BA flight from ATL experiences?

While waiting on my spouse visa to clear, I am getting things together for the dogs move.  They will be flying BA out of Atlanta to Heathrow.  I am on track with the PETS scheme.  After reading posts on this site and others I am worried about a few things.

-What if I get to the ATL airport and they say my dog crate is too small? (I'm sure my mid size dog's crate is more than big enough, but the smaller dog is a perfect fit for his crate just not sure if BA will think so)

-Does BA need a letter from my vet saying my dogs are healthy and ok to fly?

-Is is ok if my rabies certificate of vaccination from my vet is signed by her in black ink?  (I have read others saying it needed to be in blue ink or have a stamp on it.)

-Are the dogs allowed a water bottle (lickix) type with their crate?

-Will they be able to read my dogs' HomeAgain microchip at Heathrow?

Just wondering if anyone could share their experiences.  Wondering also how the BA staff is at the Atlanta airport.

Thanks so much

Hi Lizzylou!

I flew BA from ATL to LGW with my two cats in October 2006 - things may well have changed since that point, so I would always advise contacting BA World Cargo (whom I found to be more than helpful during my planning) to make sure, but here's my thoughts on your various questions (and there are more than a couple of posts on this forum about my experience):

1.  What size crates (and dogs) do you have?  I would always, ALWAYS err on the side of too large - my 11-12lbs cats looked ridiculous in the Petmate Medium dog crates but there was no issue about size once we reached the cargo centre and I'm sure the boys appreciated having the space to move around.  Unless I've missed some massive redevelopment in the College Park/Old National Hwy area in the past few years, I think you'd be looking at a run to Southlake or thereabouts to find a Petsmart or Petco to buy a new crate, so I would definitely take that into account!

2. I would ask this of BA World Cargo directly, as when I flew in October 2006 the APHIS form served this purpose (and was required by BA) but those who have flown BA since that time have posted that BA no longer requires this form.

3. Are you talking about the form issued when the rabies vaccination was given?  If so, mine was signed in black ink, because my cats had their shots well before we started the PETS process and we had no idea that ink colour might be an issue.   I made sure the EU 998 form was filled out with blue ink - that was the only one about which I was specific, and both the airline and DEFRA accepted all of my paperwork, no questions asked.  I think the USDA vet in Conyers put a raised stamp on those pages when she was endorsing everything else, and she didn't say anything about the ink colour....

4. I had a hamster bottle on both carriers and BA was totally fine with this.

5. My guys have HomeAgain chips - again, no worries there, totally readable.

BA World Cargo staff at ATL were pretty awesome, in my experience - you may have seen my earlier posts from the time about this, but we had car trouble on the way to the airport and were running severely behind - not only were they calm and reassuring when I called in a panic from Conyers to let them know, once I finally arrived they got everything done quickly and answered all my questions with a smile and just generally made me feel so much better about the whole process at a time when I was just stressed beyond belief by everything that had happened already and that I was trying to do! 

Feel free to PM me with any questions - obviously things can and have changed since I flew over but I'll be happy to help in any way possible.   Good luck!

Thanks Meg.

My yorkie is tall and about 15 lbs.  The intermediate size crate gives the minimum measurements as required on the BA website.  I may call them to double check. 

The original rabies vaccination form was signed in black ink.  I will make sure to get the vet to have the 998 form filled out in blue ink.

How long did you do the paperwork before you flew?  The recommended 10 days?

Thanks again for the help 

My rabies certificate was signed in black ink and I had no problems.  I did make sure that all my other forms were signed in blue.  If they ever doubt the black ink then they can always dab the signature with a bit of water to make sure it is not a copy.

I also flew to England on BA, and I was also worried about the size of my dog crate.  I had a 29 pound cocker spaniel with a large petmate crate.  They required that the dog at least be able to stand and turn all the way around in the crate, with 5 inches of clearance between the roof of the crate, and his ears (or his highest point).

If you are flying BA, then you will not need the APHIS Form (International Health Certs), but you will need a standard letter on the vets letter head stating that the animal is healthy to fly.  This is done within the 10 day window before your flight.  I had my vet do this when I went in for the tick/tapeworm treatments 28 hours before my flight time.

The EC 998 form can be filled out by your own vet when your procedures are done, but the USDA endorsement that is required for the form is only good for 4 months, meaning that if you do not leave within 4 months after endorsement, then the USDA will need to endorse it again.  
Many people seem to have theirs done within 8 weeks before they are scheduled to fly out.  This is a good amount of time, but if there is a problem with your paperwork, then you will have plenty of time to make corrections.
My USDA vet was kind enough to look over everything (such as double checking all microchip numbers to make sure that they matched, making sure that all procedures were done in the correct order, etc)

I flew BA from ATL to LGW with my two cats in October 2006

Where did you have to drop the cats off at - just trying to figure out where BA cargo is in Atlanta and if I can drive right up to it and then worry about my family parking their car.

Thanks

The BA Cargo is a few miles from the airport. You definitely have to go there first, like a minimum 4 hrs before your flight, and then go to the airport and check in. You can drive right up to it.

I would make sure you have an inch or two more than the minimum space requirements just so you don't drive yourself crazy worrying about it. You can have a lixit water bottle. We had homeagain chips too. No problem.

The BA staff on both sides were really great. Due to wrong advice I had a flight scheduled on a sat or sun (can't remember) leaving Atlanta. They scheduled someone to work that handles pets just for me. I gave them a book of braves vouchers for the trouble . BA at Gatwick, someone drove us from Cargo to the airport (we didn't even ask, they just offered).