Germany

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.

If you plan on traveling with your pets, Lufthansa Airlines allows pets either in the cabin or in the cargo hold of its passenger aircraft, depending on the pet's weight and size.  Your pet can also travel unaccompanied via Lufthansa Cargo.  Here's how to book a pet flight on Lufthansa.

Accompanied Pets

1)  First you will need to determine whether your species of pet can travel in cabin.  Lufthansa only allows dogs and cats in the passenger cabin of their aircraft.  If you have a dog or cat, go to step 2. If you have another species of pet, go to step 4.

2) You may take a dog or cat into the cabin, if the weight of the animal (including transport container) does not exceed eight kilograms. If your pet and his carrier exceed these weight limits, go to step 4.  

Travel Carrier for In-Cabin Pets:  Your pet will need to be kept in an appropriate travel carrier measuring not more than 55 x 40 x 20 cm. You may use your own carrier if it has the necessary measurement and is watertight and bite-proof.  In addition, Lufthansa Airlines offers those who travel with pets a "Pet Box" at most airports at the check-in counters free of charge.  It is a good idea to call ahead and make sure they will have one available for your pet.

3) Call to Book Your Flight:  To make reservations by phone, please contact your country's Lufthansa Reservations Office.

When you call to book your flight, you will need to notify the person making the reservation that you will be traveling with a pet in cabin.  While you can book your flight up until the last minute, Lufthansa requires 24 hours advance notice of pets traveling in cabin.  "Several countries only allow specific types of pets," says Martin Riecken, Head of Corporate Communications for Lufthansa.  "Passengers will be informed about this during the reservation process."

4)  If your pet cannot travel in cabin due to size or weight restrictions, or if you have a pet other than a dog or a cat, your pet can travel underneath the plane in the air-conditioned cargo hold. 

Travel Crates for Pets as Cargo:  Your pet's travel crate will need to be up to IATA (International Air Transport Association) standards.  We sell IATA-approved pet travel crates through our website, which are suitable for domestic and international travel.  Lufthansa also requires pet travel crates to be equipped with a water dish.  We recommend attaching your pet's water dish to the inside of the crate door (see: All About Pet Travel Crates).

5) Call to Book Your Flight: To make reservations by phone, please contact your country's Lufthansa Reservations Office.

When you call to book your flight, you will need to notify the person making the reservation that you will be traveling with a pet in the cargo hold.  While you can book your flight up until the last minute, Lufthansa requires 24 hours advance notice of pets accompanying their owners and traveling in the cargo hold.

Lufthansa German Airlines Pricing Structure for Accompanied Pets

On Lufthansa's European and long-haul flights (apart from Canada, Mexico and the US) the fare for pets is calculated based on the weight concept, listed below.

On flights to and from Canada, Mexico and the US, the piece concept applies.  The pet does not count as one of the free pieces of baggage but will be calculated as an additional piece of luggage.

Unaccompanied Pets

There is also the option of unaccompanied animals being carried by Lufthansa Cargo, which is primarily how PetRelocation.com books pets on Lufthansa for international flights.  A cargo account is required and pricing is based off a dimensional or volume weight.  If your pet is going to be traveling unaccompanied, it is best to obtain a quote from a PetRelocation.com Specialist by filling out our International Quote Request form.

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.

Airline Spotlight Bonus:  Take a virtual tour of the Lufthansa Animal Lounge!

The Lufthansa Animal Lounge offers pet friendly services for pets in transit.Call it the frequent fliers' lounge for pets, the Lufthansa Animal Lounge, whose thirteen-month construction ended in February 2008, offers state-of-the-art facilities for traveling pets and live animals ranging in species from horses to tropical fish.

The Animal Lounge is located at Lufthansa's main hub in Frankfurt, Germany at the Frankfurt am Main Airport.  As the busiest passenger airport in Germany, and the ninth busiest airport worldwide in 2009, plenty of pets pass through the airport on a daily basis.  "Lufthansa Cargo annually transports more than 14,000 household pets and 1,500 horses in addition to other animals," said Martin Martin Riecken, Head of Corporate Communications (The Americas) for LufthansaRiecken, Head of Corporate Communications.  "We offer [those] animals and pets traveling with us access to a 40,365 square-foot Animal Lounge."

All pets, including dogs or cats transported in the passenger cabin that have a transfer or layover time of more than 2-3 hours, are taken to the Animal Lounge, which offers three routes for pets:  transit, import and export (represented by yellow, red and green lines in the aerial graphic above).  Pets transiting through Frankfurt as part of a connecting flights stop at a veterinary examination area, where public-service veterinarians check compliance with animal protection and epidemic control regulations.  This helps ensure that pets going on to connecting flights are also healthy enough to continue on, reducing the risk of dehydration and allowing veterinarians to treat pets who might have fallen ill during their first flight. 

For dogs and cats, the Animal Lounge offers thirty nine "small animal boxes," which are climate-controlled and offer dogs and cats enough room to stretch their legs.  Additionally, the "animal keepers" at the Lounge are former employees of zoos, veterinary practices and police dog teams, which means your pet will receive the best of care during his stay-all without having to leave the airport!

The beauty of the Animal Lounge, for bothHorses are just one type of traveler at the Lufthansa Animal Lounge. pets and owners, is in the organization of the facility.  "Everyone involved in the transport of pets, including coordinators, veterinary doctors and freight handlers," Reicken said, "works in the same building."  This means that not only will your pet move quickly through the transit and inspection process-Lufthansa calls it their "fast lane" principle-but also there's no chance of your furry best friend getting lost in the shuffle.  "We have clearly distinct zones for export, import, transit and health inspections," said Riecken.  First class flying for Fido?  Yes, it's arrived.

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.

We're excited to announce that we can now offer non-stop pet flights for pets going from the US to Munich, Germany.  The new Continental Airlines flight #106 will depart New York (Newark-Liberty) every day at 5:30 PM and will arrive at Munich Airport at 7:40 AM the following morning.  The return flight, Continental Airlines #107, will depart Munich daily at 9:20 AM and arrive at 12:35 PM in New York.

Pets coming from other areas in the US can fly direct to New York and then, after a quick pit stop at the Pet Safe Pet Hotel in Newark, can continue on their second flight direct to Munich.

Ready to book your pet's flight?  Click here to fill out a service request form.

We just recieved this report from Lufthansa regarding heavy snowfall in Germany:

Repeated heavy snowfall in Germany has caused severe delays of flights as well as numerous flight cancellations. This has the following impact on live animal handling:

Frankfurt:

Delays in Import and Export: For today, 21-Dec-2009, a complete embargo had to be imposed for freight transportation on flights to destinations in Germany and Europe. Exceptions apply for MAIL/VIC, AVI, DIP, HUM and LHO - provided that the booked flights can operate. Loading of intercontinental flights continues. However, delays have to be expected for both, Passenger and Freighter flights. We expect further irregularities for tomorrow and hope to be back to normal operations latest on Wednesday provided that the weather situation stabilizes.

Munich:

Except for a few flight delays, operations run normally.

Dusseldorf:

Delays in exports on intercontinental flights.

If you have questions regarding the situation at other stations, we will gladly provide the information on request.

All your shipments will be rebooked to the next possible connection. We sincerely regret the delays. Please rest assured that we do everything we can to transport your shipments to their final destinations as quickly as possible.

For further information, please visit www.lufthansa-cargo.com or contact our Customer Support Center at 1-800-LH-CARGO (1-800-542-2746).  Please do not reply to this e-mail as we are not able to respond to messages sent to this address.

If you're thinking of moving or traveling with your pets to Germany, Continental Airlines just announced their new non-stop flights frmo Houston to Frankfurt.  As a result, we're now able to offer pet-friendly bookings on both Lufthansa and Continental going direct to Frankfurt.  It's not too late for some Oktoberfest!

Lufthansa and Continental Airlines, two of our favorite pet-friendly airlines, have teamed up to offer a free trip to tour Continental and Lufthansa headquarters as well as the Airbus factory. Pretty cool!