Hi all,

It's the importing a pup discussion again ;)

I have two quotes currently from two companies.

Option 1 - The first company is based in the country from which pup will be flying. They organise everything there and I collect him myself at my city's airport and sort all of the arrivals things myself (and pay any handling fees, which are supposed to be 120 euro but judging by experiences people here have had i am not sure that price will stand on the day....)

Option 2 - The second company are based in my city. They will actually be using the first company to organise the travel from the pup's country but will in their words: 'work closely with NameofAirfreight and assure everything goes as it should be with things in pup's country - I will look after everything here. I will settle the import charges for you with the handling agent in the airport and I will be tracking the dog on the journey and will be keeping you
fully updated and I will also be meeting you at the airport the day of
arrival and get your dog to you straight away.''

So essentially, with the second company they take more of a role in it and sort out the safe arrival of pup for me in my own airport etc.

Now, the difference in price is about 300 euro, with the second company being the dearer one.

I am wondering which would be best to go with, both are trusted companies so I have no concerns there, I just wonder would I end up saving in the long run if company 2 cover the airport handling charges - I remember reading a poster here having to pay 600 in Heathrow for instance!

I hope it doesn't sound like money is my concern, it's not. I trust both companies and both quotes are over 1,000 euro (for a direct 2 hour flight!) so i may as well save a bit where I can, if i can.

Happy to hear all thoughts on this, thanks in advance :)

If your confident with dealing with the paperwork your end then the first option.

If you don't want any bother and just want to pick pup up without having to deal with anyone, then second.

Personally I'd go number one, as why involve a middle man when you don't need to.

My concern is that I will be lobbed with 600 euro handling fees on the day if by myself :(

I'm also not sure what paperwork  I have to deal with on the day, being totally new to this. Everything is sorted and organised but will be travelling with the pup.

If your travelling with pup then ti's easier to do it yourself.  Ring the airport and find out what happens once flight lands, where the dog goes, and where you have to go to complete payment and collect him.

The first time at heathrow I had to go to the cargo office (a drive from arrivals) of the airline I used, to pay, and then pick dog up from Quarantine (7 miles the other side of the airport). 

Second time helping a friend last year it was just Quarantine where we were billed for the handling, paperwork checking and Quarantine time.

So the best thing is to find out the procedures at your airport.

Re paperwork it's just the pet passport, teh cargo weigh bill, which you should hang onto yourself and have copies attached to the shipping crate.

I'm not travelling with him so will just be arriving to collect him though so will have to meet him to get the paperwork...

If you're unsure of the paperwork and worried about extra fees on the day, I'd go for Option 2

How about getting another quote so you can check the services offered as well as the cost - a third option might just give you a better idea of which of these companies to choose :)