Chile Forum

I have been traveling around the World for most of life, and with only one or two exceptions have I ever found the cheapest ticket to be the cheapest way to get some where. The cheapest way to get somewhere is the fastest way to get there (it may not even be the most direct). By that I mean, if for example you buy a ticket that has multiple layovers for 1-5 hours and takes 2-3 days to get to your destination (say London to Santiago), but the ticket only cost say $400 US, you will end up spending another $200 to $300 even just buying food in an airport, a bottle of water, something to read. Let alone if you want to have a real meal and so on. If for say $600 US you could have had a one shot 14 hour flight to Santiago, and landed with your wits still about you (and a living animal).

With animals, don't screw around. You need the shortest and most direct flight you can find, or you may have a dead animal on your hands by the time you get there. Travel is very very stressful for animals, especially if they can not ride with their owners. Just think of how noisy an airport is to us. Imagine you have super hearing (and smell) and are listening to a 100 jet engines wine at once. You would likely go insane if you had to hear what a dog or cat hears at an airport or on an airplane. I am rather surprised they come out the other end in such good shape as they do.

The biggest mistake that people make in international travel is dropping in to a new country, city, language, and culture unrested. Book a place in advance for at least the first night. Your biggest loss of money will occur in your first 48 hours in any country as you get your bearings and make costly and sometimes dangerous mistakes. First order of business is to get some sleep and a good meal before trying to do anything of significance. Establish a base of operations. Even if that cost you a bit of money for that first night, it will not be nearly as expensive as wondering around a strange city at night begging to be robbed as you look for a hotel, set down luggage and forget it, or end up in the wrong area. Your judgment will be impaired, plan for that. That means you have your major expenses controlled by booking something in advance, or knowing where to go and how much it is going to cost when you land. Being cheap, often does not save money in that first day or two.

Never had health problems, but I did have a dog escape from a cargo hold at the Denver airport once coming in from Mexico many years ago. Long story. Let's just say the DEA, customs, air port security, and anyone else with gun was not very happy because the dog was small and fast. We had tied a bunch of white baggage tags on its neck with contact information in English and Spanish in the event it got lost, and from a distance they looked like bags of coke. They would have shot the dog, if it was not so fast and running in between a bunch of planes refueling.

Finally, some dog lover that was a mechanic and was not chasing the dog simply patted the seat of his cart and called him. The dog took that as an invitation to escape all the yelling guys chasing it, and jumped up on the seat and rode in to the terminal with him. The guy that brought him in told us he had seen a few get loose and end up getting hit by planes landing and taking off. The customs guys told us that they regularly had people train dogs to run drugs that way.

try lan airlines. They have 2 animal limit per flight, so you need to make a reservation with them in advance. Besides, I think they give better service than American Airlines. They are part of one world airlines, so you can make bookings through american airlines. You will need to do a call in I believe for the cat's reservation.


That is what American Airlines gets for charging me for drinks on my last flight, and then not accepting anything but U.S. dollars on an inbound flight to Chile.

Fly Lan.

My mother in law is a Gringa that has lived in Chile for around 14 years. She has a prized Japanese Chin that she carts back and forth from the States. The dog has a retail value of somewhere between $10,000 and $20,000 US. Both her and the airlines are in agreement that it is best the dog rides in a small carrier under her seat (it is about the size of medium size cat), rather than bouncing around in the cargo hold. I am not sure what airline she uses for that, but I'll ask.

It is more fragile than a cat (chins have nasal and breathing problems).