Flying a dog in cargo with British Airways from UK to US

[Azsara 110]

My fiance and I are trying to figure out how we can bring his 30lb English Cocker Spaniel with him when he enters the US. I've found a direct flight from Gatwick to Tampa with British Airways. Trouble is, when you look into flying a pet in the cargo with BA they insist that you use a pet export service. It's going to be expensive to use this service. Is there any way around this? I tried looking at Lufthansa flights but they don't fly direct to Florida.

Geeez pet export agencies are so freaking expensive. I was quoted a range from 700 pounds( sorry don't have pounds sign on US keyboard) to 2000 for a 5lb kitty!.

I went with Virgin Atlantic in the end who didn't require an agency and paid 300. Though it was a bit of a pain in the ####### with dropping her off and picking her up etc. (which usually the agency would take care of). Im not sure what to suggest as Tampa is a tricky one, don't think virgin fly there either

_{I have a pugalier and I can't find an airline that will fly a "snub nosed" dog as cargo d/t breathing issues. anyone have any ideas or experienced this before?}

Yea I found that a lot of airlines I contacted wont fly pugs, Persian cats etc. any type of breed with a "snub nose", im not sure you will be able to overcome this problem as it affects their ability to breathe and airlines don't like that

[JohnR! 5,495]

My fiance and I are trying to figure out how we can bring his 30lb English Cocker Spaniel with him when he enters the US. I've found a direct flight from Gatwick to Tampa with British Airways. Trouble is, when you look into flying a pet in the cargo with BA they insist that you use a pet export service. It's going to be expensive to use this service. Is there any way around this? I tried looking at Lufthansa flights but they don't fly direct to Florida.

Suggestion: Consider using KLM or AirFrance to Orlando and book the pet as excess luggage so she/he will travel with you on the same flight. These airlines have better pet service and your dog will be better treated despite the connection in Amsterdam or Paris.

Edited March 10, 2014 by Gegel

[JadeyHexed 29]

Geeez pet export agencies are so freaking expensive. I was quoted a range from 700 pounds( sorry don't have pounds sign on US keyboard) to 2000 for a 5lb kitty!.

I went with Virgin Atlantic in the end who didn't require an agency and paid 300. Though it was a bit of a pain in the ####### with dropping her off and picking her up etc. (which usually the agency would take care of). Im not sure what to suggest as Tampa is a tricky one, don't think virgin fly there either

Yea I found that a lot of airlines I contacted wont fly pugs, Persian cats etc. any type of breed with a "snub nose", im not sure you will be able to overcome this problem as it affects their ability to breathe and airlines don't like that

Thanks for the reply. =) Yeah we decided to go with VA and not use a pet transport agency. But it's still going to cost us more to fly the pup than to fly my fiance over here!

[JadeyHexed 29]

Suggestion: Consider using KLM or AirFrance to Orlando and book the pet as excess luggage so she/he will travel with you on the same flight. These airlines have better pet service and your dog will be better treated despite the connection in Amsterdam or Paris.

Thank you for the reply. We have decided to use Virgin Atlantic as we can use the "DIY route" since they do not require a pet transport agency. We found direct flights from London to Orlando. I still find the fees to be ludicrous for flying animals. Going to cost us more to fly the pup than to fly my fiance here. =p

[JohnR! 5,495]

Thank you for the reply. We have decided to use Virgin Atlantic as we can use the "DIY route" since they do not require a pet transport agency. We found direct flights from London to Orlando. I still find the fees to be ludicrous for flying animals. Going to cost us more to fly the pup than to fly my fiance here. =p

Glad to hear you got away from agents and their ridiculous fees on top of what is already an expensive proposition!!!

[Azsara 110]

Thank you for the reply. We have decided to use Virgin Atlantic as we can use the "DIY route" since they do not require a pet transport agency. We found direct flights from London to Orlando. I still find the fees to be ludicrous for flying animals. Going to cost us more to fly the pup than to fly my fiance here. =p

AWESOME! I know its so ridiculous - its not like the pup gets a baggage allowance or food either!

[cstark_67 1]

Am facing the same issues in getting my fiance shepard to missouri. Will research that airline.

[Cam54 84]

I went through a pet shipping agency and paid 1000pounds for my 10lb cat because I only found out 3 weeks before I moved that my mum no longer would keep him in UK for me. So that expensive little monkey now enjoys his California life hunting lizards and gophers. Wish Id known about cheaper options at the time but I love him so dont dwell too much on that hideous sum of money lol