Qantas is working on introducing a ‘pet product’ that will allow South African emigrants to fly snub-nosed pets to Australia, a service that is apparently not offered by any other airline.
According to Hayley van Rooyen, freight manager at Qantas, it is anticipated that the service will be available from the end of the year, or early next year.
She said emigrants moving to Australia currently had no option to fly dogs such as English and French bulldogs, boxers, pugs and even Chihuahuas out to Australia.
“They are considered as extremely high risk because of their short palates.”
Because South Africans leaving the country can’t fly brachycephalic dogs to Australia they have to be boarded, put up for adoption or in a worse-case scenario – euthanised.
Van Rooyen said “snubs” also included certain cat types such as Persians.
From what is known, airlines like Cathay and Singapore, currently used for South African emigration to Australia, do not have products for snub-nosed pets.
Although it’s believed that KLM may have a service for snubs, it has not been confirmed.
“We’ll be the only airline to help people with these pets once the service is launched,” said Van Rooyen.
