Frenchie

Hi Bob - I appreciate your direct & honest response. Time for my honesty - Have you had any troubles with the Canada route before with Snubs? I saw your post: http://www.petairuk.com/about-us/news.aspx?ArticleId=7300 - are you confident that my Frenchie would be much better of with the Vancouver route even though there is a 12 hour stopover? I would have thought that would add a layer of stress or in your opinion, do you feel the extended stopover is better for the dogs? Look forward to your reply & thanks for being straight.

The temperature in Vancouver would for sure be better. They are not taken of the plane in Dubai - the hatch is opened, their water is topped up & they are checked for "health". My concern in Dubai would be x2. 1) possible heat issues but QANTAS have said this should not be a problem now & 2) If there was a problem, how would they respond. Then again, I would worry about this no matter what... Vancouver is a proper 12 hour stopover so a lot more goes on. They are offloaded, taken to an area where they are given water & I was told they are put in slightly bigger cages. They are then resealed 4 hours before the flight so again, Its a very long time for them in the Crate when going via Vancouver. Part of me leans towards the QANTAS route as I see less room for error - one (new 380) plane, 22 hours vs 36 hours, and they are not offloaded so one would think that is better for them... Vancouver simply because its been in operation for longer... If Bob addresses this post, I wonder your thoughts? And why?

Yes, its between 7-9am the stopover. One can only look at the average temperatures. October it starts to cool down (for Dubai) & November it drops again... Average low in Dubai in October is "said to be" in BBC's Weather site 22 degrees & max 33 degrees. November (which is pushing on as we'd plan to leave start of October) Low is 18 & Max is 31... I actually spoke to a very informative rep, Denise at QANTAS who was there for the first 10 days of this "Dubai Route" earlier this year in April. She was there to oversee freight & how the animals were treated, how they gave them water etc... She actually said the hatch is open for most of the landing but that the heat doesn't really get in. The hold is "controlled to 18 degrees" but obviously some of this will escape when its open. It is tough - she was helpful, honest & definitely not trying to "over sell anything" & said that the temperature doesn't change much... and she off-course said to be safe, avoid the "peak hot season" which ends in September... Nevertheless, its a "toss up. More time on the Canada route with guaranteed lower temperatures or Less time on the Dubai route with that small chance of heat! Again, as bad things happened in the past, I am sure that the airline would not take risks. They also said they bring out a Cool Dollie to keep them cool but thats only in extreme conditions... The question remains open! Such a hard decision! Bob?

Hi there - Also taking my Frenchie to OZ from London. My question to Bob would be simple. QANTAS now has a direct path after lifting the embargo. What is your thought to this route for a healthy Frenchie (long nosed version)?

So QANTAS have just lived their embargo on all snub nosed breeds. Their flight is substantially quicker than the current Air Canada offering & is direct e.g. 2 hours stopover early in the morning in Dubai. The negative - possible heat. The positive - much quicker, less stress as they don't have to get of the plane. Air Canada has a route that avoids the heat. London - Vancouver - Sydney. There is however a long stopover in Vancouver of 12 hours & my understanding is that Air Canada take the pets, put them in a larger cage (not sure) & offer them water.. The negative - this 12 hour stopover must be very confusing for our pooches & thus add a lot of stress. The positive - low temperatures on the ground in all locations. We're looking at flying to Sydney from London around October (all relevant shots etc... have been taken care off). I guess I am looking for insight. No uneducated comments please about Snubs - we all know the negative side of their travel. Just looking for real insights, ideally from the pro's. Thanks