Hi all! Been getting everything organized for our move to the island next month for school. Finally found an apartment and everything. Only trouble I am having now is I can't find a way to bring my puppy with us. She is a 7 month old german shephard mix so she isn't small enough to fit under the seats for an in cabin pet. We're flying Continental and they say we can't bring her because they do not have a handler for the flights to Bonaire from Newark. Anyone have any experience with how to get a dog to the island?

Christina:

Are you flying from somewhere else to Bonaire and the problem is the layover in Newark? Or is it you just can't bring a dog on the Newark-BON flight? We're planning to bring our dog down in October so I'm looking at options.

Can't bring a dog as cargo on the Newark-Bon flight. American Airlines will do it on a flight through Miami (as long as the outside temp stays below 85 degrees only) during the week for around $700 but the dog has to layover in Miami overnight in a kennel.

Hmm....Switch to American. I know people who take their dogs that way. Strange AA will "handle" the dogs but CO won't (in BON).

My friends take their dog from BON to Portland. I had friends take their dog to TX. All done on AA via San Juan. The dogs were BIG and in crates.

Unfortunately we already booked out tickets on Continental because they said they allowed pets in cargo on the plane we will be on. What they failed to say at the time of booking is that they don't take pets to Bon. So, when I tried to make her reservation that's when they told me they don't have the staff to do it. Here is the response I received after three phone calls to them and two different emails (Oh, and AA said they do not fly animals into Bon either, only Aruba or Curacao for approx $700):

Dear Ms. Glass,

Continental Airlines does not have personnel nor agreement with the Bonaire Officials to ship in animals as cargo/quickpack.



Deborah Williams
Team Leader
Continental Airlines Cargo Service Center
800-575-3335 - PetSafe Desk
800-421-2456 - Cargo Service Center
Dwilli02@coair.com

Here is the respone I received from American Airlines:

Cargo, LiveAnimals" <liveanimals.cargo@aa.com> wrote: Good Day,

Thank you for your interest in shipping on AA Cargo. Unfortunately, we do not have service into Bonaire, Netherlands. Please advise if you have any additional questions.

Best Regards,
AA Cargo Pet Desk

Christina,

Sorry to say, but it ain't easy. Especially at this time of year. I am about to take my dog from Bonaire to the States so I've done a lot of research.

For commercial airlines, American is your only option, but since it's summer you're taking a risk. Theoretically when you bring the dog to the airport they check the forecasted highs at every leg of the trip--if it's forecast to be over 85, she doesn't get on the plane (and one assumes they don't refund your ticket).

The only other options would be to ship her cargo on Amerijet to Curacao, then you can fly her on DiviDivi to Bonaire ((but I think you may have to be there to get her from Amerijet to Divi). This would involve her being crated for a pretty long time and the logistics are complicated. You can hire an international pet shipper to take care of it all, but they will most likely do what I have just described, and they are not cheap.

You also might look into any nonstop flights to Curacao on other airlines that accept pets--it would at least give you less places for things to go wrong!

Depending of course on your financial situation, a private plane is the simplest thing to do. You might see if some fellow students want to go in on one with you...

Please feel free to email me if you want any contact information. Good luck to you! Please let us know how things turn out.
Alex

Just saw your last 2 posts--sorry you are already booked. You may need to find an international pet shipper...alternatively if you have someone who could take care of her until the temperature restrictions are less of an issue, you could fly back to the States and then fly down with her on American (i.e. ship her as baggage, not cargo)...

good luck!

Alex

Yeah I already tried the international shipper and that was $8000 which is way out of my budget! I am just going to have to go through Curacao then DiviDivi. I'll just have her stay with family until I am down there and can fly over to Curacao to pick her up. Told Continental I have to fly with my family atleast 4 times during the next 18 months round trip $3000 each flight minimum so American can have my money from now on. Thanks for the help everyone!

Yikes! $8,000 is a lot! Although I'm not surprised, they wanted $1,000 just to clear my dog through Customs in Miami and get her to Raleigh-Durham. When I found some really wonderful people to let me and the dog tag along on a private plane to Florida, the same people wanted $200 to drive me & the dog 15 miles to Miami International.

So glad you have someone who can keep her and ship her for you. This topic comes up fairly often, so if you think of it, please post & let everyone know how it goes when you get her here.

Best wishes,
Alex

Christina, AA does not have CARGO service into BON - but if you are flying WITH the dog, I believe that is different - and it is cheaper to fly with the animal than to ship it. I saw a large dog being unloaded from the AE flight in BON, so I know it can be done. Good luck!

HTH!
Cheryl

I suggest you call the airline. The only real problems are in extreme weather periods when certain restrictions apply. As a point of interest...I have friends who are moving back to the US on Friday with a small menagarie of cats and dogs...they charted a private jet to take them to the US...

Thanks Michael.. I've been in contact with several of the airlines and they all say they do not have animal service to Bonaire since they do not have staff there to get the animals off of the plane. I am going to fly her into Curacao then fly DiviDivi into Bonaire. Thanks everyone!

I just brought a friend to the airport. In front of us was a couple moving back to the US. They had TWO HUGE crates with two big Bonaire dogs. They got them on AA fine. They have to overnight at the BW in Isla Verde and take the night flight on AA to Philly tomorrow. No worries.

Flying FROM Bonaire is not the problem since airports in the US have personnel there to unload the animals. It's getting TO Bonaire that both AA and CO said they will not do. Emails from both companies listed farther up on the postings.

How about one of you switching to the Continental non-stop to Curacao (see if they would take the dog on that flight) & then taking Divi-Divi?

Continental will not take pets as checked baggage in & out of Bonaire. They will take small pets in the cabin. The problem with American is if it's 85 degrees or more in San Juan, or forecast to be at the next stop in the States, you & your pet are stuck...

So isn't the high in Bonaire or Curacao always over 85 degrees Fahrenheit? I looked at http://www.tutiempo.net/en/Climate/Hato_Airport_Curacao

and it looks like the temperature doesn't vary much all year (duh!) but that the average high in July is usually about 32 C./ 90 F. In Oct it's the same and in Dec. it's closer to 30 C/86 F. If you land at night it will be cooler of course, around 25 C/76 F. I wonder how many people and their dogs don't fly because it's that close to 85 degrees? And what do they do, hold you and your luggage until the last minute, so you are sure the dog is on before you go? Never done this before.

Just an update. We brought Buddy (our lab/retriever) down on AA to CUR Oct. 1, arriving at 13:00. Nobody mentioned anything about the temperature at CUR and it was close to 90 degrees F when we landed. No problem unloading him, or hanging around CUR airport for a couple hours. DAE needed to have him in the crate an hour before departure but they kept him somewhere cooler and loaded him on the plane last, so he wasn't in the heat long. Worked out great.

And today, we picked up a 30 lb bag of Science Diet j/d for about $80, not much different than in the U.S., at Dierenartsenpraktijk Nikiboko. The vet (Laarakker) said he ordered some for another person and just got a couple extra to stock up. He can order it from CUR and have it within a week. So the Pedigree we bought yesterday is going to the Shelter. Win-win!