Ken and Veronica

We are moving to Turkey on 1st November and when I booked our tickets I was assured by BA that we could take our dog from Gatwick to Izmir. This morning I spoke to BA cargo department who have informed me that not only can dogs no longer travel to Izmir with BA as excess baggage,they will no longer transport them as cargo as Izmir airport does not meet their quality standards. BA will fly our pet to Iatanbul but will not transfer him to Turkish Airlines for the onward journey.

The best flight I can find is Cyprus Turkish Airlines from Stanstead to Izmir on Friday 3rd November. Does anyone know of any other airline flying from anywhere in the UK to Izmir or Bodrum that will transport our dog Duggie along with us. This change of date is a nightmare as Ken is coming off an oil rig in the North Sea and I am coming from the very far North of Scotland with the dog and would welcome any suggestions except leaving Duggie behind.

Thanks
Veronica

Andywebb

I will have a look but I think somewhere on this forum you will find links to pet airline carriers. If you give the job to them it would be easier and they problably be able to get your dog their more comfortable (door to door). I am pretty sure their is a canadian on the forum that shipped from Canada to Turkey.

Found this it may help: http://www.ladyhaye.co.uk/

canim

How strange ..i spoke to BA Cargo on Friday & they told me it would be no problem!

BA & Cyprus Turkish airlines are the only airlines that fly direct from the UK to Izmir.

As Andy suggested, it may be worth you contacting a pet shipping company (they are situated all over the UK) who will take care of everything for you .. you would just have to meet the pet in Izmir.

there area few here ...

http://www.jets4pets.com/

http://www.parair.co.uk/info.htm

Ken and Veronica

Camin

I have had many confusing conversations with BA but the cargo department say they are not shipping any form of cargo or pets to Izmir. It must be right as I have just been given a full refund on my tickets and would advise anyone else who has been told they can take their pet to ask for the same.

Veronica

AzraCansel

I'm the Canadian and I live in Izmir. I was not able to fly direct and in fact had a 12 hour stop over in Amsterdam. We only flew to Istanbul as the time from leaving Vancouver to arriving in Istanbul was almost 24 hours we decided to stay in Istanbul for a couple of days to rest. My cat was 14 years old at the time (he's 15 now) and KLM was excellent with him, and the price was very reasonable- $175. CAD. I am shocked at BA though as the new International Terminal opened here last month and in preperation there was a lot of training and hiring of new staff so would think that they would be capable of handling your dog and infact from Istanbul to Izmir on Turkish Airlines (few days later) my cat was again treated well, brought out to me minutes after the flight landed.

Ken and Veronica

This is turning into quite a saga with my dog. I phoned Turkish Airlines to find out how much they were going to charge to take the dog to Izmir. The guy in cargo told me he had just been notified of new regulations which meant that Turkish Airlines could not take the dog. However as he had already posted out my paperwork he says we can go ahead and book the tickets. He said Duggie will probably be the last dog that they will pre-book and fly direct to Izmir.

The cost is now £135 each for Ken and I (one way) plus £162 for the dog plus £80 for his special airline carrier. But he is worth every penny.

If anyone has any further information on these Regs which seem to change by the hour I would be grateful if they would update me.

Veronica

sheila

try animal airlines find their web site on google, we flew into dalaman with our dog in april, they are very good

denise bannell

yes you can take your dog from heathrow to istanbul then change down to izmir With Turkish Airlines They move the dog with your luggage just try and keep your flights close together

jane2005

Speak with DEFRA, they will have the answers. I would definately NOT reccommend Animal Airlines, they provided a very poor service with no regard or consideration to my dogs and cat at all, it's a long story but my pets were left stranded at Izmir cargo for 2 days through the fault of Animal Airlines. Turkish Airlines were fantastic and I would highly reccommend them.