So here we are about 6 days after arriving and I figure I should go ahead and write up our story while its still fresh in my head. Sorry it's so long, but it is an interesting story! To give background, I was starting out from just south of Louisville, KY. My final destination is just outside Glasgow, so we had to fly into Manchester since it is the closest to Glasgow. I had the choice of either Delta or Continental. I went with Continental for a few reasons you could read about in a prior post.
Instead of being able to fly from my local airport in Louisville, we had to drive to Cincinnati. This was because CO didn't have any planes that were large enough for animal cargo. Instead of being flown direct from Cincy to EWR, the cats had to fly from Cincy to Cleveland, and from Cleveland to EWR. I presume it was because the flight directly to EWR wasn't big enough. So my cats were on those two flights, while I was on a direct flight from Cincy to EWR.
I called the Cincy cargo facility the day before to get directions to the facility. I found out that they had not been notified by PetSafe (CO's pet reservation system) that they were coming. They guy asked if I had an airbill, and I said all I had was booking confirmation number. The guy took my info over the phone and set up the airbill then.
Their flight left at 9:20am, and they had to be checked in 2hrs before. So we had to get up at 3am, and get on the road about 4am~ish to get there on time (due to road construction). We got there just about 7am, and it took about 20minutes to get everything sorted. The cargo guy wasn't expecting 2 kennels - I guess he expected both cats to be together in one. When I said that they had to go separately as they were going overseas, he said he forgot about that issue. He had to make an adjustment to the airbill for 2 carriers instead of one. I handed over all the DEFRA paperwork and a 'fit to fly' certificate from my vet. They did not require an APHIS 7001.
Since my flight wasn't until 1:45, my mom, stepdad and I went to have some breakfast at the local Waffle House. At around 8:00, I received a call from the PetSafe office that their 9:20 flight was delayed, so they were being put on a later flight from Cleveland to EWR. I should mention delays were the name of the day, because it was raining pretty much everywhere from central IL all the way to the East Coast. After eating, we hung out in the parking lot and had a short nap. At about 10am I received a call from the local cargo facility telling me that because of the delayed flight, there was a change in the rate because there wouldn't be enough time for the cats to get the Day Kenneling in EWR. I had to go back to the cargo facility and pick up my rebate. I paid in cash so had to go back to get it in person.
I went to the airport shortly after that to check in for my flight. After checking in, and going through security, I found out my flight was delayed, too, to about 3pm. Apparently the cats flight was delayed to mechanical issues, and mine due to the weather. I was supposed to arrive in EWR around 5pm now, and the cats about 4:30ish. From where I was at in the terminal I actually watched my cats being loaded onto their flight to Cleveland. Well, I boarded when I was supposed to, we started taxiing out and then the captain came on and said that Air Traffic Control wasn't letting us take off so we were going to be delayed another 40minutes.
I wound up not arriving in EWR until 6pm, when I was originally supposed to arrive about 3:45. My cats were supposed to arrive in EWR at 1:45 and they didn't arrive until 5:45. When I arrived in EWR, I phoned up the PetSafe number to confirm they had arrived. I was on hold about 10minutes and it was finally verified they had arrived. Just because I wanted to be extra sure, I also went to the gate agents and asked if they could verify if they had arrived. They had to look up the number of who to call, but they were also able to verify with someone on the ramp the cats were there. Our flight to MAN left at 7:40, and by the time I was able to verify all this it was about 6:50, so I was sweating it to say the least.
So the cats went from having a 6 1/2 hr layover to having about an hour, and I went from about 4hrs to less than an hour. Well, finally we all get boarded, the plane pulls away from the gate and we're taxiing. The captain came on and told us we should actually arrive about 40minutes early. Then we come to a stop for a few, and the captain comes back on and tells us we're number 25 in the line of planes ready for take-off so we're no longer going to be early. Then a few minutes later the captain comes on and says the plane 3 places in front of us is having some problems and there are fire trucks and whatnot there to see what's going on. Then several minutes after that, the captain says the plane is being preliminarily evacuated and we have to wait until they tow it out of the taxi line. Finally, after about an hour, we start moving again, and as we rolled by we could see the other plane off to the side surrounded by fire trucks, ambulances and police and they were unloading luggage.
We finally arrived in MAN about 40minutes late. We were then delayed in disembarking due to the jetway malfunctioning. It probably was 20minutes before I got off the plane. Then another 10-15 to go through Immigration. By the time I arrived in baggage, my stuff was already on the carousel. I walked on thru and met my husband. We went and had a small bite of breakfast at a little cafe there in the airport, then headed to the car. I was told to give it about 90 minutes before going to pick the cats up. First stop, was to the ServisAir Cargo building. I walked in, showed my passport and they asked for the registration of the car we were in. They took the info, and printed off a piece of paper for me to sign. The lady then directed us down to the Pets on Jets office, which was literally a few buildings down. We walked into the Pets on Jets office, handed over the piece of paper, had a quick conversation and a laugh with the agent and he brought them out from the back.
We loaded them up and headed home 3 1/2 hours to Hamilton, Scotland. They were off their food/water/toilet for about the first 24 hrs, and our girl was a bit snappy towards our boy, but by Monday (about 2 1/2 days later), they were both back to normal. Hope this info helps someone flying into MAN with Continental.
