booking flights w/ accompanied pets ?

Hi guys,

I will be flying from ATL to LGW and booking my pets reservation through BA World Cargo as required by Defra. I have talked to the recommended Pets Passport travel agent (recommended by BA) and they said the earliest you can book pet travel is 13 days before the flight so we are to book our flight first and then call back on that day to book our pets.

I am wondering about the options we have in booking our flight. If I book through BA.com (more likely i'll have to call BA which means even higher fares) then I'll have to pay $1000 more than the cheapest flight I've found. Can I book with a consolidator and still book my pets flight later with ease? The BA site says you should let the travel agent or BA representative know you will be booking a pet. Is it possible to make my reservation and tehn call them to have them add that? I guess I will call BA to find out but I'm sure they will want me to book through them.

Have you guys ever bought tickets with a consolidator and then made a pet reservation?

Hi Julia -

I flew BA from Atlanta to Gatwick with two cats last October, so if you've got any specific questions about the process, feel free to PM me.   As for your question, I'm not sure - I booked my flight months in advance, through BA.com (rather than over the phone, as the web flights were cheaper) and called afterwards to tell them that I'd be flying with two cats.    All they told me at that point was to wait until 13 days beforehand and confirm the booking with BA World Cargo!  I'd imagine you'd be fine booking through a consolidator and then arranging the Cargo booking through BA, as long as you have an e-ticket and a BA confirmation number - but I can't say for sure. 

Good luck!

i just called BA World Cargo and they said I could make my booking for the humans any way I wanted... there was nothing they'd do during my booking that would make any difference on the pets booking, so that's good!

They quoted me based on kennel size, including all customs/clearance fees from ATL to LGW as $1619.58 (for both my Yorkie and Min Poodle combined). I didn't think to ask if that included the crate! I've already called 2 times today so I think I will wait until tomorrow to ask them that.

Good result!

How much do your guys weigh?  I think mine were weighing in at around 11lbs each (cat only) when we flew, and I know they weighed in at 26kg all together (cats, crates, and all) though I seem to have been charged for 62lbs of weight at $13.54 per pound for a total of $1708, all inclusive.  If your guys weigh anything close to mine, then your quote should have included the crate weight as well.

Good result!

How much do your guys weigh?  I think mine were weighing in at around 11lbs each (cat only) when we flew, and I know they weighed in at 26kg all together (cats, crates, and all) though I seem to have been charged for 62lbs of weight at $13.54 per pound for a total of $1708, all inclusive.  If your guys weigh anything close to mine, then your quote should have included the crate weight as well.

did that include them supplying the crate or did you purchase them separately?

I bought mine from Petco in Conyers - they're Petmate Vari-Kennel ones with the same dimensions as I think you mentioned in your other thread (27x20x19).  I think they were $60 each, or thereabouts...

I spoke to Virgin about this same thing yesterday.  I can't believe how high BA is.  Is that your only option?  Virgin quoted me $916 for both my dogs in the 27 x 20 x 19 carrier (chihuahua-9 pounds- and small terrier-13 pounds).  If you have the option of Virgin, you may want to look into it.

Unfortunately, BA is the only option for us Georgians - unless we want to put our animals through an extra domestic flight or drive up to DC or down to Orlando, we're pretty much stuck with the BA ATL-LGW journey!

If Virgin ever decides to start flying to Atlanta, I will leap for joy (all my miles are with them, since I lived in Boston for the first two years of the LDR, and I often find myself flying LHR-BOS and then AirTran down to Atlanta, just to avoid BA or Delta to Atlanta!).

I spoke to Virgin about this same thing yesterday.  I can't believe how high BA is.  Is that your only option?  Virgin quoted me $916 for both my dogs in the 27 x 20 x 19 carrier (chihuahua-9 pounds- and small terrier-13 pounds).  If you have the option of Virgin, you may want to look into it.

did you ask if there were additional fees? virgin gave me a qoute and then when i asked if that covered everything they told me about a $125 fee on the us side and a 230pound fee on the uk side on top of the $889.40 fee to ship the pets.

Yes, that included everything but the £232 fee at Animal reception in London and it was for both dogs.  So, over all a little over $1300 total.  Still considerably less than BA who quoted me $2600.

What is this "fee" you are talking about at ARC in Gatwick?  How is it calculated? And what form of payment do they accept?
Thanks!

What is this "fee" you are talking about at ARC in Gatwick?  How is it calculated? And what form of payment do they accept?
Thanks!

It is a customs fee and is £232.  You can pay it in cash or by a British bank issued check.

Thanks for the info.  I'll put it in the budget and have it ready when I get there.

Wow! I didn't realize that Virgin was so much cheaper than BA. I'd be going out of Boston too, so I may have to check with Virgin. I'm still trying to decide whether or not to bring my cat. I have a year though.

Start the process now!   It helps to spread out the expense.  PM me if you have questions.