Best airline to fly my dog?

Hello everyone!
So I'm trying to plan ahead a bit and get quotes from airlines for my border collie to travel with me from DFW area to the UK. I didn't realize how expensive it is!
(My dog is 45lb and cannot ride in the cabin, obviously)
So far, United is looking to be the best for our price range (around $900 ) but I'm curious if anyone else has had better luck with getting their pooch over without breaking the bank?

Thanks!
Jess


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Animals are not allowed to arrive via the cabin into the UK, so cargo is the only option.   

I'm afraid your quote does not include the fees on this side in the UK or all the vet visits your doggie will need before traveling.  The UK fees are around £400 and the visits in the US will likely be an extra couple of hundred dollars.

My kitties came over on British Airways.  Selected mainly as it was a direct flight, but also I used a pet relocation service (corporate move so I didn't have to pay) and they personally preferred BA and Virgin.  They said they will not ship animals with Delta.  So take that info as you'd like.  99% of airlines are going to take great care of your animals, so I wouldn't worry too much.

Very few airlines will allow you to book direct with them.  I know Virgin allows it but not sure of any others that allow direct booking without the use of a pet transporter.

Good luck.  Yes, doggie's ticket will cost a lot more than yours, but it's well worth it!

Thanks for the info! My dog has all vaccinations and is microchipped but I do know she will need the health certificate, fit to travel letter and tape work vaccination right before the flight.

I'm curious what the £400 fee is for?


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Thanks for the info! My dog has all vaccinations and is microchipped but I do know she will need the health certificate, fit to travel letter and tape work vaccination right before the flight.

I'm curious what the £400 fee is for?


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All the customs costs on the U.K. side.  They have to send people out in a special van to collect the doggie from the plane, have a vet check, review all the paperwork.  Lots of overheads running that operation, so they charge for it. 

I would ask United if the fee they quoted included the customs costs on the UK side.  Seems really low...

I would ask United if the fee they quoted included the customs costs on the UK side.  Seems really low...

Yes I called back and they didn't, you were right so they quoted me $1350 for everything


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That sounds about right then.  That's quite a good fare for such a long route and big dog.  I would expect it to be that for a small dog direct out of NY.

If you can afford going with a different airline, I would suggest you do so. I'd like to think United's other cargo locations do have their policies straight, but considering I spoke with the national petsafe line and was given incorrect information, I'm not going to count on it.

They refused to let my dog and cat fly Tuesday, saying they needed a different health certificate, stamped by the USDA. I made a post with all the details. Long story short, United are wrong, operating with outdated policies, rude, and do not want to do their job properly.

We're stuck having to go through them due to time and cost constraints, my pets will be arriving on the last day of the 5 day window of my travel, and unfortunately we cannot come up with the additional funds (we didn't know until very recently that pets can only fly as manifest cargo so didn't budget $3k in flights alone!).

The above info is correct, there is the vet visit, and since you're importing a dog, you need to have him/her treated for tapeworm within 1-5 days of your pet's arrival. All in it was $250 for vet health certificate and tapeworm treatment for a 90lb chunkybutt 

USDA also charge for the health certificate, we paid $38, not sure if that was for 2 pets or if it's one single fee for however many you're exporting. Don't forget the cost of an IATA compliant crate, and two bowls for food and water.

If you do go with United, they work with a company called PBS, they are the ones who will clear your dog through customs. There's a fee for that as well, and United do not let you clear customs yourself.

I'd say with all the traveling I did, the crates, the flights, food, bowls, leash, collars, etc, we're at around $4.5k. That doesn't include the money spent for me to fly to the US and back (which was supposed to be to get the dog and cat!).

good luck!