What is the easiest way to send 2 dogs to Okinawa, Japan? -

My husband is in the military, and we are moving to Okinawa, Japan in early September. The military plane we re flying on only has room for 1 animal...and of course, we just happen to have 2. So I m desperately trying to find a reasonably-priced way to ship either both dogs together, or 1 separately. I ve tried almost all the US airlines, and most of them don t even fly to Okinawa. I ve tried China Air, and they re not sure. I ve looked into special pet cargo services, and they want to charge us $2300 for the trip. I m freaking out! I only have a couple of months to get this done, and that is NO time at all if you re a military family. If anyone has any sort of practical solution, please let me know. Thank you!

I haven t traveled with a pet to Okinawa myself, but will be bringing one back to the states once we leave here. I know of people that because of the no-travel block for pets (generally may-august due to extensive heat/humidity conditions here and pets not acclimated) people are forced to leave their pets in the states, and then they travel back after the block to bring their pets. Have you tried asking at the base terminal that you re flying out of to see if your pet can travel alone? I know it s scary for certain people to fly alone, let alone a pet by himself. What I mean to say is, can someone stay with the pet and then take him to the terminal once you can find a slot for him, of course that being after you and your family get here. If it helps any, we flew here commercial, and our airlines were United (from Hawaii to Osaka) and All Nippon Airways (Osaka to Okinawa). I know that Northwest airlines also flies to Osaka, but I think All Nippon is the only one that flies from Osaka/Tokyo to Okinawa.

You would have to arrange for the animal to fly into Tokyo s Narita airport (the international one) and then transfer him to Haneda (the one for more regional flights) for a flight into Okinawa. You will have to use a Japanese carrier for the trip to Okinawa as no American carriers fly there. The two airports are on opposite sides of the city, so you would have to arrange to have the dog transferred. While there are shuttle buses going from one airport to the other for human passangers, they do not allow pets so you would either have to contract a private van or make other arrangements. You may hit the blackout dates for pets, depending on when you plan to travel...most airlines will not handle pets during the summer months because of the risk of illness/death from the heat in the cargo hold. Since the military does not have to pay to ship your animals, you will have to pay the cost yourself. I know friends who had to make similar arrangements (we lived in Northern Japan for 7 years on an Air Force base) and even then the cost was close to $1500.00 dollars ( five years ago). You can have your husband check with your PCS officer (whomever is co-ordinating your move...I used Air Force lingo) to see if there is a chance of having the second animal shipped on a military flight at a later time. You would have to leave the animal with someone who can get onto the military base and give them power of attorney to make all the arrangements. Otherwise, you will either have to pay to get your pet to you or leave him behind in the states. Both are tough choices....

Are you flying out as a family or is he going first? If he goes a week or 2 ahead he can take one with him and you can bring the other one. Maybe. You may want to reask this question in the Military section. I went to Yoko not Okinawa so I don t know how they work that base. My base we usally arrived before are family and are stuff.