Moving to NYC with my cat

[Thunderbolt 163]

Hi,

 

Virgin Atlantic allows cats and dogs in the cabin (need to put them in the carrier under the seat). 

Aer Lingus accepts cats and dogs on their flights but they fly in the cargo hold.

You could also consider British Airways with a stop, as they allow cats and dogs up to 6kg in the cabin. 

 

I don't know the fees for the carriers above, but Lufthansa or United charges $250 each way to take yorkee dog from US to Europe (or back to US) in the cabin under the seat. There is a limit of 1 animal per cabin.

For example; only 1 dog or cat can be in economy class, 1 dog or car in economy plus, and 1 dog or cat in business class. 

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by Thunderbolt

[Sukie 1,440]

1 hour ago, Wahid Younis said:

Thanks Ewan. This is really helpful. I actually got a quote from PetAir UK last year. Based on the comments in this thread, the safest option for me is to use a pet transportation service, and since most people like yourself have had a great experience with PetAir UK, I've decided to go with them. It makes sense about the routes being limited because when I got the quote last year, they said it would be from London and not Manchester, so looks like that's going to be my only option. I still need to decide whether I fly from Manchester, which would be separate from my cat. In this case, I guess I would have to make sure I arrive into JFK before my cat does. Are there any advantages to being on the same flight as my cat, since he will be in the cargo hold anyway?

 

Thanks for bringing the temperature issue to my attention. I wasn't aware of this. This now makes things a bit difficult for me. In NYC it can be 29C from June to September, so I would have to either send my cat just before June or after September. The only issue with waiting until after September is that my visa is only valid for 6 months from the medical exam date, which was 23rd March. Unless I move first to NYC and leave my cat behind and then sip him over in October, but that would mean being apart from him for like 4 months, which is the last thing I want to do. It looks like my only option is to move with my cat at the end of May/beginning of June.

 

I need some assistance/guidance with the quote PetAir UK provided to me last year. It seems like they tried to upsell me on certain services, which looks like are not required. Therefore I would to minimise the cost as much as possible and only do the required stuff with them. Here's the quote:

 

Our Silver quote includes the following:

• Airline ticket from London to New York, United States (subject to availability) with BA 
• Airline surcharges (Handling / Security / War Insurance / Fuel / Airway Bill / Transit Fees)   
• Custom made PetAir UK IATA approved wooden travel container with bedding and watering facility (see below)
• Export customs entry
• Airport visit on day of departure for check in assistance

The Gold service also includes:

• Pre-travel veterinary health examination
• Fitness to fly certificate (Vet completed document)
• Acclimatisation Declaration (Vet completed document)
• Collection from your home (BD postcode)  and transport to the airport (includes one night boarding)
• Check in

We can provide the above services for a total cost of: Silver £1068.20 and Gold £1498.20  (VAT not applicable as destination is outside EU)  Please note:  If taking our Gold service, your pets annual vaccinations (including Kennel Cough for dogs) will need to be up to date for them to be able to stay overnight in our facilities.  This is a requirement of the kennels.

****Please read below regarding the mandatory broker for clearance:

**It is essential to use a broker at your chosen destination, to clear customs on arrival for your pets. As part of our service, we can arrange this for you. The cost for this is would be an additional  £330.00. Please be advised that this cost is for remote customs clearance ONLY. You will still be required to collect your pet(s) from the cargo department, which can involve long waiting periods, driving back and forth to various offices and payment of any extra handling or pet health check fees. 

Alternatively, we can organise for a trusted pet handling agent (like us) to attend the airport, check on your pet(s) wellbeing on arrival, top-up water and complete the customs clearance in person. They will then bring your pet(s) out of the cargo area and meet you at a pre-arranged place near the airport, where you can be reunited with your pet(s). If you choose this service, you will be given access to this agent prior to departure, to answer any questions you may have about the process on arrival. The additional cost for this service is: £650.00.

 

I assume you went for the Gold package? In terms of the mandatory broker, did you pay the additional cost and use the broker PetAir UK provide? Also based on what you said, it sounds like I can go to the cargo department myself to collect my cat and therefore won't require an agent, saving me £650?

 

Thank you so much for you help.

The services listed here are top of the line, and we did NOT do all of these!  We provided our own kennels (you do not need a wooden crate for a cat, for Pete's sake),   The first time I flew home from Hong Kong, my cats were on my flight.  I held the paperwork, and presented the paperwork to Customs and Immigration when I arrived.  Honestly, the guys at JFK looked at me like I was crazy.  They had NO idea what to do with my paperwork (because the US, per se, does not need it for cats).  They ummed and ahhhhed over it, took it to another guy, brought it back to me, and about 20 minutes later, here came my cats on a baggage cart.  I used an agent in Hong Kong who picked up the cats, and us!, and drove us to the airport.  He took us to the freight dock, where we turned in our paperwork, kissed the cats goodby, and that was that.

 

When we moved from Australia, we used JetPets.  We got our own certificates at our local vet.  In this case, we were flying from Brisbane to Hong Kong to the US, and the cats were not allowed to transit Hong Kong.  So JetPets picked up the cats the morning we left (we were on a night flight), took them to the airport, and got them on the flight to LAX.  They emailed us when the cats got to LAX, sent us pictures of them, said they were eating well, and we felt good about that.  The cats had about 16 hours in LAX until their flight to New York.  We arrived JFK in the evening, checked into a local hotel, and then showed up at the Lufthansa depot the next morning.  We were informed along the way about flights and timing.

 

There are other companies besides PetAirUK that are highly rated, according to Google.  Call around.  If one of them forces you to use THEIR crates, think twice.  I don't know how vet services work in the UK, but I was able to get all the proper paperwork done by my own vets in both Hong Kong and Australia.

 

Oh, and in my experience, my vets did NOT want to sedate my cats.  Yes, it's scary, but unless you have a very skittish cat, they'll be ok.

 

Best of luck to you and your kitty!

 

Sukie in NY

[Ewan 28]

2 hours ago, Wahid Younis said:

Thanks Ewan. This is really helpful. I actually got a quote from PetAir UK last year. Based on the comments in this thread, the safest option for me is to use a pet transportation service, and since most people like yourself have had a great experience with PetAir UK, I've decided to go with them. It makes sense about the routes being limited because when I got the quote last year, they said it would be from London and not Manchester, so looks like that's going to be my only option. I still need to decide whether I fly from Manchester, which would be separate from my cat. In this case, I guess I would have to make sure I arrive into JFK before my cat does. Are there any advantages to being on the same flight as my cat, since he will be in the cargo hold anyway?

 

Thanks for bringing the temperature issue to my attention. I wasn't aware of this. This now makes things a bit difficult for me. In NYC it can be 29C from June to September, so I would have to either send my cat just before June or after September. The only issue with waiting until after September is that my visa is only valid for 6 months from the medical exam date, which was 23rd March. Unless I move first to NYC and leave my cat behind and then sip him over in October, but that would mean being apart from him for like 4 months, which is the last thing I want to do. It looks like my only option is to move with my cat at the end of May/beginning of June.

 

I need some assistance/guidance with the quote PetAir UK provided to me last year. It seems like they tried to upsell me on certain services, which looks like are not required. Therefore I would to minimise the cost as much as possible and only do the required stuff with them. Here's the quote:

 

Our Silver quote includes the following:

• Airline ticket from London to New York, United States (subject to availability) with BA 
• Airline surcharges (Handling / Security / War Insurance / Fuel / Airway Bill / Transit Fees)   
• Custom made PetAir UK IATA approved wooden travel container with bedding and watering facility (see below)
• Export customs entry
• Airport visit on day of departure for check in assistance

The Gold service also includes:

• Pre-travel veterinary health examination
• Fitness to fly certificate (Vet completed document)
• Acclimatisation Declaration (Vet completed document)
• Collection from your home (BD postcode)  and transport to the airport (includes one night boarding)
• Check in

We can provide the above services for a total cost of: Silver £1068.20 and Gold £1498.20  (VAT not applicable as destination is outside EU)  Please note:  If taking our Gold service, your pets annual vaccinations (including Kennel Cough for dogs) will need to be up to date for them to be able to stay overnight in our facilities.  This is a requirement of the kennels.

****Please read below regarding the mandatory broker for clearance:

**It is essential to use a broker at your chosen destination, to clear customs on arrival for your pets. As part of our service, we can arrange this for you. The cost for this is would be an additional  £330.00. Please be advised that this cost is for remote customs clearance ONLY. You will still be required to collect your pet(s) from the cargo department, which can involve long waiting periods, driving back and forth to various offices and payment of any extra handling or pet health check fees. 

Alternatively, we can organise for a trusted pet handling agent (like us) to attend the airport, check on your pet(s) wellbeing on arrival, top-up water and complete the customs clearance in person. They will then bring your pet(s) out of the cargo area and meet you at a pre-arranged place near the airport, where you can be reunited with your pet(s). If you choose this service, you will be given access to this agent prior to departure, to answer any questions you may have about the process on arrival. The additional cost for this service is: £650.00.

 

I assume you went for the Gold package? In terms of the mandatory broker, did you pay the additional cost and use the broker PetAir UK provide? Also based on what you said, it sounds like I can go to the cargo department myself to collect my cat and therefore won't require an agent, saving me £650?

 

Thank you so much for you help.

You're very welcome. Glad to be of some help.

I went for the Silver package. I got all the vet stuff done myself and decided to drive my dog from Glasgow to the Heathrow area myself rather than her having a long journey in the back of a van. I dropped her off the day before the flight at PetAir UK. I just used the broker option (I think I said handler in my previous post) because I was on the same flight. I picked her up from the cargo area, which did involve a bit of a wait while they did the paperwork. It was fairly quiet at Charlotte Airport but I suspect JFK would be much busier and possibly more problematic.

I chose to go on the same flight for logistical reasons. As I said, I had to drive my dog from Glasgow to the London area. And then from Charlotte Airport (after a stay in a hotel), we had another six-hour drive to Chattanooga. So I couldn't have done it any other way.

 

I found PetAir UK very helpful and responsive. I had loads of questions and they were happy to talk by email or on the phone at any time during the process.

 

As for the timing, I also had to move within six months of my medical date. That was June, so in the middle of the hot season. What I I did was take a trip to the US, do my first point of entry and get my passport stamped with an I-551, do a few things like setting up banking, seeing rental agents etc - and then went back to the UK for three months to wait for the pet flight to be sorted and finalise some stuff there. If you have that option, it might be worth considering. Good luck with everything.

 

[milimelo 4,259]

4 hours ago, Sarge2155 said:

 I remember back in the day when they allowed animals to travel in the cabin. I sat across from this lady that had a cat. That was by far the worst flight to this day I have ever taken. I think cats more so than dogs need to be drugged because this cat meowed the whole trip. It was awful for the cat as well as the passengers. The flight was full so I could not move or change seats. The good thing the flight was not international so it was not too long, but all in all a bad experience for the cat and me too!

You do NOT ever drug cats as it could depress their breathing and cause death. I've traveled 10 times with  our cats in and out of the US both in cabin and in the hold and never drugged either one. Simple scarf over pet carrier was enough to make the cat snooze off with the sound of engines. Never an issue. Yes, it's gotten more difficult to transport pets in the last couple of years. If you're so sensitive to sounds of the cat get a pair of earplugs. 

[Wahid Younis 5]

56 minutes ago, Ewan said:

You're very welcome. Glad to be of some help.

I went for the Silver package. I got all the vet stuff done myself and decided to drive my dog from Glasgow to the Heathrow area myself rather than her having a long journey in the back of a van. I dropped her off the day before the flight at PetAir UK. I just used the broker option (I think I said handler in my previous post) because I was on the same flight. I picked her up from the cargo area, which did involve a bit of a wait while they did the paperwork. It was fairly quiet at Charlotte Airport but I suspect JFK would be much busier and possibly more problematic.

I chose to go on the same flight for logistical reasons. As I said, I had to drive my dog from Glasgow to the London area. And then from Charlotte Airport (after a stay in a hotel), we had another six-hour drive to Chattanooga. So I couldn't have done it any other way.

 

I found PetAir UK very helpful and responsive. I had loads of questions and they were happy to talk by email or on the phone at any time during the process.

 

As for the timing, I also had to move within six months of my medical date. That was June, so in the middle of the hot season. What I I did was take a trip to the US, do my first point of entry and get my passport stamped with an I-551, do a few things like setting up banking, seeing rental agents etc - and then went back to the UK for three months to wait for the pet flight to be sorted and finalise some stuff there. If you have that option, it might be worth considering. Good luck with everything.

 

Thank you! This is so helpful. I think I'm going to go with the Silver package option as well and sort all of the vet stuff myself, including his transport to the airport. So just to confirm, you used the broker option with PetAir UK and didn't get an agent to collect your dog from the cargo department because you did this yourself as you were on the same flight?

[Ewan 28]

7 minutes ago, Wahid Younis said:

Thank you! This is so helpful. I think I'm going to go with the Silver package option as well and sort all of the vet stuff myself, including his transport to the airport. So just to confirm, you used the broker option with PetAir UK and didn't get an agent to collect your dog from the cargo department because you did this yourself as you were on the same flight?

That's correct. I went through immigration, collected my rental car and drove to the cargo section of the airport, where my dog was sitting in her crate waiting to be collected.

I just checked back through all my emails from the time and found out that I did something called Silver Plus, which was a bit of a hybrid. That's because I was doing some bits myself but using their overnight boarding facility near Windsor and letting them take my dog to the airport. I'm not sure if you need a custom-made crate for a cat. I definitely did because I have a Siberian husky, who are renowned escape artists! 

I would call PetAir UK and chat through the options of which bits of the service you want and see what they say. As someone else pointed out, there are other services available that are worth checking out but I found this one suited my needs best.

[Sarge2155 4,571]

51 minutes ago, milimelo said:

You do NOT ever drug cats as it could depress their breathing and cause death. I've traveled 10 times with  our cats in and out of the US both in cabin and in the hold and never drugged either one. Simple scarf over pet carrier was enough to make the cat snooze off with the sound of engines. Never an issue. Yes, it's gotten more difficult to transport pets in the last couple of years. If you're so sensitive to sounds of the cat get a pair of earplugs. 

Just like you are giving YOUR experience  I gave mine simple as that! They do make I guess they are called  drugs, like car sickness type items, which you can get for dogs and cats to calm them down. You traveled many times just fine you say that's cool. I just gave MY experience. Additionally, that's something I don't have to worry about cause I would never transport a cat or dog via airplane!

[TBoneTX 43,426]

A noncontributory post has been removed.

[RLA 323]

My wife and a friend both moved their cats from Germany to the US in 2017.  Both made sure to take direct flights.  Both flew Lufthansa or United.  My wife's kitty is tiny and her carrier fit comfortably under the seat.  My wife did spring for business class to make sure there would be enough space.  The friend's cat is a very tall Maine ####### and so had to travel in the storage section.  Both cats endured their flights without problems.

 

Regarding paperwork and medical stuff -- my wife's vet in Germany had experience with this and prepared all the paperwork.  There were no problems -- neither with the airline nor with the authorities.

 

[Wahid Younis 5]

3 hours ago, Ewan said:

That's correct. I went through immigration, collected my rental car and drove to the cargo section of the airport, where my dog was sitting in her crate waiting to be collected.

I just checked back through all my emails from the time and found out that I did something called Silver Plus, which was a bit of a hybrid. That's because I was doing some bits myself but using their overnight boarding facility near Windsor and letting them take my dog to the airport. I'm not sure if you need a custom-made crate for a cat. I definitely did because I have a Siberian husky, who are renowned escape artists! 

I would call PetAir UK and chat through the options of which bits of the service you want and see what they say. As someone else pointed out, there are other services available that are worth checking out but I found this one suited my needs best.

Thank you so much. I feel like I know what I need to do now 😊

[Allaboutwaiting 2,500]

42 minutes ago, Wahid Younis said:

Thank you so much. I feel like I know what I need to do now 😊

Just curious about you checking other airlines that fly from London and would take your cat in the cabin with you. 

[.yana 586]

22 hours ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

Just curious about you checking other airlines that fly from London and would take your cat in the cabin with you. 

Most US airlines will allow it no problem, and fees are much lower than via pet transportation agencies not to mention your cat travels with you.

[Wahid Younis 5]

1 hour ago, .yana said:

Most US airlines will allow it no problem, and fees are much lower than via pet transportation agencies not to mention your cat travels with you.

Which airlines in the UK allow you to carry your cat with you in the cabin? Could you give some examples please? I'm struggling to find one. I called Aer Lingus yesterday and they said that they don't allow pets in the cabin area, but they've partnered up with PetAir UK to transport pets in their cargo. In terms of Virgin Atlantic, on their website it says their pet service is currently unavailable. 

[.yana 586]

1 hour ago, Wahid Younis said:

Which airlines in the UK allow you to carry your cat with you in the cabin? Could you give some examples please? I'm struggling to find one. I called Aer Lingus yesterday and they said that they don't allow pets in the cabin area, but they've partnered up with PetAir UK to transport pets in their cargo. In terms of Virgin Atlantic, on their website it says their pet service is currently unavailable. 

I said US airlines. Look up Delta, United, American. 

[Allaboutwaiting 2,500]

1 hour ago, Wahid Younis said:

Which airlines in the UK allow you to carry your cat with you in the cabin? Could you give some examples please? I'm struggling to find one. I called Aer Lingus yesterday and they said that they don't allow pets in the cabin area, but they've partnered up with PetAir UK to transport pets in their cargo. In terms of Virgin Atlantic, on their website it says their pet service is currently unavailable. 

Thought you checked with all the airlines, but seems you didn't. 

So I checked myself and it seems that the only choices are flying with Air Canada or flying to another European country from the UK and then fly to the US from there - found restrictions on flying with pets from/ to the UK directly to the US-.