. And if we can help something out for your family pets,we will be very happy to assist you. Also if someone wonders how to bring/ship your pets to Korea or to overseas, and need some general information, I will be happy to explain to anyone there...
anyways just wanted to say Thank you and if anything we can help, please let us know anytime. We dont only provide pet shipping things..we can provide any information of Korea as a friend ;)
Thanks again, and have a great day..
Regards, Gina
Post a Comment