25/01/2024
2024 Korea Pet Travel Outlook (Shindogs Recommends #3)
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NOTE: I am disappointed to report that this is pretty much a copy/paste from last year's report (link in comments)... So little has changed in the overall pet travel sphere! But at least it isn't worse...
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Wow, seems like a lifetime ago when I wrote the 2020 report, saying: “looks like we will have 3-4 weeks of flight delays due to this new virus coming out of Wuhan….”
How young and naïve we all were.
4 years later, COVID-19 changed forever the reality of pet travel. Here are some changes we have that are permanent:
1- Cheap (relatively speaking) pet cargo rates. Everything now is STILL at least double the pre-2020 rates. In some cases, nearly triple. Airlines raised the costs in 2020 because there were only a tiny number of planes in the air, raising competition for cargo spaces. But….. airlines realized: hey, people are WILLING to pay 5 grand to ship a big dog?? Ka-ching!! And thus, prices will never go down. Here in 2024, air travel is totally at what it was pre pandemic, but prices are not going down. It is YOUR fault. You are a pet owner that loves your animal as part of the family, so airlines are grabbing you by those hairs, and pulling tight.
2- Less airlines are accepting pets. I remember back in summer of 2020 I called it: I said United Airlines was never going to restart their pet shipping program, PetSafe. You wouldn’t believe how vicious the IPATAsphere got against me in forums and groups worldwide, saying I was a fearmonger and an idiot… Well, I was right. UA is done with pet shipping, they have dismantled their entire team and facilities for animal moves, and they are happy about it.
At this time, there are NO United States airlines accepting pets in the cargo hold to/from Korea (aside from Delta for Military and State, and that only from/to Seattle. And then, sometimes Delta COMPLETELY BANS all pets from SEA to ICN, because spring and summer winds make the plane fly slower, and push it over the max 12 hour limit.
3- EUROPE TRANSIT is a must for any dogs requiring crates larger than XL, and for all snub nosed cats and dogs too big for carry on. For Korea to USA, this means, if you own a large dog or a snub, they MUST meet EU rabies antibodies test requirements (chip -- rabies vacc -- wait 30 days -- antibodies test -- wait 3 months, THEN travel possible). Your FAVN used to come to Korea might NOT have been taken with that 30 day gap, so don’t trust it is valid.
4- The Delta/Korean Air codeshare (for military) still sucks. The 2 airlines keep playing hot potato with clients, sending them back and forth, neither wanting to commit. Acceptance policy is still unclear. Sometimes they only accept 1 pet per passenger instead of 2. Sometimes, they limit the weight of animals on codeshare to just 32KG. Sometimes they only accept seattle due to flight length.. even on Korean Air planes. Sometimes, they only accept a certain number of codeshare tickets per plane. The policies are unwritten, so you’ll always be at the mercy of the agents on the phone… and usually it will be at a call center in Manila or Mumbai, where the agents have ZERO power to make independent decisions. Good luck.
5- Military reimbursement: Thanks to the team at Leave no Paws Behind, the government finally passed a reimbursement for US Active duty on PCS: Up to $2,000. We’ve reported extensively on this, so you can see more info on our timeline with details.
6- Military vets are an endangered species. I have no actual numbers or research to prove this, but it seems a huge number of US military installations no longer have a military officer veterinarian on staff. I’ve hear it has to do with young veterinarians (professional doctors with massive education loans) seem to not want to accept the base US Army pay offered...? End result, a lot of people have trouble getting appointments with VTF vets for their flight paperwork. This means you have to use private vets… and it means we are seeing some hilarious mistakes in paperwork. Chip numbers wrong, basic data wrong… it is a comedy of errors… well, until the animals get to Korea and are sent to the hellhole that is quarantine arrest. And then have to be sent back to USA, or endure weeks/months in the facility, or just get euthanized.
Seriously, the uprise in number of bad papers/documents resulting in me getting late night calls from desperate people inspired me to start a paid consulting service for document prep and check… and even if I do say so myself, I believe everyone that has purchased it has agreed it was needed. Vets and veterinary facilities are for some reason, just getting sloppy. Even military facilities that DO have vets on staff have produced catastrophic errors in documents. My theory: These poor vet are overworked to death, understaffed, underpaid, and probably regretting some life choices when they see their classmates show off their latests BWM or Jaguar from their private practice…
Well.. actually: Did you know that the highest su***de rate by profession is veterinarians? No joke here. It is a soul crushing job, and the statistics are terrifying of how su***de affects the profession. All kidding aside, thank your military veterinarian for their willingness to serve. (but double check the documents anyway)
Well, that took a real dark turn…
So, in conclusion: Being a traveling pet owner in 2024 has gotten way more expensive and stressful than in 2020. Not only is everyone charging more for everything, but there is less of everything you need to travel with your pet. My best advice: Plan early, book ahead, have a plan B and C, and of course, hire us to provide consulting to ensure you miss all the pitfalls and failure points that exist in pet travel now. Find out more here:
Shindogsair.com