TruBrit

tara, tks for your update and email which i will reply to soon

katesbackagain

Yay, Tara!!

Great to see that you made it back, and your babies are okay!

That's one thing I've also noticed about Virgin, they go out of their way to make sure the passenger is happy, and that's why I'll be flying with them when I go back. Nice to know that they look after our furry loved ones as much as they look after us.

TaraC

Hi Kate:

I can't recommend Virgin enough - they were terrific, and if I ever need to do this again (as if!!!!), i would definitely use them.

Well, first half of the first day's orientation is over, and I'm now officially terrified but exhilirated at the work I'll be doing this year. I did want to check in and say hi to everyone, but now it's back to the grindstone! It's raining today, and I don't care a bit. Just beaming from ear to ear - people must think I'm a right twit.

Hope everyone else's plans -- including yours, kate, are going well.

Tara

dunroving

Couple of things re: pet transport. First, definitely do a search when you have an hour or two to spare and read all the threads on transporting pets. There is a lot of useful information, especially on the tricky parts.

Second, unfortunately it's not much cheaper than quarantine used to be (I know, I have done it twice, once when quarantine was required, and once since PETS was introduced). Back then, you could fly your animal as excess baggage if he/she was on the same plane as you, cost about $100. Now, you have to fly them cargo class (required by PETS regulations), which for me was $1,800 I believe (medium-sized Labrador), plus of course all the vet stuff, jabs, titre test, etc., costs several hundred dollars. Not trying to burst your balloon just saying be prepared for a surprise. Of course, keeping your animals out of quarantine is "priceless" as the advert goes!

Also, I think the temperature/season restrictions are not about the temperature in the hold (which is climate-controlled) so much as the temperature on the runway (if there's a delay, the poor moggie gets very cold or hot, depending on the time of year). I flew out of DC in mid-July and it was about 98 degrees outside, but the BA rep said don't worry, we put the dog on at the last minute so she's not waiting around outside. BA were very good (all THREE times my dog has crossed the Atlantic!)

Marmalade

$1,800 - wow, why is it so much?? I will definitely have to find out how much each of my 9lb cats is going to cost me. That price for your dog sounds outrageous. Can anyone else enlighten me about the price to ship a cat across the ocean - US to UK? Of course I will do my own homework too.

Jerseygirl

TaraC returned to the UK with her pussies a few days ago...why don't you drop her a PM?

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=482078

Marmalade

Thanks Jerseygirl, I will send her a private message. Thanks again.

katesbackagain

Don't know if this helps, but I called Virgin a couple of months ago, and they gave me an estimate of around $900 for my pup to fly in cargo. She's a Min Pin and shouldn't be any heavier than 10 lbs when we fly. The quote included crate weight and all costs, including the portion at the other end. (Apparently I have to pay 250 gbp handling costs when I get there, not sure why it can't all be paid at once, but ah well. Tara, do you remember paying that?)

TaraC

Hi. Sorry it's been a while, but I still don't have internet (or phone) service in my flat so have to find an internet cafe (course, that's not so bad as I'm having a very nice, very large cappucino as I type). I did have to pay the 250 GBP, in cash. I think it's an airline handling fee. It's a bit steep (see, I'm already getting the hang of the British understatement thing), but as long as I had the cats at the end, it was ok. Marmalade: I did send you a PM about the cost, but to recap, the flight was $711 for two cats, with the 250 GBP at the other end. My one cat is quite large and so needed a bigger crate, which is why it was the higher price. When I thought I was using the smaller crate for both, it was around $500 with the 250GBP. Be careful with crates as well. I bought one and then had to send it back once my bigger cat actually got in it. The airlines are very picky about size. If you know who you're flying, send them the dimensions of the crates and they'll be able to get you a better quote. Mine was pretty spot on -- although I forgot to mention that the cargo guy came up with a figure that was about $100 more. I protested, showed him the original quote, and he redid the figures, shaving off a few inches here and there until it was about $12 more than the original quote. Interesting that!

Hope this helps.

P.S. I'm starting to understand Dunroving's frustration with BT. 8 hours on hold to date and still no phone service!!!!!!!

Marmalade

Hi Tara,
Glad to hear you are enjoying being back home. Thanks for the pet transportation information; very much appreciated. I will check my PM and PM you back. Thanks. Also, thank you everyone for your helpful information. What a great forum this is.

dunroving

Thanks for the update, keep persisting. I'm also going through customer service hell with my house insurance, after a leak caused damage to the kitchen. THREE MONTHS (and a paper trail of no less than 17 phone calls) later and it still hasn't been repaired. I am sick and tired of letters and phone messages that make it seem as if I have never had any communication with the company. Every call, I get a new person, who always assures me that he/she will take care of the latest hiccup in the process - and then days later I'll get a call saying "Hi Mr XXX this is Phill from XXX, we were just wondering when the loss adjuster can come around and take a look at the damage+ - grrrr, the loss adjuster was here 2 months ago!!! :curse:

TaraC

That's what's so frustrating. Every time i reach someone, they're really really nice and assure me it will all be fine, and then I hear nothing! Oh well, hopefully soon. I'll keep plugging. In the mean time, I'm getting quite addicted to Costa coffee.