NatashaB

Just provisionally booked our cat onto a Continental flight in August. Anyone got any experience of pets on Continental? He has a stopover in Houston before going on to Michigan - the pet shipping co assured me that he will be fine, taken straight of the plane into an airconditioned vehicle and that Continental look after animals well. I hope so

chartreuse

Houston in August is going to be very hot. I'm surprised there's no embargo...

Have you considered Delta, via JFK, with your kitten in the cabin with you? Might be more pleasant for him and cheaper for you, too.

Jerseygirl

Exactly what I thought and problems arise when the plane is stuck on the runway because of delays, etc. When they make passengers sit on a plane for hours on the tarmac without AC they are hardly going to worried about animals.

Jerseygirl

Natasha...why are you using a flight to Michigan via Houston. Is there not a more direct route?

avanutria

Continental doesn't have many UK-to-US direct flights and Houston is a Continental hub; it may have been cheaper than other routes. But NY is a hub too.

Jerseygirl

I realise that having flown on Continental for years...but there are other carriers.

Reminds me of friends of ours who have millions of Continental air miles. Everywhere they travel is via Huston.

NatashaB

I won't be flying out until a couple of weeks after the cat goes... I did think about taking him as cabin baggage but think he'd be absolutely terrified continental doesn't have the embargo that most airlines have on flying animals when it hits a certain temperature. The pet shipping co went to great lengths to assure me that they would look after him really well but obviously I am still worried

Tbh I would rather not take him, really worried about how he will be on the flight. But he is my stepdaughters and she would be heartbroken if we got rid of him

Jerseygirl

If I remember correctly chartreuse brought his cat over in the cabin last year...perhaps if you had a word with him you may find it a viable option.

Good luck...I know how distressing transporting pets is.

avanutria

I brought my cat from London to Seattle (direct flight) in December. Poor guy was in the carrier for 18 hours but seemed to forget all about it a couple of days later. He was in the hold, as BA don't allow cats in the cabin and I figured he'd get more space in the hold than under a seat.

scrubbedexpat091

If you think he will be terrified in the cabin with you, not sure how shipping in cargo is actually better.

I worked for more then one airline over the years and animals going as cargo is never fun for the animal, its loud and noisy on the way to the plane, once inside the belly its going to be dark and air circulation wont be grand, while the hold will be pressurized and heated for the flight, its not exactly climate controlled for comfort.

Cabin is way less stressful on the animal.

chartreuse

Precisely. When we brought The Kitten over, she was an elderly lady with a heart condition (among other things) so stress was a key factor.

What we did was, went to Heathrow and stayed the night in a hotel. Flew LHR - JFK the next day, stayed overnight again then flew to TX the following day, so as to minimise the amount of travelling in one day.

She was good as gold on the plane, sat quietly in her carrier, ate her food and drank her water and even went potty like a good girl in the bathroom (we took a collapsible litter tray).

Natasha - if you decide to take him in the cabin and want any info or advice, feel free to ask.

Jerseygirl

Thank you chartie...I hope your post will help Natasha. I would much prefer my pet to travel with me...even if it is in a more confinded space than alone in the hold of the plane.

PepsiChic

I also flew my cat, Gin, over in the cabin last year in may.

We flew with United Airlines, bought a soft sided cat carrier got him his rabies shots etc and a fit to fly letter fromt he vert 48 hours before we went.

Drove 2 hours to heathrow airport which he slept through. At the airport he got checked in first, I had to take him out the bag for a minute in a special room while they put his cat carrier through the scanning machines to check for objects. I put him back in the bag and they took him on a golf cart buggy to the gate for me while i checked myself in with normal security.

He cried a bunch at first on the plane but once the plane was in the air he settled down and lay down quietly. He ate a few treats but wasnt interested in eating anything properly. I let him out in the disabled toilet to stretch his legs 2 or 3 times during the flight, he wasnt interested in going potty either. Once on the ground in Chicago O'Hare airport I went through the POE with him and then colected my luggage and was greeted by my husband. We stayed at a pet friendly hotel in chicago for the night, which i believe was a holiday inn. Next day drove back to Missouri.

He didnt like it, hes a nervous cat around strangers and Im sure he was terrified, but I couldnt bare the thought of what hed go through being put in the hold in the dark with all those noises which im sure are really loud. Having him at my feet where he could smell and hear me the entire time kept both me and him a little happier about the whole thing.

If you do keep your kitty in the hold thats ok, no-one here is saying your a bad person for it and many people fly their pets that way. But do look into your choices. You may find you can fly your kitty with you when you fly and that may make you feel a lot easier about it.

good luck!

Jerseygirl

In my book if the pet in question is small enough to travel in the hold with it's owner for comfort...it's far better than travelling in the hold any day of the week.

1chumly

Apparently Continental has something called PetSafe now where they get the animal off the plane immediately so no worries about the heat.