San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
Aug 23rd 2016, 12:48 am
#16
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Posts: 38,613
Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
I know your lad is of a certain age , just like my Ty, but he will likely do fine in the hold y'know, should it come to that.
Perhaps have a chat with a pet carrier. Not so much to engage their services but to talk through your concerns.
Golden Arrow in the UK have a great rep and are very helpful. Yes. I know they are in the UK but they transport pets all the time.
When we emigrated to NZ our two cats had two long haul flights to contend with & had to fly in the hold. Both breezed it.
Aug 23rd 2016, 12:55 am
#18
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Posts: 38,613
Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
Back to add.
It's my belief that a pet cannot travel into the UK in the cabin of a commercial flight. They have to travel in the hold as 'cargo' with their docs etc & then be cleared with DEFRA. We have the same here in NZ.
However, I think you might be able to travel into France with your pet in the cabin & then you drive with your pet into the UK & then clear DEFRA.
I checked and the San Fran to UK flight is very long haul as ten hours. Obviously you know your cat better than anyone else on the planet, but for this length of time he may well do better in the quiet environment of the hold.
It's my belief that a pet cannot travel into the UK in the cabin of a commercial flight. They have to travel in the hold as 'cargo' with their docs etc & then be cleared with DEFRA. We have the same here in NZ.
However, I think you might be able to travel into France with your pet in the cabin & then you drive with your pet into the UK & then clear DEFRA.
I checked and the San Fran to UK flight is very long haul as ten hours. Obviously you know your cat better than anyone else on the planet, but for this length of time he may well do better in the quiet environment of the hold.
Aug 23rd 2016, 1:01 am
#19
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 88,022
Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
Back to add.
It's my belief that a pet cannot travel into the UK in the cabin of a commercial flight. They have to travel in the hold as 'cargo' with their docs etc & then be cleared with DEFRA. We have the same here in NZ.
However, I think you might be able to travel into France with your pet in the cabin & then you drive with your pet into the UK & then clear DEFRA.
I checked and the San Fran to UK flight is very long haul as ten hours. Obviously you know your cat better than anyone else on the planet, but for this length of time he may well do better in the quiet environment of the hold.
It's my belief that a pet cannot travel into the UK in the cabin of a commercial flight. They have to travel in the hold as 'cargo' with their docs etc & then be cleared with DEFRA. We have the same here in NZ.
However, I think you might be able to travel into France with your pet in the cabin & then you drive with your pet into the UK & then clear DEFRA.
I checked and the San Fran to UK flight is very long haul as ten hours. Obviously you know your cat better than anyone else on the planet, but for this length of time he may well do better in the quiet environment of the hold.
Actually I would sail on the QM2 from NYC to Southampton...using Cunard's kennels.
Last edited by Jerseygirl; Aug 23rd 2016 at 1:04 am.
Aug 23rd 2016, 6:19 am
#20
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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.
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.
The Man in Seat Sixty-One - the train travel guide...
there is taxi company in dover that will drive over and pick someone one.
I would get your cat chippped asap, then the rabies injection. Also get a ' pet passport' from vet. usually you cannot travel before that takes effect. About a week before travel a vet has to administer worming/ de fleeing treatment which is all noted in the 'pet passport'. There is more information here:
https://www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad/overview about bringing pets into UK.
and: http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/cargo/l...ges/index.aspx
If you are in the US you may find it easier to use a pet carrier service, as the paperwork and trying to deal direct with airline freight depts is very trying and stressful along with the worry about your cat.
On balance it may be less stressful for you cat to be flown straight into Heathrow where they have a good animal reception centre. Animals are put in a section in the hold that is specially pressured for them. The other useful thing to do now is to get the regulation carrier and habituate your cat to it, leaving it out, maybe putting food into it. you can put a familiar cloth/cushion in when your cat travels in it.
Found this thread on another forum re Cat NY to UK
Flying with cat / pet (from New York) to London England - FlyerTalk Forums
There is some pet carriers here.
Pet Travel - Moving Pets to United Kingdom
Pet Shipping Services | Pet Transportation & Relocation | Pet Air Carrier
Air Paws | Pet Relocation and Pet Export
About Us
AirPets - Import and Export Pets Worldwide
Aug 23rd 2016, 12:40 pm
#21
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Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 40
Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
My first intention was to do the QM2 with Maxy in the kennels, but apparently all kennels sell out the very first day they go on sale in April each year, so it's very hard to nab one.
I'm about to call the Pet Travel Scheme helpline and see if I get anywhere with that.
Thank you everyone for these very useful posts! I'll be back.
I'm about to call the Pet Travel Scheme helpline and see if I get anywhere with that.
Thank you everyone for these very useful posts! I'll be back.
Aug 23rd 2016, 12:48 pm
#22
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Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 526
Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
My first intention was to do the QM2 with Maxy in the kennels, but apparently all kennels sell out the very first day they go on sale in April each year, so it's very hard to nab one.
I'm about to call the Pet Travel Scheme helpline and see if I get anywhere with that.
Thank you everyone for these very useful posts! I'll be back.
I'm about to call the Pet Travel Scheme helpline and see if I get anywhere with that.
Thank you everyone for these very useful posts! I'll be back.
I recommend you read the link from the 'flying with cat/pet forum' that I put in my post.
again here: Flying with cat / pet (from New York) to London England - FlyerTalk Forums
The guy goes into great detail about his cat travelling from NY to London heathrow and all the vet/paper requirements. He found virgin atlantic the most helpful... and did it direct.
Aug 23rd 2016, 1:10 pm
#23
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 88,022
Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
My first intention was to do the QM2 with Maxy in the kennels, but apparently all kennels sell out the very first day they go on sale in April each year, so it's very hard to nab one.
I'm about to call the Pet Travel Scheme helpline and see if I get anywhere with that.
Thank you everyone for these very useful posts! I'll be back.
I'm about to call the Pet Travel Scheme helpline and see if I get anywhere with that.
Thank you everyone for these very useful posts! I'll be back.
During our May crossing there was an old lady dripping from head to foot in Channel...she must have been in her 80's. She had a butler dressed in a red uniform walk behind her...carrying her tiny white dog on a red velvet cushion throughout the cruise.
Last edited by Jerseygirl; Aug 23rd 2016 at 1:13 pm.
Aug 23rd 2016, 1:13 pm
#24
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Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 40
Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
Thank you Angie for that link, lots of good info in it.
Overall though I am now more confused than ever. I just called the Pet Travel Scheme helpline, listed on the gov.uk website, I believe it is part of DEFRA but would have to retrace my steps to be sure of that.
A live person answered the phone! Astonishing. She said it's up to the airlines. Some of them have applied and received permission to carry pets in the cabin. The reason not all airlines like to do this is that the travellers have to wait on the plane, sometimes up to a couple of hours, at the destination until someone from the appropriate authority (didn't write the name down) comes on board, escorts them off and examines the animal.
I'm wondering if the laws have changed in the last couple of years as many of these posts come from 2012 and shortly thereafter when the quarantine laws changed. Thinking back, my first inkling that pets could fly in the cabin may have been from a newspaper article. It's only recently that people have started flying pets a lot so regulations and behaviours may be changing too.
The person I talked to at Pet Travel Scheme was Kathy and the phone number there is 0370 241 1710.
Overall though I am now more confused than ever. I just called the Pet Travel Scheme helpline, listed on the gov.uk website, I believe it is part of DEFRA but would have to retrace my steps to be sure of that.
A live person answered the phone! Astonishing. She said it's up to the airlines. Some of them have applied and received permission to carry pets in the cabin. The reason not all airlines like to do this is that the travellers have to wait on the plane, sometimes up to a couple of hours, at the destination until someone from the appropriate authority (didn't write the name down) comes on board, escorts them off and examines the animal.
I'm wondering if the laws have changed in the last couple of years as many of these posts come from 2012 and shortly thereafter when the quarantine laws changed. Thinking back, my first inkling that pets could fly in the cabin may have been from a newspaper article. It's only recently that people have started flying pets a lot so regulations and behaviours may be changing too.
The person I talked to at Pet Travel Scheme was Kathy and the phone number there is 0370 241 1710.
Aug 23rd 2016, 2:10 pm
#25
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Posts: 40
Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
I now aspire to being an old lady with a butler, sounds wonderful. Maxy thinks he's a dog so he may go for being paraded on a cushion. I'd skip the Chanel though--allergies.
Aug 23rd 2016, 2:32 pm
#26
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Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 526
Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
Thank you Angie for that link, lots of good info in it.
Overall though I am now more confused than ever. I just called the Pet Travel Scheme helpline, listed on the gov.uk website, I believe it is part of DEFRA but would have to retrace my steps to be sure of that.
A live person answered the phone! Astonishing. She said it's up to the airlines. Some of them have applied and received permission to carry pets in the cabin. The reason not all airlines like to do this is that the travellers have to wait on the plane, sometimes up to a couple of hours, at the destination until someone from the appropriate authority (didn't write the name down) comes on board, escorts them off and examines the animal.
I'm wondering if the laws have changed in the last couple of years as many of these posts come from 2012 and shortly thereafter when the quarantine laws changed. Thinking back, my first inkling that pets could fly in the cabin may have been from a newspaper article. It's only recently that people have started flying pets a lot so regulations and behaviours may be changing too.
The person I talked to at Pet Travel Scheme was Kathy and the phone number there is 0370 241 1710.
Overall though I am now more confused than ever. I just called the Pet Travel Scheme helpline, listed on the gov.uk website, I believe it is part of DEFRA but would have to retrace my steps to be sure of that.
A live person answered the phone! Astonishing. She said it's up to the airlines. Some of them have applied and received permission to carry pets in the cabin. The reason not all airlines like to do this is that the travellers have to wait on the plane, sometimes up to a couple of hours, at the destination until someone from the appropriate authority (didn't write the name down) comes on board, escorts them off and examines the animal.
I'm wondering if the laws have changed in the last couple of years as many of these posts come from 2012 and shortly thereafter when the quarantine laws changed. Thinking back, my first inkling that pets could fly in the cabin may have been from a newspaper article. It's only recently that people have started flying pets a lot so regulations and behaviours may be changing too.
The person I talked to at Pet Travel Scheme was Kathy and the phone number there is 0370 241 1710.
If you read the Gov uk site it says entering the UK not in cabin, possibly only assistance dogs...https://www.gov.uk/take-pet-abroad/overview
I am 99 per cent sure you cannot fly pets into the UK in the cabin due to regs not whether airlines will or won't . Did Kathy say that you could ?
Aug 23rd 2016, 3:28 pm
#27
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Posts: 40
Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
Kathy said that it was up to the airlines. There were not government restrictions.
But in the meantime I have checked the websites of Lufthansa, United, American, Continental, US Airways and Delta (all of whom I have found listed on other sites like Pettravel.com as carrying pets in the cabin) and they all say restrictions apply to the UK. The Air France website says additional sanitary rules apply. When I called them, they said they do fly pets in the cabin to the UK (though I will check that yet again) but they would take 48 hours after I booked my ticket to let me know if it would be possible to take Maxy. Which is kinda useless. She didn't answer me when I said I would then have to be sure to buy myself a refundable ticket.
I am beginning to think that the airlines do not want to be held up waiting for the inspector that the UK mandates must escort any animal off the plane. So perhaps Kathy is correct in saying it is up to the airlines, but the airlines will carry pets in the cabin only to places that do not have such strict rabies protections. But you have to search and search to find that info!
So after hours of research, I now believe Jerseygirl is indeed correct and up-to-date. The UK is its own kettle of fish. I think we may fly Virgin as originally intended with Maxy in the hold. I'll have to sit with that a while and see if I feel okay about it. He's not young! And he may find it very worrying unless his curiosity is sparked.
But in the meantime I have checked the websites of Lufthansa, United, American, Continental, US Airways and Delta (all of whom I have found listed on other sites like Pettravel.com as carrying pets in the cabin) and they all say restrictions apply to the UK. The Air France website says additional sanitary rules apply. When I called them, they said they do fly pets in the cabin to the UK (though I will check that yet again) but they would take 48 hours after I booked my ticket to let me know if it would be possible to take Maxy. Which is kinda useless. She didn't answer me when I said I would then have to be sure to buy myself a refundable ticket.
I am beginning to think that the airlines do not want to be held up waiting for the inspector that the UK mandates must escort any animal off the plane. So perhaps Kathy is correct in saying it is up to the airlines, but the airlines will carry pets in the cabin only to places that do not have such strict rabies protections. But you have to search and search to find that info!
So after hours of research, I now believe Jerseygirl is indeed correct and up-to-date. The UK is its own kettle of fish. I think we may fly Virgin as originally intended with Maxy in the hold. I'll have to sit with that a while and see if I feel okay about it. He's not young! And he may find it very worrying unless his curiosity is sparked.
Aug 23rd 2016, 3:34 pm
#28
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Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
MiniMax. Sorry but I think you are grasping at straws. The airlines and travel companies can say what they like...it is a UK government restriction. Read the DEFRA website. Saying some pets on some airlines does not mean all pets are allowed to travel to the UK in the cabin.
If you do so I am pretty sure your pet will go straight into UK quarantine.
Edit: Sorry I see you posted while I was typing the above. I understand how you feel. I have a small dog and don't really like the thought of her being way from me while travelling. As Mr P said...it is more of traumatic for the owners than the pets.
All the best. Please come back and let us know how the trip went.
If you do so I am pretty sure your pet will go straight into UK quarantine.
Edit: Sorry I see you posted while I was typing the above. I understand how you feel. I have a small dog and don't really like the thought of her being way from me while travelling. As Mr P said...it is more of traumatic for the owners than the pets.
All the best. Please come back and let us know how the trip went.
Last edited by Jerseygirl; Aug 23rd 2016 at 3:40 pm.
Aug 23rd 2016, 5:47 pm
#29
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Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 40
Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
I'll stock up on anxiety pills for me. I still have time before all this happens--don't have a closing date for my apartment sale yet. So it's a couple of months off. Time to calm down and get anxious all over again! And plan!
Thank you so much. You have saved little Maxy's butt.
Thank you so much. You have saved little Maxy's butt.
Aug 23rd 2016, 5:54 pm
#30
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Re: San Francisco to Manchester with Dog
I'll stock up on anxiety pills for me. I still have time before all this happens--don't have a closing date for my apartment sale yet. So it's a couple of months off. Time to calm down and get anxious all over again! And plan!
Thank you so much. You have saved little Maxy's butt.
Thank you so much. You have saved little Maxy's butt.
We are going on a cruise tomorrow...so I am about to drop my little girl at kennels. She loves it there and I can watch her on their webcam playing and swimming with the other dogs. She only weighs 4lbs but loves running with the big dogs...70lbs+.
The staff love her and she has a ball of a time...so why do I feel gutted today? 
Park9 - A Canine Resort Experience
Last edited by Jerseygirl; Aug 23rd 2016 at 5:56 pm.