Uktous19

We are planning our move to Chicago: due to be end of February and including a labrador and a cat. All was progressing and we were about to book flights but were told on 23rd December that BA have stopped flying dogs into chicago .
Panic has ensued and we are trying to find another carrier but keep getting conflicting info.

Does anyone know why BA has suddenly changed their policy? Or if it's likely to reverse? Any light that can be shed would be really helpful.

Nutmegger

From the link below: Have you banned the carriage of dogs?
We take the responsibility of transporting and caring for animals travelling on our network extremely seriously. We are currently investigating a recent non-compliance incident where an incorrect container was used in the carriage of a dog. Whilst 0.07% of our canine bookings incur a container non-compliance, we expect every shipment to meet the high animal welfare standards we set. During this investigation we will not accept any new bookings for canine movements. Once the investigation is complete, we will revisit this decision and will update our customers directly. This does not affect current bookings and we will continue to accept other animal bookings.

BA Policy on Dogs

Uktous19

Thank you very much for that. And b*gger as no idea how long it will take for them to investigate.

Does anyone have recent experience of flying a medium/large size dog into chicago NOT with BA?

Winston_the_Great_Dane

robtuck

Virgin were excellent for our cat to Atlanta as well, and they fly Chicago direct.

Uktous19

Thank you. It's Pet Air I've been talking to and they have said Virgin isnt an option - which I don't really understand as thought Chicago was a huge hub. I will investigate more after new year's day - I can't believe that there won't be any dogs arriving from the UK to US

Bob

One other consideration, being a cold spot. A lot of carriers won't fly cat/dogs during the winter months.

Jerseygirl

I was just going to say the same. Airports that experience extreme hot and cold temps will not fly pets into or out of during those months. This is because in the past, pets have died when the plane has been stuck on the runway/gate for long periods of time due to delays.

scrubbedexpat091

It's a hub for United and American primarily.

So if your looking for a non-stop from London they would be your best bets if they accept live animals from London area airports.

Winter and summer months can have restrictions due to temp that vary by airline.

scrubbedexpat091

Varies by airline a bit but in general temps need to be in the 45F-85F range is typical range where animals can be safely transported, each airline though has their own policies.

steph0scope

Uktous19

Thanks everyone. Fingers crossed for a quick enquiry but the cynic in me thinks it will take ages. ARGH.

Nutmegger

Look at it this way: hopefully the review will ensure that when they do travel, your pets will arrive safely.

scottyvisa

We flew our Labrador with Delta, it was into Minneapolis-St Paul, but that might be too cold this time of the year for Delta's restrictions. Could you consider flying somewhere warmer such as Atlanta, and then do the 12 hour drive? Not ideal but straight forward enough.

TheKingOfHearts

As has been mentioned above, American & United are going to be your best bet. Norwegian and BA also fly direct into ORD from London (LGW and LHR respectively) but neither will allow dogs on these flights at the minute.

Suggest since you're already flying BA you look to have BA change your ticket to be routed on AA metal, it'll save you cancellation fee's.

As others have mentioned it gets VERY cold here in the winter, and I have heard it to be quite common to not be receiving animals during this time.