As pet travel specialists, we work with Lufthansa on a regular basis to safely transport our customers' pets all over the world -- so you'd think we'd know everything there is to know about Lufthansa!  However, in the process of interviewing them for our Pet Friendly Airline Spotlight, we found out some surprising facts about the Lufthansa pet program that even we didn't know before.

1.  Lufthansa cares about animal conservation.  Lufthansa Cargo works closely with international zoos and also supports programs dedicated to animal conservation and re-settlement of threatened species.  For over three decades, Lufthansa has worked to protect cranes by donating 10,000 euros every three years since 2004 to help the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.  They also show the environmental documentary "Fascination Nature" on numerous long-haul flights, which provides information on conservation and biodiversity to their passengers, making Lufthansa both pet-friendly and eco-friendly.

2.  A funny thing happened on the way to the terminal... When asked if they'd ever had a funny incident with a pet on a flight before, Lufthansa told us that in October 2008, on a flight from Dubai to Frankfurt, a passenger carried a pregnant dog onto the plane.  About thirty minutes before the plane landed, the dog started giving birth to several puppies!  A veterinarian was called right away and "the birthday party was remembered by all," said Martin Riecken, Head of Corporate Communications for Lufthansa.

Lufthansa offers flights for a variety of pets, including this polar bear pictured at the Lufthansa Animal Lounge! 3.  Pricing depends on your destination.  On Germany and European routes, as well as on flights from the US and Canada, pets traveling with their owners are charged a flat rate, depending on the pet's crate size.  On intercontinental routes, pets are charged according to their weight.  See How to Book a Flight on Lufthansa for Your Pet for more pricing information.

4.  Everything is under one roof.  Many airports have their live animal facilities spread out over several terminals or offices, but thanks to Lufthansa's smartly designed Animal Lounge, everything-pets, quarantine officers and animal handlers-are all located under one central 40,365 square-foot building.  There, the motto is "fast lane"-pets are the first ones on and off planes which helps speed up their transit times.

5.  A lot of furry friends fly Lufthansa.  In 2007, almost 56,000 pets traveled on board Lufthansa's passenger planes.  Of those pets, 35,640 were transported in the passenger cabin and 20,324 were transported in the climate-controlled and pressurized cargo hold.

PetRelocation.com's Pet Friendly Airline Spotlight series features our favorite pet friendly airlines for travel with pets.  These Spotlights will highlight one airline each week, Monday through Thursday, through the month of May.  We'll take a look at the various aspects of their pet programs, including amenities offered for pets, how to book a pet flight on each airline and their fee structures.  For a look at the rest of our Airline Spotlight series, check out the Airline Spotlight page or on Twitter as #PetReloAS.