Help! Pet owner in distress

[Johnny Spangle 0]

I have the K3 secured and I have my one way ticket dated June 13th

Despite a hundred things to do, I'm on top of it all. Except for one thing: transporting my pet cat to the US (Ohio). I have a ticket with Air India (they came up cheapest on a search), whose customer service on this matter has been so appalling I'm seriously considering cancelling the ticket.

Continental, who my wife flies with regularly and who I called for better customer service, and with a view to switching to them instead of Air India, insist that the cat is handled by a freight forwarding company (for security reasons) which is going to cost me over £700. It seems that North West Airlines do the same.

I'm trapped between no information (Air India) and information I don't like (i.e. that tells me spend big bucks if I want in).

If you took, or are taking a pet (mine's a little domestic moggy), who did you go with, what were their rules, how much did they cost. I need to sort this out very soon!

Thank you

PS - I am in the process of getting a health certificate for Millie (the cat) and it seems Ohio require a rabies jab too, so I forked out for that this week. Man.

[maya62 7]

For better or worse, Americans (and many other western countries) view their pets differently than a lot of other cultures view animals in general. So I would suggest checking with airlines based in western countries in particular. I have only flown domestically (within the US) with a pet (my dog), but the airlines were very accomodating and it was fairly affordable ($50 each way to fly from DC to New Mexico for a labrador retriever). But you do have to have an airline approved cage and proper documentation.

Check around... I am guessing you will find a better deal. If you or your spouse have any aquaintances in the US military, ask them who they use. Having worked for a vet for several years in the US, it seemed that the families who travel with pets the most, esp between the US and Europe, are military families.

Good luck!

Maya

[Mousie 0]

I brought my dog (a Westie), from Gatwick, London to Dallas using British Airways. Cost for the flight was £70 for the dog (to travel with the suitcases etc)

There was supposed to be a $100 handling charge at DFW airport, but I wasn't charged. My dog was barking so much that they just wanted him out of the building!!

Nick

[TracyTN 237]

That's just terrible! I agree about trying a Western airline. Have you called American (my favorite airline)?

[munchkins 0]

That is a ridiculous cost for a little moggy, we are shipping our two Rottweillers (and they are big) and it is only costing us £1,100 for the two of them and that includes the two "HUGE" kennels and all the paperwork for customs etc. So get your fingers doing the walking and check out others

It would help if we knew what airport you are using and if you have flexibility with that. I have read of many on here going from the UK who took their pets as luggage and if you have to take them as cargo, what you have been quoted is stupid.

We are flying with Thompsonfly from Manchester and so far the people we will be using for our Rottys have been great with questions etc. Let me know what airport you will be flying from and if you have to fly direct, pm me if you wish

[lisaf 0]

[

I took my dog ( labrador) across to NY last June with Thai airways from Bangkok. they were great., professional and a lot of experience with animals,( horses, tigers,bears and such) I had to provide a rabies certificate, his vaccination passbook( for all the other stuff- not compulsory as the rabies, but US customs could quarantine your animal for observation if it hasn't had the other kitty shots), a vet check dated 3 days earlier to say that the dog was in good health. It was quite reasonably priced, especially as he was 30 kgs at the time..he cost $170 and his crate $170 ( counted as two pieces as he and his crate combined went over the 25kg limit for one piece) SO,I think a cat + cage ( airline approved)should be $170. for the one leg with Thai.

good luck

[

I took my dog ( labrador) across to NY last June with Thai airways from Bangkok. they were great., professional and a lot of experience with animals,( horses, tigers,bears and such) I had to provide a rabies certificate, his vaccination passbook( for all the other stuff- not compulsory as the rabies, but US customs could quarantine your animal for observation if it hasn't had the other kitty shots), a vet check dated 3 days earlier to say that the dog was in good health. It was quite reasonably priced, especially as he was 30 kgs at the time..he cost $170 and his crate $170 ( counted as two pieces as he and his crate combined went over the 25kg limit for one piece) SO,I think a cat + cage ( airline approved)should be $170. for the one leg with Thai.

good luck

SORRY IGNORE ALL THAT, I JUST READ " AIR INDIA" AND FIGURED YOU WERE IN ASIA!!!

dont know if Thai Airways has a route in that direction. sorry...

[MHandMB 0]

I took my dog with me when I moved to France for a year. I used Delta/AirFrance. She's small, so I was able to carrier her on in an airline-approved carrier that fit under my seat. That way, she was with me on the flight, and I could soothe her nerves. Cost was about $100 one way. Easy as pie. When I arrived in France, they didn't even look at any of my paperwork. On the way back home, when I got to NY, they looked at my health certificate and rabies certificate, stamped my paperwork, and I was on my way.

You can look up the pet rules on Delta.com. They limit 2 carry on animals per flight, and it's first come/first serve, so once you find the flight you want, call the customer service line and reserve a spot for your pet.

I don't know about shipping pets in cargo, but I have heard that AirFrance is the best for that because they supposedly have climate-controlled holding areas.

I think you can definitely find a better deal than you've been quoted. In fact, I was going to fly United on the way back home from Paris, because they allowed you to reserve a spot online for your pet for a nominal fee. When I went to pick up my ticket, I was told that was an error, they didn't do that anymore, and I would have to ship her in cargo and her ticket would cost more than mine! I said no thanks and called Delta. My ticket was about $50 more than the United ticket, but I saved an extra $600 on the shipping costs.

Good luck!

[TracyTN 237]

That's great, MHandMB!! Maybe Delta would allow the OP to bring the cat in the cabin!

I'm sorry, though, if you might be out the $$ for the Air India ticket.

[Rebster 0]

We were going to have our 2 dogs flown using Ryslip Kennels to handle all the paperwork & shipping. They had quoted us £900 for both dogs including overnight boarding prior to the flight as well as the last-minute worming/tick treatment and the health certificate. They were going to use Thompson Air Cargo services. (We had wanted British Airways but they have breed restrictions & would not take our pugs. )

Anyway, £700 for one cat seems a bit excessive...

BTW, I've called every airline I could think of and NOBODY seems to allow pets in the cabin on transatlantic flights.

Edited May 19, 2006 by Rebster

[MHandMB 0]

We were going to have our 2 dogs flown using Ryslip Kennels to handle all the paperwork & shipping. They had quoted us £900 for both dogs including overnight boarding prior to the flight as well as the last-minute worming/tick treatment and the health certificate. They were going to use Thompson Air Cargo services. (We had wanted British Airways but they have breed restrictions & would not take our pugs. )

Anyway, £700 for one cat seems a bit excessive...

BTW, I've called every airline I could think of and NOBODY seems to allow pets in the cabin on transatlantic flights.

I hope that's not true! I promise, I did it on September 22nd via Delta/AirFrance. Unless they've changed the rules since then...

[Rebster 0]

We were going to have our 2 dogs flown using Ryslip Kennels to handle all the paperwork & shipping. They had quoted us £900 for both dogs including overnight boarding prior to the flight as well as the last-minute worming/tick treatment and the health certificate. They were going to use Thompson Air Cargo services. (We had wanted British Airways but they have breed restrictions & would not take our pugs. )

Anyway, £700 for one cat seems a bit excessive...

BTW, I've called every airline I could think of and NOBODY seems to allow pets in the cabin on transatlantic flights.

I hope that's not true! I promise, I did it on September 22nd via Delta/AirFrance. Unless they've changed the rules since then...

Your dog must be smaller than ours - our guys would not fit into carriers that go under seats (they're a bit "fluffy". )

[Johnny Spangle 0]

Thanks for the info everyone (sorry, stuck at work and couldn't get to a computer for a while to answer).

BA sound like a good bet and I'm going to call them to get some specific info (thanks Mousie!)

The quality and variance of rules between countries and airlines is bewildering. For instance, you can't take your pet in the cabin when flying out of the UK, but you can if you're flying out of France. You can check your pet in yourself with BA, but not if you fly Continental or NWA. It's crazy

I have an update on Air India. A very terse operator finally answered the phone at Air India's London office (after getting the engaged tone for over an hour) and this one actually had some answers for me. However the operator was also keen to put me off by telling me that if they get a last minute request to carry human remains on the flight, I will be refused entry with my cat - apparently the two cannot be in the same cargo hold and obviously the human gets preference ..

Anyway I may still go with them now I at least understand what they want me to do. But take my advice - do not use this airline if you want anything like reasonable customer service. Even though Continental were expensive, they were at least friendly, helpful and knowledgable.

Another thing to contend with is that each US state has its own import rules. Some require no documentation (like Illinois), some require a health certificate (like NY), and some (like Ohio) require a health certificate and a rabies jab. My flight was indirect through Illinois and Ohio - so I get both extremes

Thanks all

That is a ridiculous cost for a little moggy, we are shipping our two Rottweillers (and they are big) and it is only costing us £1,100 for the two of them and that includes the two "HUGE" kennels and all the paperwork for customs etc. So get your fingers doing the walking and check out others

It would help if we knew what airport you are using and if you have flexibility with that. I have read of many on here going from the UK who took their pets as luggage and if you have to take them as cargo, what you have been quoted is stupid.

We are flying with Thompsonfly from Manchester and so far the people we will be using for our Rottys have been great with questions etc. Let me know what airport you will be flying from and if you have to fly direct, pm me if you wish

Oh and thanks too munchkins, I'll pm you if Air India drive me crackers and BA are a no go. Your puppies are adorable

[ladybutterfly 0]

I would definately go BA! I took my two dogs last September from Heathrow to LA and they were so good. BA takes pets as excess baggage rather than cargo so it works out so much cheaper. You can even check your cat in at the same check in desk that you check yourself in. Cant remember the exact figures but it cost me around 270 quid per dog. This worked out even better for me as they told me I would need to pay for the dogs when I checked in. Well, I got lucky and the check in person forgot to ask me for payment! BA definately!

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Is there oxygen, proper temperature and what not in the cargo/lugagge hold?

[ladybutterfly 0]

Is there oxygen, proper temperature and what not in the cargo/lugagge hold?

Although the pet does travel in the hold it is temperature controlled and heated just like it is in the passenger cabins. They also like to keep it dark down there as it helps the animals settle and encourages them to sleep. When I flew BA the plane was delayed for two hours on the tarmac and by this time the passengers and my dogs had already been loaded on the plane. I went into panic mode thinking about my poor dogs not having any ventilation and the temperature down there being really hot, the captain came out to speak to me and reassure me that they are constantly monitering it down there and my dogs will be fine!