DOHA, QATAR – Qatar Airways has responded to demand from passengers seeking to transport their pets around the world by reducing the price to the lowest rates ever into and out of Doha. As the only airline that will carry pets as excess baggage to and from Qatar, the airline has gone beyond expectations and reduced the cost of travelling with a pet.
While it used to cost pet owners and animal refuges approximately USD400 to transport a large dog to Europe or the Americas on another carrier, the same journey will now cost just USD300 on Qatar Airways out of Doha. This significant cost reduction means that it will now be easier than ever for passengers to travel with their beloved pets.
The airline has also more than doubled the weight allowance for domestic pets to travel on the same flight as their owners as checked-in baggage, by increasing the weight limit for pets and their containers from 32kgs to a generous 75kgs.
The move is set to position Qatar Airways as the airline of choice for people seeking to transport their pets around the world. It follows an increase in demand from passengers wanting to travel on the same flight as their domestic pets, or from animal refuges relocating stray animals to new homes overseas.
Qatar Airways Chief Commercial Officer, Mr. Ehab Amin, said: “We know how much our passengers love their family pets and often don’t want to be apart from them. This move to increase weight allowances while also reducing the fare structure means that our passengers and their domestic pets can now travel comfortably on the same flight together.
“We are one of the few airlines in the world that accepts domestic pets as checked-in baggage on our passenger aircraft. So in keeping with our very inclusive culture and our drive to always enhance the customer experience, we are delighted to increase the pet weight limit from 32kgs to 75kgs, while significantly reducing charges.”
Customers checking in for their flight only need to telephone ahead and make a confirmed booking for their pet to travel with them. After showing the appropriate veterinary certificate to confirm their pet is healthy and safe for air travel, the animal is delivered to a specially designated area at Hamad International Airport (HIA) on the day of travel.
As well as transporting domestic pets on passenger flights, the cargo division of the Qatar Airways Group has also become the third largest cargo carrier in the world in recent years and regularly uses its freighters to transport valuable show horses, dairy cows and animals for relocation and rescue purposes via its Qatar Airways Live Freighter Service (QR Cargo).
Pets and transport crates heavier than 75kgs will be transported in the safe hands of Qatar Airways Cargo. These pets travel in a specially equipped animal transport section of the airline’s cargo aircraft. With its sophisticated animal accommodation facilities, QR Cargo has qualified veterinary and husbandry personnel at its Doha hub. Husbandry staff travel on every animal transport flight.
As a founding signatory to ‘United for Wildlife’ Transport Taskforce, aimed at reducing the illegal transport of wildlife globally, Qatar Airways is proud to also be trusted with the care of pet-passengers by travellers the world over.
Qatar Airways was voted Skytrax ‘World’s Best Airline’ by travellers from around the world earlier this year, Qatar’s national flag carrier also won a raft of other major awards at this year’s ceremony, including ‘Best Airline in the Middle East,’ ‘World’s Best Business Class’ and ‘World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge.’
Qatar Airways operates a modern fleet of more than 200 aircraft to a network of more than 150 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America. The airline is launching a host of exciting new destinations planned for the remainder of this year and 2018, including Canberra, Australia; Chiang Mai, Thailand and Cardiff, U.K. to name just a few.
