Travelling with My Dog on Same Flight - Practical Issues

[rjm_cmyk 75]

I had always planned on travelling with my dog on the same flight if at all possible but it occurs to me that there might be a practical problem in doing so. Was wondering how others got on ?

I'll be travelling UK Heathrow to San Francisco direct - fingers crossed sometime in October. I will probably be using a pet shipping company who , so they say , can arrange for my dog to go on the same flight as me. Living north bay it would be useful not to make an extra trip down to SFO as it's a bit of a hike and the 101 home can be pain .

Thing is the hound will be in a crate and not a small one (she's a lurcher , a greyhound cross) so am I right in thinking I will receive the crate too following shipping. Where do you normally collect the dog from and do you get any help manhandling it ? I'm presuming that the crate (with dog in it) is supplied to you. At what point in your transit through the immigration/customs process and what do they actually give you. Here's your dog in a crate you can't pick up sir and yes the crate needs to go on a trolley and you wheel it through customs.

So any guidance on the logistics is much appreciated. If we have a huge crate to deal with we may not be able to get it in the car with my luggage and the passengers who I guess will want to greet me at the airport .

I'm beginning to wonder if this is a daft idea travelling together ?

[Brit Abroad 166]

Check out http://www.flysfo.com/web/page/orphan/faq/ .. specifically "Where do I pick up a pet".

Presumably your dog has a pet passport confirming all shots up to date and will pass through animal inspection without problems?

Edit: I'm not sure how long after the flight the pet is delivered to you - but generally there is an animal inspection to make sure s/he hasn't had any health issues during/post flight. Could always phone the airport information desk and ask them to put you in touch with the animal control folks.

Edited June 15, 2013 by Brit Abroad

[rjm_cmyk 75]

'Twould appear from the FAQ that he will arrive at the baggage area but I'm guessing that is for domestics - as you say there is an immigration process (for the dog) so it might be different. Will be speaking to the pet transport companies at some point anyway.

[TexasHoldEm 0]

Hi,

I have been travelling with my cat from the US to the UK and now back to the US. I will also fly from Heathrow directly to SFO.

I already booked my flight and had my cat booked onto it myself (I fly with Virgin).

There are only a handful of airlines that let you do so, but using a pet shipping agent is waaaaay too expensive. It is a really simple process to do it yourself.

The cost depends on the size of your crate and your pet will be put into a special cargo compartment.

I pay around L370 pounds for my cat but virgin is a lot more expensive than other airlines. Worth shopping around.

You book your flight first (make sure the airline accepts pets), then you call them up, usually u get transferred to the cargo department, and book your pet in. You need to tell them the specific size of the crate.

Some airlines require you to have special items on your crate, such as a food and water bowl but it depends. You need to ask when you book.

Then you need to take your pet 4 hours before take-off to the Cargo Terminal of Virgin (when you call to book they give you directions) to check your pet in.

Then you go to the normal check in for your luggage, thats it.

When you arrive in SFO, you go to the "special luggage" area, where they give out oversized items and special items. That is in the same hall as the normal luggage belt, usually in one corner. You go to the desk and pick up your pet, thats it.

When travelling into the US with a pet you don't have to go through any special customs as the airline itself will have already checked your pets travel documents and health certificate (the only thing you need), which should be attached to the crate AND in your carry-on luggage.

For a dog you need to show evidence of rabies vaccination (time frame does not matter) and a health certificate from your vet dated within the last 10 days before travel.

I hope this helps!

[KLB 3]

I had always planned on travelling with my dog on the same flight if at all possible but it occurs to me that there might be a practical problem in doing so. Was wondering how others got on ?

I'll be travelling UK Heathrow to San Francisco direct - fingers crossed sometime in October. I will probably be using a pet shipping company who , so they say , can arrange for my dog to go on the same flight as me. Living north bay it would be useful not to make an extra trip down to SFO as it's a bit of a hike and the 101 home can be pain .

Thing is the hound will be in a crate and not a small one (she's a lurcher , a greyhound cross) so am I right in thinking I will receive the crate too following shipping. Where do you normally collect the dog from and do you get any help manhandling it ? I'm presuming that the crate (with dog in it) is supplied to you. At what point in your transit through the immigration/customs process and what do they actually give you. Here's your dog in a crate you can't pick up sir and yes the crate needs to go on a trolley and you wheel it through customs.

So any guidance on the logistics is much appreciated. If we have a huge crate to deal with we may not be able to get it in the car with my luggage and the passengers who I guess will want to greet me at the airport .

I'm beginning to wonder if this is a daft idea travelling together ?

I have just travelled over to the US with my dog and on the same flights. However I did use an International Pet Shipping Company and very pleased I did ... it helped me to take the stress and pressure out of getting her here.

They handled absolutely everything from start to finish, were extremely helpful and reassuring especially when I got in a tiz with the "what if's" and all that!

Our dog cleared customs at first point of entry and as we had an onward internal flight she was required to have a minimum of 3 hours ground time before the onward flight. We flew with United they handled all the customs clearance etc. we were able to collect her from Cargo on arrival at our ultimate destination and take her straight home. Oh my goodness me was she pleased to see us!

Yes it is a lot more expensive but I had other things to take into consideration as well, for me it worked. If you want their details just PM me.

[rjm_cmyk 75]

A lot more expensive indeed. Just had a quote of over £3K for a big dog. I reckon that will be nearly three times my economy ticket.....

[KLB 3]

A lot more expensive indeed. Just had a quote of over £3K for a big dog. I reckon that will be nearly three times my economy ticket.....

Wow that seems an excessive amount ... I paid about £1200

[rjm_cmyk 75]

Wow that seems an excessive amount ... I paid about £1200

To which the inevitable question - who did you use , how big the dog and what route ?

And yes wow indeed. I reckon that's not far off a club class ticket to SFO :-)

[KLB 3]

To which the inevitable question - who did you use , how big the dog and what route ?

And yes wow indeed. I reckon that's not far off a club class ticket to SFO :-)

Heathrow to Houston then on to New Orleans (flew with United) She's border terrier - The Company we used is Petair

[rjm_cmyk 75]

Heathrow to Houston then on to New Orleans (flew with United) She's border terrier - The Company we used is Petair

Yep well twas the very same company that quoted me £3k for a lurcher to SFO with VA

[KLB 3]

Yep well twas the very same company that quoted me £3k for a lurcher to SFO with VA

All I can say really is ... wow ... again!