Pets in Cargo Flying International to UK

Aiwlys in Chicago, Illinois said: I think it's amazing that everyone who works for the airlines on this forum says don't put your pet in cargo. And I used to work for the airline and I say don't do it. I have seen really sad things.

what have you seen happen? I have a 6lb chiuaua who must fly cargo to south africa , i think it could be traumatic for her. some people say little dogs travel in cargo all the time others say dont do it, the humane society does not advocate them traveling and rather to find the pet a good home instead. some say the cargo air is controlled and some say not. is there any airline that is more pet friendly and has a better trac record of safety for pet traveling on their planes?

If they can fly in the cabin there is no other choice than cargo especially for international flights, I heard that some airlines are getting better with the cargo for pets, wich airlines did you heard bad histories? That would help me Im planning to fly with my dogs sometime soon just one way but would be good to know if you hace some recomendations bad and good, thank you!

I have a question for anyone who has travelled from Toronto to London Heathrow via British Airways with a pet (cat in this case) using the PET Travel scheme.

I am struggling to get a clear response from the staff at BA World Cargo in Toronto about how to make my pets cargo booking. I have booked my flight for September and I have been told that to make the pets cargo booking that I have to fill in a long form which they would fax to me. I don't have a fax so I pursuaded them to post it to me (no email attachments??!!!) I was told I would need to send it back with some documentation about my pet from the vet. Does anyone know what this form entails and what sort of documentation I need? I tried to get this information out of the staff member but it was like blood out of a stone! I would like to make this booking ASAP so that I am on the same flight as my pet. The staff seem very relaxed about it and say it won't be a problem, but then added that they are already making bookings for next year! Of course I panicked. Hope someone can help me with the booking proceedure (nb. I have the PETS/DEFRA proceedures under control at the mo.)

Hi Sophie,

Small world - I also used to live in Hamilton, and flew with my cat from Toronto to London-Heathrow on British Airways last June! Is your vet by any chance Blue Cross Animal Hospital?

Anyway, yes, I know exactly what you're talking about. Fax?!?!? And when it comes, I can tell you, it's terrible quality! Also, you're right, there is one staff member in particular at the BA World Cargo desk in Toronto who is not always very pleasant on the phone. (Can't remember the name, I think it might start with an "M".) I can say, however, that I had a bit of a disaster the day of my flight and he was very accommodating.

About the form they will send you, it's basically just a regular certificate of health confirming that your cat doesn't have any infectious diseases. They'll also send you a customs form to complete and a form with the dimensions of the kennel and cat.

By the way, note that BA won't accept a pet booking more than 4 or 6 weeks in advance (I can't remember the exact amount). And I think the veterinary certificate that you give to them can only be about a month from the date of departure, so you have lots of time. Just speak to your vet and ask to book a checkup sometime around then, as well as a second booking for the tick/tapeworm treatment.

One thing that BA World Cargo should tell you now is which flights they will take pets on. As I recall, it's only the very early morning flight from Toronto or the flights that leave after 6pm or so, I think only Monday to Friday. This is because of the hours of operation of the Animal Reception Centre at Heathrow. This information will help you choose which flight to book. At the same time, check with your vet to find out if there's a particular day of the week that they're not open, because you need to see them at least 24 hours but no more than 48 hours before the flight for tick/tapeworm treatment.

Hi Jennifer

Thank you for your helpful response. I have also read some of your other comments on here which are helping me to clear the fog regarding how to go about things. I very much appreciate your sharing your experience.

I know the Blue Cross Animal Hospital in Hamilton - I am using the Cat Clinic (on mountain) for the PETS proceedure. I will be able to get the Third Country Vet Certificate after 11th August.

The info you gave me regarding the booking forms is very useful. At this point I just want to book my cat a place on the same flight (I already booked my flight without being told about specific planes by BA World Cargo..but the flight is after 8pm on a weekday so fingers crossed). The guy told me that to book the cargo place I needed to complete the 'forms'..I quizzed him because if I need to send him copies of Vet docs. then I need to contact the Vet first as I don't have any. He said I didn't need the Third Country Certificate (yet), just some records of vaccinations so that they could confirm we were on 'the right path'. Maybe he just wants to confirm that we had the rabies vaccination and bloodtest done before he puts a booking in the computer, to be sure we are not time-wasters? Perhaps when the forms come it will become much clearer - I hope so! I think just talking to that guy made me panic and my head swim!!! BTW he didn't mention a 4-6 week booking period, so I will find out about that, he said he was already making bookings for next year(?)

If I have other questions later on, is it OK to pose them to you via this site? Many thanks again.

Hi Sophie,

I'm glad to be of any help. By all means, do ask me anything at all on this site. I wish I could send you my e-mail address, but I'm loathe to post it on a public forum. If you have a suggestion, let me know.

About the 4-6 weeks, maybe I'm misremembering, or maybe that's the earliest they'll "confirm" the reservation. I do recall there being something in the paperwork that was contradictory, and I think it did have to do with the booking date vs. the vet exam date. I still have every last scrap of paper to do with the whole process, so I'll hunt through and see what I can find about that. (In my case, doing things too early was never an issue. I made all the flight arrangements very late as I was waiting on some documentation of my own and didn't know when exactly I could fly - I was so caught up in the process for my cat that I didn't pay enough attention to my own paperwork!)

Upon reading your second message, I think you're right, I did need to fax BA the copies of the vaccination record right away, and I think I also included the parts of the 3rd country vet certificate that had already been completed. (Since I left the flight arrangements to the end, I already had the CFIA vet endoresement and everything else except of course the tick and tapeworm signature.)

Anyway, as I said, I'll dig out my file and let you know what the paperwork says about booking, etc.

"Talk" to you soon!

Jennifer

Does anyone has any advice to fly with dogs from Argentina to the Us? Continental told me I need a broker?? to do that and I have to call Argentina for that they dont take care of that from here they are only responsable of flying from the Us to anywhere in the world if you are flying from outside the Us you should talk to different numbers outside the Us.
Hope someone can help me!
Thank you!

sofia in Baltimore, Maryland said: Does anyone has any advice to fly with dogs from Argentina to the Us? Continental told me I need a broker?? to do that and I have to call Argentina for that they dont take care of that from here they are only responsable of flying from the Us to anywhere in the world if you are flying from outside the Us you should talk to different numbers outside the Us.
Hope someone can help me!
Thank you!

If you're traveling with the dog, contact Delta or American. Delta - small dogs can fly in the cabin ($150), big dogs in the hold ($550); Delta won't put animals in the hold May 15th-September 15th. American won't have dogs in the cabin on latin american flights, but will have them in the hold ($150) provided that the temp is 20F-80F (75F max for snub-nosed dogs) at both ends of the itinerary. 12-hour maximum flights

Flew our dog in the hold from London to NY a week ago on American for $150 (British Air wanted 1,800 pounds for the same thing; cargo companies wanted more), had some sleepless nights of extreme worry but thankfully she was fine though her tail didn't go up for 24 hours. Only do it for a permanent move, not a temporary stay (too much angst). Good luck!

Thanks Corinne yes it will be a permanent move and as you Im not sleeping good anymore thinking about it. I will try other companies and see what happens I just thought continental was the best for flying pets, but thanks for your advice!

they were (and still may be), but Continental insists on doing it all through their cargo division now (more expensive).

American does cargo also, if you're not flying with the dog, but if you are flying with them, then it's the same conditions, same plane, and much less money. I made a reservation daily on aa.com while monitoring the forecasts (didn't want to buy a ticket and then can't fly due to temperature). Once you have the exact date, contact the airline immediately to let them know you'll be flying with the dog. They need to arrange to not have as much dry ice in the hold (? fumes, perhaps).

Message for 'Jennifer formerly in Canada'...

Hi Jennifer, I was wondering if you had a record of the product used by your vet to treat your cat for Flea/Ticks before you travelled on PETS? I have a long list/database given to me by CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency). My vet doesn't have any 'licensed' products for the tick treatment and is going to try and get something suitable. I am going to ring around the other vets here in Hamilton to see what they use. If you had a record of the product they used on your cat I would appreciate it! Defra won't recommend a specific product and nor will CFIA.

BTW I sent my paperwork to Manny at BA World Cargo and he said 'yes, booked' and that was about it. I am letting it lie for a bit now until nearer my flight and then I will get onto him again. I don't like to phone him as he makes my head explode!

Hi Sophie,

I'm sorry I've been out of touch. Manny's the one I remember at Air Canada. There's something about his demeanour on the phone, but he is actually quite pleasant in person. (I had a disaster on the day of my flight - left the 3rd country vet certificate in the photocopier and didn't realize it until we'd already driven 50km to the airport. As a result, we were very, very late, but Manny was very nice about it.)

For the tick treatment, our vet used Pfizer Revolution 45 mg - I believe this is one of the few that is okay for cats. For the tapeworm treatment, our vet used Bayer Droncit (praziquantel). Blue Cross recommended including photocopies of the full pharmacological insert for both products so that if there were any questions, the officials at the Animal Reception Centre would have the information at their fingertips.

Good luck - you must be getting excited!

Jennifer

Sophie in Hamilton, Ontario said: Message for 'Jennifer formerly in Canada'...

Hi Jennifer, I was wondering if you had a record of the product used by your vet to treat your cat for Flea/Ticks before you travelled on PETS? I have a long list/database given to me by CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency). My vet doesn't have any 'licensed' products for the tick treatment and is going to try and get something suitable. I am going to ring around the other vets here in Hamilton to see what they use. If you had a record of the product they used on your cat I would appreciate it! Defra won't recommend a specific product and nor will CFIA.

BTW I sent my paperwork to Manny at BA World Cargo and he said 'yes, booked' and that was about it. I am letting it lie for a bit now until nearer my flight and then I will get onto him again. I don't like to phone him as he makes my head explode!

Hello again Jennifer,

Thanks for the flea/tick product info. Just to make life more complicated they are now saying you can't use Revolution for PETS from Canada!!! I was really praying you would say something else ;-)

Seriously, how many hoops can you jump through??? I've just emailed the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre to see if they can advise me. Ideally I'd like the vet to use drops rather than a shampoo! The vets manager freaked me out by telling me how potentially lethal these tick treatments can be :-( The clinic I'm using are pretty clueless about the PETS proceedure, so I am checking and double checking everything including the products.

I'm glad to hear Manny (now famous) is nice in person. I am sure it is just communication difficulties. I'll let you know how I get on...

ps. not excited yet, just stressed by bureaucracy!

Hi Sophie,

That's really frustrating that Revolution is no longer accepted (and why just from Canada???). It's very hard to find treatments that are safe for cats. Check with Blue Cross - they told us they have a lot of experience with international pet travel, and even have a veterinary technician who serves as their resident expert in that department. Because of their downtown-west location, their client list includes a lot of international students from McMaster and Columbia College travelling back and forth with pets. They also apparently have a close working relationship with CFIA (over on Main West, just before the bridge), so they may be able to get some answers that way too.

Best of luck - there must be some way, and hopefully the hoops won't continue to stack up!

Jennifer

Sophie in Hamilton, Ontario said: Hello again Jennifer,

Thanks for the flea/tick product info. Just to make life more complicated they are now saying you can't use Revolution for PETS from Canada!!! I was really praying you would say something else ;-)

Seriously, how many hoops can you jump through??? I've just emailed the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre to see if they can advise me. Ideally I'd like the vet to use drops rather than a shampoo! The vets manager freaked me out by telling me how potentially lethal these tick treatments can be :-( The clinic I'm using are pretty clueless about the PETS proceedure, so I am checking and double checking everything including the products.

I'm glad to hear Manny (now famous) is nice in person. I am sure it is just communication difficulties. I'll let you know how I get on...

ps. not excited yet, just stressed by bureaucracy!

Hi,

I'm moving back to Sweden from Japan in the winter and I want to bring my cat with me, but I have a couple of questions. On such a long flight (roughly 10h) I'm worried about my cat's toilety needs, since he goes very often at home, more than I've seen in any cat so far. So, is it possible/allowed to take your cat (if it's travelling in cabin) with you to the toilet, spread out some newspapers/diaper sheets and have him do his business there? I suspect that it's not allowed and it would be hard to have him to it on the spot, but I'm just trying to find solutions here :)

Second of all, the airline I'm looking at says it allows your pet and kennel total to be 6kg. How harsh are they on these rules in reality? Say that I show up at the airport and weigh the cat and kennel in at 6.5kg, what would happen? Would I be denied boarding, or will there be an excessive luggage fee? If anyone knows anything about this I'd be very happy for any help at all!

Does anyone know how the customs agents are when you get to Us and check the pets?, are they aggresive what kind of behavior should I expect? do they check them for a long time? i have no idea how is the process, I know it depends on each agent but I just wanted to have some ideas, Im getting ready to go back to Us from southamerica with my 3 dogs for the first time my dogs will be in the US and just wanted to be ready, hope someone can give me some ideas, thank you very much!

sofia in Asunción, Paraguay said: Does anyone know how the customs agents are when you get to Us and check the pets?, are they aggresive what kind of behavior should I expect? do they check them for a long time? i have no idea how is the process, I know it depends on each agent but I just wanted to have some ideas, Im getting ready to go back to Us from southamerica with my 3 dogs for the first time my dogs will be in the US and just wanted to be ready, hope someone can give me some ideas, thank you very much!

I had no problem at JFK. Keep the dog kenneled until you get through customs. The agent didn't check over my dog. Peeked in, looked at the paperwork, and we were on our way. Very pleasant.

thank you for your answer I hope is the same with me :)

UK, the only country in EEA, does not allow pets to travel by air in the same aircraft as their owners; however, you can easily drive in in your car by either train or sea. DEFRA statistics show numbers of pets entering the UK in the last 1.5 years by use of the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS): Air - 25,077; Sea - 122,079; Rail - 94,638. The excuse they make for that is that ferries and trains do not generally have a cargo facility. Guess why only less that 1 out of every 10 pet owners send their pet by cargo air? Sending your pet by cargo means, you part with your beloved pet for like 3-5 days, are you able to explain to your pet why they need to spend all that time in a cage? Moreover, air cargo way is like 5 times in price of your own ticket. To me it looks like the UK requirement that pets enter the UK as 'manifest cargo' is more of an exception than a rule and, more importantly, is civilised cruelty to animals and discriminative against people with lower income, unnecessary restricts travel for pet owners, who would love to spend their holidays abroad with their loved ones. Do you agree with me?

troyss in Los Angeles, California said: what have you seen happen? I have a 6lb chiuaua who must fly cargo to south africa , i think it could be traumatic for her. some people say little dogs travel in cargo all the time others say dont do it, the humane society does not advocate them traveling and rather to find the pet a good home instead. some say the cargo air is controlled and some say not. is there any airline that is more pet friendly and has a better trac record of safety for pet traveling on their planes?

I travelled with my pets in the cargo hold which is heated and pressurised from UK to USA - The pets who are 9 and 10 years old were fine - I travelled with American airlines who were excellent but now that I want to take them back home I am experiencing all sorts of problems and the prices I am being quoted seem very expensive

I travelled my 3 pets like checked baggage from Argentina to Us, is like 11 hours flight with United, they have the same oxygen like we passengers have, they arrive ok of course one way trip they were stressed and nervious for a few days I only recommend if you have no choice , but Im so glad my dogs are with me now I missed them so much.

two elderly cats from Madrid Spain to Philly or Newark. Any comments on Continental?? Or any alternative airlines?? Would prefer cabin to cargo ....

Here's my experience flying internationally with a dog checked as cargo during hot summer months:

In July 2005, I traveled with my dog from Frankfurt, Germany to Atlanta, US. Because July is a hot summer month (airlines have pet traveling restrictions for hot summer months) the pet travel agency I worked with advised me to "ship" my Border Collie as Cargo. That's what we did. I was flying Delta and my dog was booked for the Lufthansa flight that left 30 minutes prior to my flight. I arrived in Atlanta and it took me almost an hour to make my way to Delta Cargo (located on opposite side of airport). My dog was doing fine, she was in her kennel but it was very hot in the cargo hall and I don't know how long she'd been waiting there. I let her out of her kennel and she ran behind the next bush to do her thing. Overall, she did fine but the flight and heat were stressful for her. I wouldn't do it again. I would not fly during the summer months and not as cargo.

On another note, does anyone have experience flying internationally with two cats? I'm flying Delta Atlanta - Stuttgart, Germany and back.

I am living in Madrid, but returning to Chicago for the holidays and in hopes to bring my Weimaraner back with me to Madrid. I am on AA and have a direct flight from Chicago to Madrid. I am hoping to bring my dog on the plane / in the cabin for the flight as a "therapy dog." I am not willing to fly him in cargo. Can someone provide the details of the doctor's letter needed and the pet passport information? Thank you!!