Pet shipping nightmare! BA say 'Too hot to fly'
 

So there I am calling BA cargo asking them how much for my pets to be shipped back on the flight I intend to book for this coming August and bombshell. They won't be flying pets again until summer is over which according to them will be on September 15th or any day where the temp is below 85f.

So where does this leave us?!?! I am going to contact AA and see if they have the same rule. Surely the area the animals are in is temp controlled?? It reaches something like minus 37 when you are flying so in my book all the animals in the hold would be dead at that point would they not? Anyone else know anything about heat restrictions on flying pets?

Re: Pet shipping nightmare! BA say 'Too hot to fly'
 

That is ridiculous! We flew our dog back from Australia on Qantas. If that rule was applied there pets flights would be cancelled all the time!
As you say the hold gets very very cold and they have to be heated for animals anyway. As soon as the plane is above the clouds it wont matter a jot how hot it is on the ground.
I would challenge it if i were you, or, as you say try another airline

Re: Pet shipping nightmare! BA say 'Too hot to fly'
 

They have done this before - Westjet in Canada also have hot/cold weather restrictions on animal carrying flights. One of the pilot bods might explain exactly why.

Re: Pet shipping nightmare! BA say 'Too hot to fly'
 

It could be to do with the likely temperatures during any delay. Although the temp in the hold would be controlled during flight, once the pet is loaded into the hold if there is any delay due to late passengers etc then the heat could start to build up. Think what its like if you are stuck on a plane waiting to leave, gets quite hot as there is limited air con while on the ground.

Re: Pet shipping nightmare! BA say 'Too hot to fly'
 

Hi,
I have flown pets out of NZ. I found that Emirates are the best airline (this was after extensive research). Emirates flight EK406, take pets on a Friday night only. The airline pressurise the cargo hold to the passenger cabin and therefore the resultant temperature is neither too hot, nor cold.
The animals are put on the aircraft at the last possible minute in case of a delay on the ground.

I would also use the services of an organisation called 'Dogtainers' based in the airport vicinity. They will provide a cage, water and take care of all your paperwork.

Hope that helps.

Re: Pet shipping nightmare! BA say 'Too hot to fly'
 

I noticed on BA's website about pet shipping that many airports do have a ban on flying pets in the summer months. Could you consider a different airport..travelling to a non-restricted city? Check out their website, there is a list of airports and the restricted dates.

Re: Pet shipping nightmare! BA say 'Too hot to fly'
 

I think you will find the same applies to most airlines flying in and out of the US.


It's not ridiculous Fea...several dogs have been killed in the US during the summer months. If the plane is been delayed it gets too hot in the hold and a plane can be stood on the runway for hours before it takes off. Some airlines have an air conditioned compartment especially for pets which controls the temps...maybe Quantas have this because of the year round high temps in Aus.

Re: Pet shipping nightmare! BA say 'Too hot to fly'
 

Yes, i know what you are saying but it IS riduculous that they can accomodate millions of upon millions of people in that kind of heat but not animals going on their planes?? All they would have to do is leave the animals in an air conditioned area off the plane until shortly before take off!

Re: Pet shipping nightmare! BA say 'Too hot to fly'
 

I've just had a lightbulb moment! I am sure i saw a news artcile on Sky last week about a new airline in America just for pets. I will do a search.

Re: Pet shipping nightmare! BA say 'Too hot to fly'
 

Darn. I think it only operates inside Amercia at the moment. But maybe you could use it to transport the pet to a place that doesnt have heat restrictions

http://petairways.com/

Re: Pet shipping nightmare! BA say 'Too hot to fly'
 

I believe the temperature regulations are more to do with temperature on the tarmac than in the hold of the aeroplane. Some airports are so large that they can't have an animal cargo centre close to every terminal. It's the transport to the plane and sitting on the tarmac that can kill an animal.

Re: Pet shipping nightmare! BA say 'Too hot to fly'
 

Okay so now I am totally stunned. Just spoke to AA and they told me there has been a long standing embargo. Nutshell... no warm blooded animals may enter any UK airport from an AA flight!
So I guess BA is the only way but not until 15th September and then if the temp remains above 85f then there could be even more delay. We can not remain here until then because the kids have to start school and our rental contract would have begun a month earlier. It was so easy flying them in!!!!! Honestly I'm feeling so defeated over this. It was so easy to leave the UK but if I hit one more hurdle trying to get back in I think I'm going to throw a big baby tantrum!!! Arghhhhh..... okay, I feel better now :rofl:
Right, it looks as though I'm going to have to find out if there is a pet exporter/boarding kennel that can take them in for us and keep them until they can get on a BA flight, hopefully in Sept. Can wait to see the quote and I'm pretty sure it's way out of our budget.

Any recommendations for DFW area pet shippers are welcome :)

Re: Pet shipping nightmare! BA say 'Too hot to fly'
 

We ran into the same situation upon our move from UK to US (we moved in July) and I understand your frustration.

You don't say what breed of dogs you have - that actually does make a difference. Virgin will fly certain breeds of dog so you might check with them. As we had pugs (a brachycephalic breed) they wouldn't touch them.

We ended up coming over on the Queen Mary which was a wonderful alternative. However, they only have about 12 kennels on board and they do fill quickly so that might not be an option for you.

I did meet a woman here in TX who imported 2 pugs from Germany. She used Lufthansa and raved about their services. You might want to check with them as well.

Re: Pet shipping nightmare! BA say 'Too hot to fly'
 

When you moved to the US, how did you get your dogs from New York to Texas? We are thinking about the Queen Mary option, but the main thing that is putting us off is the fact that we still have to get our dog from Texas to New York.. Also someone on here was saying that April 2010 kennels on QM2 are already booked up; so if this is the case for May or June this may not be an option for us either...:(

Re: Pet shipping nightmare! BA say 'Too hot to fly'
 

Hang on a sec..........this is not unknown and we have warned people over and over again on this forum that summer months are no go with pets shipping out of the States to the UK.

The rule is not a ridiculous one, it's designed because the temperatures on the tarmac can soar during summer.

It's been 4 years since we shipped our dog and we were well aware of the rule as long ago as that..........now that being said.........I think.........note I said 'think'...there are some airports that may ship during the summer months. I just can't remember which ones do. It may be either Dallas/Ft Worth or maybe Newark that just possibly has air conditioned pet facilities. Check with BA and see if they can point you in the right direction......it could be possible to drive to one of those airports with your pet and depart from there. Also check with Virgin.