Poor airline service & travelers with pets beware!

I just flew back to Vancouver from Taipei. I paid NT$3136 for extra baggage for my pet turtles in a pet carrier. Whenever there are live animals in the cargohold, they must heat it. Well, I packed my turts well in cardboard boxes with newspaper and covered with cloth. Then I placed them in a plastic pet carrier lined with styrofoam. That’s very well packed and this is the recommended method for shipping reptiles.

Well, I arrived in Vancouver and they were very cold and half frozen. The outside weather was a balmy 5C and it wasn’t b/c of the outside weather but the temp inthe cargohold. I had the CFIA (CDN Food & Inspection Agency) vet look at it in Customs. He too said the airline is at fault for not heating the cargohold.

Three of my nine turtles died in this ordeal. I called up China Airlines Customer Service in Vancouver and they said there’s nothing they wil do. My loss. :cry: :frowning: :x Thanks for the service, eh!

Well, I have consulted my lawyer and she’s drafting a letter to the GM of ChiknaAirlines in Vancouver, but they are not obligated to do a thing. That’s what my lawyer said. Only if I were hurt, and they are not liable for my property. So we’re just trying to get some empathy from the GM with the letter.

Needless to say, I’m really upset and annoyed by all this. A sign of apology and some empathy would be nice. It’s three lives. Turtles have feelings you know. I have feelings. China Airlines disappointed me and I doubt they will react to my lawyer’s letter. They have no obligation and what is one little Canuck gonna do… :x So my wife and I just have to suck it up and forget our three little babies. :? :x

Anyway, my point is be careful when you travel with pets. I don’t encourage anyone to buy them while in Taiwan, since you’ll have to be getting rid of them when you go back home. I have spent thousands of NT$ for vet check, permits, shipping costs and reseach and of course mental anguish. Avoid thise cute animals at night markets and be careful of which airlines you take.

Cheers,
JJ

Really sorry to hear about this but not really surprised because I’ve lived here for awhile and know what these people are all about. Someone probably just forgot to turn on the heat. You are lucky they didnt steal them and eat them. You shouldnt expect too much from people who have no animal rights.

Dude,

China Airlines disappointed you? Where have you been? Have YOU been hiding in YOUR shell?

I brought a dog back to San Francisco via CAL and had no problem whatsoever, except for the extra NT$10,000 they decided to charge me after they first told me it wouldn’t be extra to bring a pet in the cargo. The people in Taipei were great and even tied up the dog’s kennel a little better just to be safe.

My understanding is that it isn’t a matter of turning on the heat in the cargo as a whole, but that a separate cargo “room” is pressurized/temperature controlled. Perhaps they forgot to put it in this. Were your turtles marked as live animals or were they in a container where it would be obvious living things were inside?

But regardless of how they were packed, my condolences–what a terrible thing to have happen.

sorry to hear that man. i guess they figure they’ve killed so many people already, what’s a few turtles? damned if i ever fly them.

Your turtles were Taiwanese, right? If I were you, I’d hire Jason Lin and SUE the murdering foreign bastards! Oh, wait a second…you said it was China Airlines…nevermind! :laughing:

Thanks for the info. I will try to stuff my dog in my carry-on luggage if I need to bring my dog overseas.

not bring, take!

[quote=“Alleycat”]Dude,

China Airlines disappointed you? Where have you been? Have YOU been hiding in YOUR shell?[/quote]
Funny Allycat… good pun. :wink:

Flicka,
You know that small dogs & cats may be brought on board. China Airlines never mentioned about the NT$3136 extra charge for my extra pet carrier (third piece of luggage), until I got to the airport. I planned this well out and apparently, not well enough. I knew I should have flown AC/EVA.

I have consulted my lawyer and the airlines are not obligated to do a thing. So, they don’t heat my pets (which was WELL labeled) and they have no responsibility.

I guess, I’m just trying to vent here and warn you to be careful about flying your pets. It’s not worth the ordeal… It’s scary enough to return home to unemployment and no where to live, and then on top of it all super service by CI. Yay.

Cheers,
JJ

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Taiwan is not a good place to be if you’re a four-legged animal. I would strongly advised people with pets not to bring them here. If you love them, leave them at home with someone who will care for them. If you really need to have a pet company in Taiwan, there are plenty of stray and abused animals waiting for you to rescue them - Your problem then will be what to do with them when (if) you leave Taiwan.