Is British Airways good for pets?

We will be flying our dog, Sassy, to London from Seattle, WA.

The PETS approved flights are via BA Cargo or Northwest Air Cargo.  Quote from BA are around $2100 and from NW Cargo are around $1600.  The fact that I find these rates sort of outrageous is beside the point.  They are what they are.

We purchased an XL 30" high crate for our 68 lb. lab mix, and her ears will just barely touch the top of the crate if she stands up straight inside it.  She has been sleeping in this crate for several months, and we feel it's a good size for her.  How hardcore are the cargo companies on the 'no ears touching' policy with the crate?  Do they actually get out a measuring tape, etc?  We are getting paranoid by reading all the posts on this site detailing horror stories.

After all the time and expense we've invested into getting our beloved dog to the UK, we don't want any last minute hiccups.

Any advice is much appreciated!!

I went Continental but I gather that all airlines are pretty hardcore on the crate dimensions for international flights.

I believe it is something like a three inch clearance from ear tips or top of head to ceiling of crate, that they demand, and also enough width and length clearance for the animal to stand up and fully turn around without touching the sides. You do wind up with a crate that looks WAY too big, but it's all in the interests of the comfort of your animal on a long flight. If his ears just about touch, you may have to go bigger. Check with your airline on EXACTLY what they want from you in this, because they can and do refuse on the grounds of too small a crate, and I've seen some stories of people having to find the nearest pet store and buy another crate before the flight leaves. Go with precisely what the rules are.

I flew BA.  When we checked in (three cats), they photographed the animals in their crates.

Nobody was measured.  However, I'm fairly sure there would have been an issue if it looked even close.

I wonder though, whether it depends on if you get a CSR who actually gives a sh*t, or is just trying to get through the day.

One of my biggest fears was getting to the cargo centre and being turned away, so I went with the oversized crate, paid out the ars* and got on with it.  After seeing your quotes, however, I feel fairly lucky to only have paid $1600 for three animals.

We purchased an XL 30" high crate for our 68 lb. lab mix, and her ears will just barely touch the top of the crate if she stands up straight inside it.  She has been sleeping in this crate for several months, and we feel it's a good size for her.  How hardcore are the cargo companies on the 'no ears touching' policy with the crate?  Do they actually get out a measuring tape, etc?  We are getting paranoid by reading all the posts on this site detailing horror stories.

I'm in the same-ish boat with my giant cat.  If he sits really rigidly upright (not easy to get him to do) the tippy tops of his ears might graze the top of the container.  The next size up is absolutely enormous, though. 

I'm tempted to buy the next size up and have it on hand *just in case* and have my dad (who lives nearby) return it if it isn't needed.  Our cat sleeps in and loves his crate, and the size is otherwise perfect.  Heck, it might well BE perfect.  I can't convince my cat to sit up totally straight very often -- or ever.   

The cats and I were supposed to leave today, but a flood in our apartment in London means we're pushed back a month.  AAAAAAAAAHHHH!  Which means a month more of OMGPANIC about the cats and the flight.

I just looked for the kennel requirements on Virgin and they say 2 inches from the top of the head, not from the ears. Continental's site doesn't give measurements at all, just that they need to be able to turn around, stand up and lay down normally, and to reduce the stress on short-nosed breeds it needs to be one size bigger.

What airlines have people used and did they like them? Continental sounds good, but I haven't seen any prices yet. The Virgin site says that Defra charges more for unaccompanied pets, but Continental doesn't mention it--is that true? How much more? Our pets (three cats and a dog) will be following us several months later, because it seems better to have them stay with MIL(the dog) and a friend(cats) than put them in quarantine--and certainly a lot cheaper. The logistics are harder, though.

I just looked for the kennel requirements on Virgin and they say 2 inches from the top of the head, not from the ears. Continental's site doesn't give measurements at all, just that they need to be able to turn around, stand up and lay down normally, and to reduce the stress on short-nosed breeds it needs to be one size bigger.

What airlines have people used and did they like them? Continental sounds good, but I haven't seen any prices yet. The Virgin site says that Defra charges more for unaccompanied pets, but Continental doesn't mention it--is that true? How much more? Our pets (three cats and a dog) will be following us several months later, because it seems better to have them stay with MIL(the dog) and a friend(cats) than put them in quarantine--and certainly a lot cheaper. The logistics are harder, though.

I was instructed by the pet export specialist I hired, three inches from the top of the ears.

I flew Continental and I never had the opportunity to ascertain if this was Continental's stipulation or simply the recommendation of the pet export woman who was guiding me. All I know is, to be on the safe side I went with that and didn't have a problem. Personally in anything like this, where there is a lesser measurement or a greater one, I would go with the greater because "roomier than strictly necessary" won't cause a last minute refusal by the airline, while "too small" definitely will.

Hunh. Good point.  And here we have the fundamental issue that makes getting our furry kids over there so hard...Left hand, meet right hand. And I suspect(in pessimistic moments, even though I know better) that if they don't know the official details of the requirements,  they just make it up to throw their weight around.

Prattworks, I was in almost exactly the same situation as you--my dog is 65 lbs, I had a x-large crate, and her ears just barely grazed the top (floppy ears).  I broke down and got the next-biggest crate for her--the giant sized, meant for great danes and all that.  It looks ridiculously huge, but she actually seems to like it better and I can feel comfortable putting a big squashy bed in there.  We don't move until next summer, so I have plenty of time to acclimate her.  I thought about trying to get by with the smaller crate, but I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it work and I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to acclimate her to whatever crate we used.

I did look into these crate height extension kits:
http://www.petrelocation.com/crate-height.html
They seem to want to sell them already attached to the crate, though--but maybe they would be willing to sell just the kit part?  Anyways, something worth considering.

You have my sympathies--I honestly don't understand why the crate companies don't make them a little bit taller.

I just bought carriers for my cats and dog....They certainly seem to jump from 'too-small' to 'gigantic' with no middle.  I have two enormous tabbies and one tiny calico, and thought I'd have to get the same carrier for all of them!! I ended up choosing one that was almost too small, since I doubt she'll move from curled-up-in-the-corner(she is not a good traveler) After I got home, I noticed that one of the clips was missing from the small carrier, and when I returned it they had another size that was perfect! I would suggest that you check online for the size you want before going into the store, and if they don't have it ask them to order one for you( I don't like ordering that sort of thing online, for no reason I can think of. I guess I just want to see it in person.) I hadn't even known they were out of sizes--there were no tags on the shelves to show what was available and the employees were clueless.

On Continental... this may be bad luck, but I called them and after being told over and over to check the website for more info(which said to call for more detailed info) I got a very bored girl who was obviously just reading a computer screen...She told me I'd need an 'EU Journal' to get into the UK, and that I had to hire a pet agent, PBS, in order to get my pets accepted into the UK to the tune of 300-400 pounds. Don't you deal directly with DEFRA? Is there a third party go-between that must be used? I haven't gotten that impression elsewhere.

I must confess a pet transport company is sounding better all the time....

I just bought carriers for my cats and dog....They certainly seem to jump from 'too-small' to 'gigantic' with no middle.  I have two enormous tabbies and one tiny calico, and thought I'd have to get the same carrier for all of them!! I ended up choosing one that was almost too small, since I doubt she'll move from curled-up-in-the-corner(she is not a good traveler) After I got home, I noticed that one of the clips was missing from the small carrier, and when I returned it they had another size that was perfect! I would suggest that you check online for the size you want before going into the store, and if they don't have it ask them to order one for you( I don't like ordering that sort of thing online, for no reason I can think of. I guess I just want to see it in person.) I hadn't even known they were out of sizes--there were no tags on the shelves to show what was available and the employees were clueless.

On Continental... this may be bad luck, but I called them and after being told over and over to check the website for more info(which said to call for more detailed info) I got a very bored girl who was obviously just reading a computer screen...She told me I'd need an 'EU Journal' to get into the UK, and that I had to hire a pet agent, PBS, in order to get my pets accepted into the UK to the tune of 300-400 pounds. Don't you deal directly with DEFRA? Is there a third party go-between that must be used? I haven't gotten that impression elsewhere.

I must confess a pet transport company is sounding better all the time....

That bored girl almost had it right but not quite -- the Form 998 is also called something like "EU journal Forrm 998 Veterinary Certificate" if I'm not mistaken. So she was basically talking about the right thing but by only half it's name.

PBS is the company that Gatwick uses to process your arriving animal -- they are the folks who check him or her out and give the big yay or nay about releasing the animal to you. I used a pet transport company that booked my cat's place on the flight for me, although you are not allowed to actually pay for his passage until the time you are in fact there checking him and his carrier onto the flight.

In July 2008, leaving Houston and arriving Gatwick, Continental, cat weighing about 11 lbs and 20 x 21 x22 (approximately) carrier weighing about that much also, my cat's flight cost about $770, but that included all fees due at the Gatwick end also, (at pickup we had no further money to pay for his release). The price constantly changes though, according to quite literally the fluctuating cost of airline fuel/gas prices from day to day, and this price for my cat was right in the middle of the skyrocketing gas prices of summer 2008.

About the size of the crate/carrier -- the airline or PBS or whatever body don't care if your cat might never stand up at full height -- they want you to measure your cat from paw on the ground to tip of ear when standing on all fours, and then count two to three inches more, and then buy the crate that is that tall. If you get a smaller one because you figure she won't move from "curled up in a corner" you run the risk of having them reject your animal's crate at check-in, causing a possible delay you really don't want when catching the flight and on a time clock for the Tick and tapeworm treatment.

In all of this, you kind of really do have to take all their little rules and requirements seriously because they can and do refuse anything that is not what they command in their guidelines. It's pretty strict at every tiny step of the PETS process, but it's worth it not to faff around because in the end abiding by every little thing will achieve a smooth, trouble free and successful acceptance onto the flight, and acceptance of entry into the UK.

So *that's* where she got 'EU Journal'....It certainly was not helpful, and had me worried that I was missing something.  PBS being the company you go through at Gatwick explains a bit too...of course, I was asking about going to Heathrow .  All in all the whole thing did *not* give me real warm-and-fuzzies about the Continental pet service.

On the other hand, I called Virgin today and the woman I talked to was informed, polite, knew the exact questions to ask and could give me a quote for the animals over the phone. My dog is staying with my MIL, and the three cats are going to be with a friend. The dog's quarantine will be up a month before the cats so I thought they would come out at different times. She even pointed out that if I shipped all four of my furries at the same time, I would save over $1500!!! (apparently, Virgin charges per kilogram-volume-equivalent; basically, if I understand it aright, the number of kilograms that the volume of the carrier takes up(). If the total amount is over 100, the price per kilo drops by quite a bit, so the total price is less.)

Yeah, I know they are picky about the size of the kennel; I didn't say it was too small only that it was almost too small, as far as I could tell anyway(Na'toth, the cat, did not cooperate with the whole measuring thing) and was too close for my comfort especially since I'm not really sure how tall she is. The new kennel, that I didn't know they had, is about an inch and a half taller and I don't think anyone would have a problem with it; she's only 7lb. To be honest, I wasn't able to get a good height for any of the cats. It was like trying to measure warm taffy; they oozed...The bigger cats, 15 and 20 lb,  have a 27x18x18 carrier which should be plenty big.