San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
 

Hello All,

I finally got my settlement Visa approved.... thanks to those of you who helped me sort out my confusion over the Biometric screening!

Now we are ready to book our flights between Aug 11 to Sep 10 2016. We have a 20 pound terrier mix rescue dog that we want to bring with us. We checked with Delta, (Virgin Atlantic?) and they are saying they don't allow dogs! Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way for us to bring our dog with us? We know it is fairly easy to get her to the east coast USA, but we just don't know the best way to get her into the UK, whether it be Manchester or London. We would appreciate any advise anyone has to offer.

Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
 

You could try Air New Zealand who fly San Francisco to LHR

Excellent airline and do take pets in cargo. None will take them in the cabin on long haul unless a guide dog etc as far as i am aware

London better for clearance than manchester in my experience

Have just returned to uk from new zealand

Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
 

You cannot take a pet into the UK travelling in the cabin of a plane...UK authorities (DEFRA) do not allow it. In any case airlines that allow pets when travelling in the cabin to other destinations usually have a 10 to 15 lb weight limit. Pets travelling to the UK must travel on an airline and a route specified by DEFRA...and must be carried in the hold unless it is a service animal.

You must also have the relevant paperwork from your vet...i.e. Rabies shots, health check etc. Take a look at the DEFRA website for information. You could also use our search function to search for past threads on this subject...there have been many. Also take a look in the BE Wiki.

Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
 

:confused: .... I think the first one you meant "in the cabin", and your second sentence (which I did not quote) is therefore missing "when flying to other countries"

Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
 

Thank you sir. :)

Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
 

The Air new zealand mentioned sounds a good option. There is some more information on this link :Travelling with pets | Special Assistance | British Airways

On airlines,you need a regulation carrier of the right size for the dog, depending on its size. This is strictly applied.

As your travel date is close you might need assistance from a pet travel company. I found this one in the USA
Animal Land - Pet Movers Call 1-877-379-8625

This may be a useful blog/forum for information
International pet travel | Pet Travel Blog

It's always a worry travelling with pets! Good Luck...

Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
 

Thank you all for giving me somewhere to start! I'll keep you posted on how LuLu's travel plans work out.
Cheers!

Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
 

The company who flew our Animals from Calgary to Manchester were called AirPets/PetsOnJets

Dealt with everything really well, although it was bloody expensive due to all the DEFRA regs requiring the specific route and use of the agent etc

Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
 

In the near future I will be moving back to the UK with my cat, and so far have understood that some transatlantic airlines (Air France, Luftansa among others) DO allow animals to travel in the cabin, in the required type of container under the seat in front of you, so long as pet plus container weigh less than 18 lbs. Now the posts above are worrying me and I see I will have to call the various airleines to check.

The other parts I have established are that the pet has to have a microchip to establish identity and thus void quarantine, and it has to be an ISO microchip rather than one of the older types, so that it can be read by current equipment. Rabies vaccine has to be administered AFTER the microchip implantation, and rabies certificates have to match the identity on the chip. All this has to happen at least 21 days before the trip.

The pet also needs an international veterinary certificate, and as far as I can make out that needs to be issued by a USA-certified vet, and has to be stamped by the USDA (so tim for that has to be factored in).

As far as I understand it, and I would love it if someone could confirm this, we don't have to get a rabies titer blood test travelling form the US to the UK, as the US is a listed country. But if we do, there are also rigid time constraints on that.

Also the USDA is putting out new regulations and forms on September 1 this year, and I don't yet know what the changes are.

If I may gripe for a moment, it used to be possible to walk into the British Consulate n New York City and ask questions of a very nice lady behind a window. Now walk-ins are not permitted, and it seems that appointments are only possible for two issues, neither of which is moving pets or moving myself back to the UK. So far I have been unable to get a human being on the phone--just one of those bottomless automatic phone systems.

I will post again when and if I find an airline that takes pets in the cabin, but first I have to finish sorting moving money back.

Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
 

In the second paragraph I meant avoid quarantine rather than void quarantine. Sorry!

Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
 

Your pet cannot fly into the UK in the cabin...no matter what airline or route. This has nothing to do with the airline...it is DEFRA who stipulate the rules.

Those airlines may fly pets in the cabin to countries other than the UK...but to fly to the UK they must be in the hold of the plane.

There have been lots of threads on the subject of what is required before your pet embarks on the journey. If you search using BE's search engine you should locate them...also look in the UK section of the BE Wiki.

Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
 

I was worried enough to call Air France immediately. They do take pets in the cabin. You have to book your ticket first before they will put through the pet request (which I guess means you have to get a refundable ticket in case it doesn't work out--there's a limit on the number of pets on a flight, it's somewhere between one and four). JFK to London the pet costs $200.00. The recommended carrier size is 45 cm L x 24 cm W x 28 cm H, and the weight limit 8 kilos, that's for carrier and pet combined.

Single tickets are more expensive than returns, and they don't do open returns.

I found lots of info on all this on pet travel.com, including I think the list of possible airlines..

Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
 

Perhaps you could post a link to the information stating that pets can be flown from the US to the UK in the cabin please. Of course that is apart from Assistance animals. If your info is correct it would be very useful to our members.

I know several airlines...including AF...transport small pets in the cabin on certain flights. Below is a list of airline/routes from the UK Government website...there is a list of airlines who take pets in the cabin...I can't see Air France on that list. The airlines on the list are likely private charter.

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...for-pet-travel

Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
 

I looked through the forum for other threads and came across another post of yours from May this year under Cats in Cabin. I quote

"You are correct DEFRA governs pets entering the UK...not leaving.

Whether small pets can be taken onboard depends on the airline and the destination country. I think Air France, KLM and United allow small pets in the cabin. The OP said cats...normally it's one animal per person and there is usually a limit per flight. Each airline may have different requirements regarding weight (usually around 10-15lbs), size of carrier etc. The carrier must be able to fit under the seat in front."

So we have a lot of conflicting information. I looked up DEFRA and found a helpline for the Pet Travel Scheme. But they just sent an automatic reply when I emailed them.

So I plan to call them tomorrow and see if I can get anywhere. The number is 0370 2411 710. Open M-F, 8 am to 6 pm UK time. Hopefully it won't be completely automated.

Part of the gov.uk site on approved routes has section being updated and so unavailable, it may be the travel in cabin part as the later section that I believe you have the link for, above, does indeed seem to be for private charters--they're all companies I never heard of.

Praying we'll get to the bottom of this--urgently needed for maxycat! I can't imagine putting him in the hold. Or paying a fortune for a pet travel company.

Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
 

No conflicting information...my post that you quoted referred to pets being flown out of the U.K...not into the UK. That has nothing whatsoever to do with pets flying into the UK.

Pets (other than assistance animals) flying into the UK are not allowed to travel in the cabin of the plane. They must be transported in the hold. It must also be on a DEFRA designated airline and route.

If you find official DEFRA information saying otherwise...please post a link in this thread.