AaE Response to Member concerns and questions

[PilbaraPythons]

AaE
I am wondering if you could perhaps tell why Quarantine officers sometimes get involved with shipments of native reptiles within the domestic traffic of Australia?
For example last Tuesday at Perth airport a customer of ours had to wait hours to recieve his snakes because Quarantine had possesion of the package. I just found it surprising, as the shipment was from port Hedalnd to Perth. Just interested in the reasoning, that all.
I figured it may have been the D.E.C influence i.e. just checking if what has been declared to them matched what was really inside. This I would expect every now again and would understand.

Thanks for getting aboard the forum by the way.

 

[africancichlidau]

Thanks AAE

 

[mje772003]

Thanks to Fay and the other Mod's for organising AAE to have a voice here

 

[viridis]

Thank you AAE for taking the time to come on here and set things straight. Some people have to travel a long way to the airport to send stock, be nothing worse than to arrive there and have things wrong.

For the last 3 years I have had a 800km round trip to my closest AAE depo to freight any reptiles. I will go against the grain and say that AAE in Cairns is the best AAE depo I have ever freighted any stock out of. They are awesome and Michelle from that office goes out of her way to help.

 

[Waynecam1]

Aside from the fact that the local guys here at Rockhampton seem a little nervous about live snakes, I've never had a dilemma with AaE here always very helpful and strangely only tooooo happy to see you when you come to collect your snakes But I look forward to getting clarification on the packaging issue too because the guys at the airport don't seem to know either!

 

[Jungle_Freak]

Townsville AAE has always been great to deal with .
Very professional and helpfull service .
my 2 cents
cheers
Roger

 

[Colin]

just wondering if we can go over the acceptable packaging for hatchling pythons please. before these new measures I freighted hatchlings in an escape proof calico bag gooseneck tied inside a sturdy plastic box with air holes and shredded paper. this plastic box was placed inside a hard cardboard Australia Post post/freight box (bought from Australia Post) and although it was cardboard reasonably sturdy..

so if I put the platic box with the snake inside another sturdy hard plastic box will this be considered sufficent? Freight usually has been $50 -$55 minimum in my experience which used to be for a kilo I think.. whats the new minimum charge and for what weight? what incriment in price and weight do they go after the minumum weight / cost?

when do you think there will be a detailed information sheet available for us that specifically deals with reptiles (and not cats and dogs) this is the standard for all AAE offices (in addition to what information is on the website at the moment)

thanks for your help.

 

[gillsy]

Thanks to Fay and the other Mod's for organising AAE to have a voice here

It wasn't the mods....:lol: thats correct.. full credit for organising AAE on the forum and the information updates goes to gillsy well done and thank you mate.. Colin

LOL Colin I wasn't going to make it that obvious but shucks! credit given when credit is due mate

 

[AaE_Asp]

Asking these questions again.

Hi Ramsayi
Sorry if I didn't respond promptly to you, but while we at AaE are very happy to belong to the discussion board I can not check it 24 X 7. Just to manage expectations for all - I will review the discussion board on Mon / Wed and Fri and post responses on these days.

Now to your query
When I read the comment " so no more " Next Flight" option available" i was a little stumped about what you meant. AaE has a premium express service called "Next Flight" which is not generally available for livestock movements. However on reflection I thought maybe you mean " Will I not be able to just lodge for the next available flight without a booking ?" So I'm going to answer that question and then if I have gone off on the wrong tangent you can let me know and i can have another go at answering your question.

So " Will I not be able to just lodge for the next available flight without a booking ?" Sure you can. If space is available AaE will not have problem accepting your snake/reptile shipment. However there is no guarantee of carriage and if you lodge for a flight combination that we can't deliver on we might not be able to accept the shipment. The benefit of a booking is that AaE can check the service availability and capacity and advise you that your booking is valid. Also we then know what freight to expect and with animals that is helpful.

If that wasn't you question just let me know !

As to your second point regarding charges the charges you are requesting depend on what origin - destination pair ( or flight segment) that you wish to book to. Given that each shipment is unique. I am going to ask you to email your shipment details to [email protected] so that we can answer your question accurately . I am not keen to use this discussion board to discuss individual customer transactions and unfortunately I will not have the bandwidth to answer queries of this nature. it will be much more reliable to raise these questions via the new email address.

So apologies again for the late reply.

kind regards
AaE_Asp

AaE
I am wondering if you could perhaps tell why Quarantine officers sometimes get involved with shipments of native reptiles within the domestic traffic of Australia?
For example last Tuesday at Perth airport a customer of ours had to wait hours to recieve his snakes because Quarantine had possesion of the package. I just found it surprising, as the shipment was from port Hedalnd to Perth. Just interested in the reasoning, that all.
I figured it may have been the D.E.C influence i.e. just checking if what has been declared to them matched what was really inside. This I would expect every now again and would understand.

Thanks for getting aboard the forum by the way.

Hi Pilbara Pythons

Thank you for this question, but I' m sorry AaE cannot respond on the activities of State Quarantine authorities. We work within the requirement of all the relevan authorities On the AaE website we publish the following regarding permits / Quarantine.

Do I Need a Permit ?
It is the responsibility of the owner/shipper to make themselves aware of any state quarantine requirements that may restrict transportation of their pet into that state. As state laws and regulations are subject to change we strongly recommend that each time you are planning to travel with your pet that you check the current state rules to confirm if you are affected.
The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) provide a Traveller’s Guide on Interstate Quarantine. Visit the AQIS website www.daff.gov.au/aqis/travel/within-australia/guide

We reckon that this website link is a really useful tool so I have published this here for the benefit of forum members just in case you guys have not come across it before.

best wishes to all
AaE_Asp

For the last 3 years I have had a 800km round trip to my closest AAE depo to freight any reptiles. I will go against the grain and say that AAE in Cairns is the best AAE depo I have ever freighted any stock out of. They are awesome and Michelle from that office goes out of her way to help.

Hi Viridis and also africancichidau ,Waynecam 1 & Jungle_Freak

Thank you for comments about when AaE does get it right. We are working to make this a National experience. I will forward your lovely ffedback to the relevant ports..
with thanks

AaE_Asp

just wondering if we can go over the acceptable packaging for hatchling pythons please. before these new measures I freighted hatchlings in an escape proof calico bag gooseneck tied inside a sturdy plastic box with air holes and shredded paper. this plastic box was placed inside a hard cardboard Australia Post post/freight box (bought from Australia Post) and although it was cardboard reasonably sturdy..

so if I put the platic box with the snake inside another sturdy hard plastic box will this be considered sufficent? Freight usually has been $50 -$55 minimum in my experience which used to be for a kilo I think.. whats the new minimum charge and for what weight? what incriment in price and weight do they go after the minumum weight / cost?


when do you think there will be a detailed information sheet available for us that specifically deals with reptiles (and not cats and dogs) this is the standard for all AAE offices (in addition to what information is on the website at the moment)

thanks for your help.

Hi Colin

We are working on the one pager ! but realistically looking to late Thursday / Friday this week. Even then it may not answer every question , but you know we will just keep working on it

cheers

AaE_Asp

 

[spongebob]

Hi Colin

We are working on the one pager ! but realistically looking to late Thursday / Friday this week. Even then it may not answer every question , but you know we will just keep working on it

cheers

AaE_Asp

This would be most welcome. While I also concur with others that AaE does a good job overall and has some very helpful staff, there is a certain degree of anxiety to my visits to Mascot. While I've never been turned away and even got a compliment recently for how well I was packaging, there's always that degree of uncertaintly arising from lack of clarity.

 

[moose]

I recently received a shipment from Nsw - QLd Country ( i wont say which town for futre security reasons) and i was told when i arrived that my live animals would be left at the front of the "terminal" , we are talking 6.30 at night where anybody was able to walk off with my shipment. I want the only person in this boat as there was another live reptile shipment on the same flight.

I am not blaming AAe for this at all as this is Qantas Flights and Terminals. But what happens if i arrive after the plane gets their and my shipment is not there?

Moose

 

[Colin]

Hi Colin

We are working on the one pager ! but realistically looking to late Thursday / Friday this week. Even then it may not answer every question , but you know we will just keep working on it

cheers

AaE_Asp

thank you.. Im looking forward to and actually counting on you posting some details that can be printed off and used as a reference for lodging a reptile freight package at AAE. Is there a name and phone number we can give counter staff at AAE if we encounter any problems please?

This would be most welcome. While I also concur with others that AaE does a good job overall and has some very helpful staff, there is a certain degree of anxiety to my visits to Mascot. While I've never been turned away and even got a compliment recently for how well I was packaging, there's always that degree of uncertaintly arising from lack of clarity.

I agree bob and thats exactly how I've been feeling since the introduction of these new (unclear) rules at May 1st. I have several animals due to be freighted very soon and Im nervous about the whole freighting situation. I have usually found the AAE Sydney desk staff very helpful and great to deal with but Im anxious about he whole situation at present.

 

[pythonmum]

Well all, I have gotten quotes before and after May 1 (and seen the price rise) and am now using the petbookings email as suggested by AAE. I included the dimensions and weight in my request for booking just in case they needed it. I will let everyone know how the experience goes. I'm hoping to ship on Thursday, but I've had such a series of delays with permits on this animal that I would not be surprised to have more difficulties.

Update:
Wow - within 30 minutes of emailing the petbookings folks, I'd been contacted for more info and then gotten a call back with the booking for my snake. Great job AAE! Thanks!

 

[mrs_davo]

Thanks Gillsy,
& thanks AAE for joining the forum to help clear up the rules.
AAE is very important to us folks shipping reptiles & I have heard that we are important to AAE as well, so I look forward to cotinue A good relationship. I can totally understand people traveling hours to ship a reptile only to be mucked around or turned away, SO we need to get this right.

Cheers
Ian.

 

[Stevo2]

Just checked out the Express Pets page on the AaE website and this bit, down the bottom, doesnt make sense -

Your pet must be lodged at the AaE Freight Terminal a minimum of 90 minutes prior to the scheduled flight departure.
Pets may not be lodged before this acceptance window. This is to minimise the time that the pet is in the freight terminal where opportunities for hydration, exercise and toileting are limited or do not exist.

Appreciate that pets need to be dropped off 90min before the flight (as they always have been) to ensure they make their connections, but there is no mention of an acceptance window?? Can this please be fixed up?

I also think that in the "When to Travel" section there should be mention of the fact that front counters aren't open after Midday on Sundays, so Sundays are a crap day to try and send pets.

 

[gillsy]

Just checked out the Express Pets page on the AaE website and this bit, down the bottom, doesnt make sense -



Appreciate that pets need to be dropped off 90min before the flight (as they always have been) to ensure they make their connections, but there is no mention of an acceptance window?? Can this please be fixed up?

I also think that in the "When to Travel" section there should be mention of the fact that front counters aren't open after Midday on Sundays, so Sundays are a crap day to try and send pets.

Depends where you are, i've sent animals Sunday afternoon.

 

[PilbaraPythons]

If there is one negative that is extremely annoying and bad for me, is the failure to notify the sender of major changes in pickup times. For example when I freight from Port Hedland to Perth on the alleged first morning flight, the standard pick up time from Perth AaE office is 11.30am. This is information given to us by AaE themselves and failing any dramas, is normally the case. However when something goes wrong out of AaE control causing delayed or cancelled flights, there is no possible way for the sender to know this without being told and therefore cannot relay this to any customers. This has on numerous occasions meant that I have had very grumpy customers who have taken time off work and some who have travelled at times long distances only to be told that they will have to wait for many many hours and in one case about 7.
I would gladly pay a much higher price to AaE to cover a phone call from them to let us know of changed situation in flight times as I have definitely lost customers over this.
When I brought this up with our local AaE franchise (Eagle Air lines). The attitude was extremely arrogant at best. Considering how few live animals ever leave Port Hedland each day, I wouldn’t have thought a phone call to me would have killed them. I was bluntly told by Eagle air lines that ” we don’t have to phone anybody so deal with it, why do you think you deserve special attention?”. This is the same office that have sent many past shipments from us away with absolutely no live animal stickers on them at all or failed to scan them meaning they were practically untraceable on the computer at the receiving depo.
What this has meant at the Perth end is that AaE staff has no information where the package is or even if it was sent at all. I have had many frustrated phone calls trying to tell AaE staff that they need to search their premises again as despite there being no scanning record of it, it is there somewhere and really exists. This has resulted on one occasion of multiple reptiles being killed because they were eventually found in a storage shed and were over heated.
Perth AaE staff to be very fair though have been nothing short of extremely helpful and sympathetic and cannot be blamed for the Port Hedland’s useless staff that doesn’t follow procedure. Furthermore staff officers I have had talks to from Perth have been just as annoyed as it makes their job at times almost impossible
These days, things have improved and I have got from AaE piles of consignments and stickers and do it all myself (which I am more than glad to do). Then I pray that they remember to scan it.
I realize that occasional mistakes can always still happen and I can live with that (not that there is much of a choice) if there remains a desire to improve but I really wish the communication of major delays was a start. That to me is important for business.

 

[AaE_Asp]

I recently received a shipment from Nsw - QLd Country ( i wont say which town for futre security reasons) and i was told when i arrived that my live animals would be left at the front of the "terminal" , we are talking 6.30 at night where anybody was able to walk off with my shipment. I want the only person in this boat as there was another live reptile shipment on the same flight.

I am not blaming AAe for this at all as this is Qantas Flights and Terminals. But what happens if i arrive after the plane gets their and my shipment is not there?

Moose

Hi Moose,
Because our Freight terminals are not 24 / 7 we are strongly recommending that customers make a booking with AaE before they lodge their livestock for air transport.
When you make a booking with AaE we can check the service availability via our reservations system and advise if the port is open or not for Freight. If the service is not available we can't make a booking and thereby can avoid the scenario that you have described

With 70+ ports in the domestic air network it is difficult for front counter staff to advise you of the opening and closing hours of all these ports if you lodge without a booking, so our best approach is to check the port's service availability when we make a booking on your behalf.

That way if your livestock shipment does not arrive there will be someone who can assist in identifying where your shipment is.

I hope that response is of assistance

kind regards

AaE_Asp

I recently received a shipment from Nsw - QLd Country ( i wont say which town for futre security reasons) and i was told when i arrived that my live animals would be left at the front of the "terminal" , we are talking 6.30 at night where anybody was able to walk off with my shipment. I want the only person in this boat as there was another live reptile shipment on the same flight.

I am not blaming AAe for this at all as this is Qantas Flights and Terminals. But what happens if i arrive after the plane gets their and my shipment is not there?

Moose

Hi Moose,
Because our Freight terminals are not 24 / 7 we are strongly recommending that customers make a booking with AaE before they lodge their livestock for air transport.
When you make a booking with AaE we can check the service availability via our reservations system and advise if the port is open or not for Freight. If the service is not available we can't make a booking and thereby can avoid the scenario that you have described

With 70+ ports in the domestic air network it is difficult for front counter staff to advise you of the opening and closing hours of all these ports if you lodge without a booking, so our best approach is to check the port's service availability when we make a booking on your behalf.

That way if your livestock shipment does not arrive there will be someone who can assist in identifying where your shipment is.

I hope that response is of assistance

kind regards

AaE_Asp

Just checked out the Express Pets page on the AaE website and this bit, down the bottom, doesnt make sense -



Appreciate that pets need to be dropped off 90min before the flight (as they always have been) to ensure they make their connections, but there is no mention of an acceptance window?? Can this please be fixed up?

I also think that in the "When to Travel" section there should be mention of the fact that front counters aren't open after Midday on Sundays, so Sundays are a crap day to try and send pets.

Hi Stevo2

Comment 1 - Acceptance Window - Yes it is a bit confusing - we are aware of this and yes we plan to fix this when we schedule a release of changes to the website. This has not yet been scheduled, but we will get there.

Comment 2 - Regarding opening hours - The best way to address this issue is to make a booking with AaE . When you make a booking with AaE we check the service availability of your request and the capacity , if the port is not open we can tell you then.

best wishes

AaE_Asp

 

[Waterrat]

Thank you kindly AaE, Cairns depot is running like a well-oiled machine now. I sent off two separate parcels today ....... and I believe in magic.

Michael

 

[spongebob]

Hi Moose,
Because our Freight terminals are not 24 / 7 we are strongly recommending that customers make a booking with AaE before they lodge their livestock for air transport.
When you make a booking with AaE we can check the service availability via our reservations system and advise if the port is open or not for Freight. If the service is not available we can't make a booking and thereby can avoid the scenario that you have described

With 70+ ports in the domestic air network it is difficult for front counter staff to advise you of the opening and closing hours of all these ports if you lodge without a booking, so our best approach is to check the port's service availability when we make a booking on your behalf.

That way if your livestock shipment does not arrive there will be someone who can assist in identifying where your shipment is.

I hope that response is of assistance

kind regards

AaE_Asp

I also had this experience recently when the package could not be picked up by the person I sent it to as the depot was closed. I've tended to avoid making a booking as this has only complicated things especially the misinformation regarding the shipping declaration. However I'll now try to do this. One major problem is the limited hours of operation. Generally I send at weekends as I work during the week and once I've arranged things (and got an export licence etc) it's too late to get a booking.