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I would like to transport AVI cargo (live animal - dog) from Melbourne, Australia (MEL) to London, UK (LHR), via air travel, ideally direct.

The crate will need to be accompanied by an attendant (myself). The dog cannot travel separately (by itself) in the hold on a passenger plan or on a cargo plane.

Edit: my dog is too large/heavy to travel accompanied in the cabin, which is why I am looking at cargo airlines (and because no one can access the cargo hold during passenger airline flights).

I know it is possible for a groom/attendant to accompany animals such as horses or rare/zoo animals when they travel as freight. Does anyone know if this can be arranged for dogs? E.g. Are there any cargo (or passenger) airlines that will allow an attendant to accompany a dog travelling in a crate? (Including either companies/airlines that work directly with private individuals or through pet transport agents)

I saw on another question thread that it is possible in some circumstances for people to travel on cargo planes: Is it possible to travel on cargo airplanes? - but does anyone know which airlines allow attendants to accompany live animals? (as mentioned in the answer to the question)

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Hannah
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2 Answers2

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The majority of dogs and small animals are shipped in a special section of the lower cargo hold, which can be climate controlled better than the rest of the cargo hold. This area is not open for human travel, as it has no seats or seat belts, no bathrooms, no windows, no communication and no easy access to the rest of the plane.

The pallet area on the top deck does not have a lot of space to allow people to walk around the pallets. While in theory your dog could be loaded in the foremost container, due to liability and safety issues the chance of being allowed in the cargo bay as a non-employee is basically zero.

As I mentioned in my comment, horses are transported in specially designed planes which are chartered by horse owners, race organizers, etc. These planes have compartments for horses and seating for trainers/groomers. Horses do not fly on standard cargo flights.

Other rare animals, zoo animals, etc would likely travel by private charter likely in a cage designed specifically for that animal and with proper seats for staff.

Short of chartering your own plane, your best bet is a series of short flights, so that you have access to your dog at the stop over cities.

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While this is a (very) old question, it’s worth noting that there are now dedicated services using private jets (but on a pay-per-seat basis) which allow you to travel with your dog in the cabin.

Two of them are Bark Air and K9 Jets.

Routes are limited, but K9 apparently intend to add Melbourne-London routes starting this year.

Of course the cost is quite high (up to $20K for some flights!), and there are limited flights so one needs to be quite rich and remain quite flexible…

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