I am beginning to make lists of everything I need to do and to start to budget for all the expenses. My biggest cost will be transporting the four pets. How much do I need to budget "for each pet" (two cats and two small dogs) for:

- Microchip and vaccinations
- Tapeworm treatment
- DEFRA paperwork completion
- Having a USDA individual sign off on it all

VERY interested in this topic! And really, no counsel to give except that I found that Air Canada will fly us from Montreal to London direct on a plane that allows for pets in cargo, and it's $270 per pet... so does that help?

I have no idea on the rest.

This seems way too cheap to me. Are you sure about this price?
I just took a look at the Air Canada site and I think that you may be confusing flying your pets as baggage with flying them as manifest cargo which they have to do to enter the UK direct.
Take a look at the restrictions to "flying your pets in the baggage compartment"
http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelin...gulations.html

I just called Air France and I can fly my two cats in one carrier and the two dogs in another carrier and fly each carrier for $200 each. It used to be that only siblings could be in the same carrier but they have changed it, so that if the pets get along, this can be done.

This is for flying them as cargo after September 15, when the summer months have ended.

I know they fly direct from my town into Heathrow but I forgot to ask about Edinburgh Airport. I need to call back.

But that is cargo... my husband tells me that they ship cargo in the passenger planes (he's in logistics/transportation) - I doubt they have planes going over with just boxes and dogs?? Those links just say that the rules have to be followed.

Obviously we're not done research on this matter, eh? S'okay, 16 months to go... http://pondhopper2014.wordpress.com has my countdown...

Hmm... I agree with Larrabee: those prices sound too good to be true for flying into the UK. They would be more credible for flying into Europe.

It cost us something like 200E ($260) per cat to fly central Europe to west coast US; then it cost about $750 per cat to fly west coast US to UK. I called every airline that flew direct LAX-LHR and that was the best offer.

Obviously you do have the right info, as that would be a great bargain, but you might want to consider these points:

- Did the representative you spoke to confuse flying animals as manifest cargo and flying them in the cargo hold? They're not the same thing. Well, essentially they are (the pet is in the same place!), but manifest cargo costs a lot more and you usually have to deal with the cargo department of the airline.

Pets arriving in the UK have to come via manifest cargo. A customer services rep should, but might not, know this. I'd recommend calling the cargo division. You usually can't go through the regular ticketing channels for transporting pets to the UK. With BA, we had to deal with BA World Cargo. With, for example, Air France, you might need to speak to someone at Air France KLM Cargo.

- Does the price include inspection fees at the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre (or wherever applicable)? Some quotes we got didn't, and I think (off the top of my head) that was a fee of several hundred pounds. With BA it was included.

- Is the airline on the Defra list of approved carriers to your UK destination? From the current list, for example, Air France KLM Cargo is only approved to fly pets into Edinburgh, so any price quote they gave you for flying into Heathrow is meaningless.

- Can you definitely fly two animals per carrier into the UK? The airline may approve it in general, but different countries have varying regulations about this. I don't actually know for sure, but you might want to contact Defra or the Heathrow ARC to double-check. The latter, in particular, are very helpful.

Again, it would be fantastic if the quotes you've been given are accurate, but you don't want to budget $xx then find out later it's more like $xxxx!

Hope it all goes well.

It is flying them over in the same plane as I would be flying in only they would be in the hold/cargo. (I assume the hold and cargo is the same thing.)

I've cross-posted, but technically speaking your husband is right: whether the pets are classed as excess/outsize baggage flying cargo, or manifest cargo, they'll be going in the same place: the heated and climate-controlled cargo hold of a passenger aircraft.

Unfortunately, though, it'll cost a lot more for them to come classed as manifest cargo... and it's obligatory for animals arriving in the UK.

Don't ask me why! I think it's connected to the UK's history of very stringent animal import rules, which always have been a b*gger for airlines to deal with, so they delegate it all to their cargo divisions (who deal with manifest cargo) rather than regular ticketing routes (who deal with passengers' regular/excess/outsize baggage).

This is different from what Air France told me. They had no problem flying them into Heathrow for $200 per carrier in the hold. I need to call back and check again.

What is the difference between air conditioned cargo and manifest cargo?

I just had all 4 of mine chipped and rabies vaccinated and each one cost me on average $110.00 I got a tiny discount because I had 4 pets.

The tapeworm for the dog I assume will be in the region of about $50. Cats are not required to have it done.

DEFRA paperwork I'm thinking is the health cert that has to be completed by the vet and therefore you'll likely pay whatever his rate for examining the animals and confirming them fit to travel is. Probably in my vets case around $50 per animal so $200 there

USDA endorsement is $38 I believe, again not sure if they give one endorsement for all 4 or treat them individually.

Then the cost of the carriers ( BA won't allow any of them to share) I'm expecting between $70-$100 for each of them and then according to Virgin there'll be a tax? upon arrival into Heathrow of approx £490.00

Flights with BA will cost $2300 for all 4

Total is close to $4000 !!

'Manifest cargo' is simply a label. It means whatever is being shipped is being dealt with by the cargo/shipping/freight division of the airline. For whatever reason (in this case, UK regulations), the item/animal travelling cannot be added to the passenger's booking like an extra suitcase, so it has to come as 'manifest cargo'.

'Air-conditioned cargo' is relating to the place in the cargo hold where they keep animals. I don't know if it's actually air-conditioned; usually they call it the 'pressurized and climate-controlled' section of the cargo hold. This means that the animals won't suffer extreme cold or heat in transit, and the air will be breathable... just as it is for the human passengers!

If your pet can't fly in the cabin with the passengers (which is, again, prohibited for pets entering the UK) then it has to go in this pet-friendly section of the cargo hold. For entering the UK, it must be processed as 'manifest cargo'. For entering the EU, it can usually be processed similar to an extra suitcase: i.e. added to your own flight booking for a reasonable fee. Different label, different price, same journey experience for your pet.

(This is why a lot of people fly into Paris and take their pets on Eurostar: even with the extra train journey, it's cheaper than flying directly into the UK.)

Hefty tax!! Is that 490 pounds PER animal?

This must be the tax that some escape by flying them into Paris and then driving through to the UK.

I don't know if it is a tax, it was mentioned as a charge that will have to be paid when they're collected in Heathrow so it could be more like some kind of inspection fee? But anyway it's a one off and not for each animal.

Hopefully, if you're flying BA, this tax/fee will already be included in the price. I remember Virgin quoted me the pet flight cost PLUS the entry fee/tax separately, and BA just quoted us the flight cost and claimed the fee/tax was included. I was a bit skeptical, as that made BA a much better deal than Virgin... but there were no nasty surprises on arrival and as promised I didn't have to shell out any more!

you have this experience!

Air France quoted only $200 per pet carrier/cab in the hold of the plane, so I am wondering what those who flew into Europe were aiming to save by doing it that way. You can't get much cheaper than $200 and that's going straight into the UK.

PS: Just reading all the above again. I wonder if she quoted regular cargo and not manifest cargo. It's ridiculous that manifest should cost a whole lot more when they are in the same area of the hold.