Booking tickets with British Airways

So my boyfriend and my cats are coming in October and we are keeping our eyes out for a ticket with BA (they are flying from Atlanta and BA is the only approved airline). What is the best way to buy a ticket when you are traveling with animals? Should we call BA to book a ticket with them directly, or should we go through a travel agent like AAA? Do we need to book the cats at the same time as purchasing his ticket?

Also, for those of you who have traveled to UK on BA with cats, about how much did it cost? I called them several months ago and got a quote for $600 per cat but the lady I spoke with wasn't very knowledgeable or helpful. One cat is 13 lbs and one is 9 lbs.

Just looking for some insight into the process from you that have dealt with BA...

Thanks!

I can't help with whether you book through an agent or not, but when I called BA to get a quote, they told me to book my ticket first and not to call them about the pets until 14 days before the trip.  (I'm not sure what they do if they have a few people wanting to fly with pets at the same time...maybe it's not that frequent of a thing, though.)

$1,200 sounds kind of high...they quoted me $1,775 to ship my 12lb cat and my 65lb dog.  I don't know if they have minimum fees regardless of weight/crate size, though.

  Trying calling this number if you haven't in the past--888.578.4806--it's the BA Pet Passport desk. They're the ones you call to book your animals in, and they can give you a quote over the phone if you already have the crate dimensions and the pet's weight.
   I'm flying out in 13 days with BA out of Philly, so I can let you know the details as I get closer. When I spoke to them, they said for me to book my ticket as usual and then call them to book the dogs in >14days in advance...I called them yesterday to book them in and they took my name and number and said someone will call me back to book them in by today.

  Trying calling this number if you haven't in the past--888.578.4806--it's the BA Pet Passport desk. They're the ones you call to book your animals in, and they can give you a quote over the phone if you already have the crate dimensions and the pet's weight.
   I'm flying out in 13 days with BA out of Philly, so I can let you know the details as I get closer. When I spoke to them, they said for me to book my ticket as usual and then call them to book the dogs in >14days in advance...I called them yesterday to book them in and they took my name and number and said someone will call me back to book them in by today.

Would you mind sharing what you paid? We'd be sending our dog on BA from Dulles -> Heathrow, and they quoted us $1,800. Is that a typical price? 

For one dog, that sounds crazy, unless he's a great dane or something.  A few weeks ago they quoted me $1,775 to ship my 65lb lab/shepherd (in a XXL crate) and a 12lb cat (in a small crate).  (Also Dulles -> Heathrow, BTW.)

For one dog, that sounds crazy, unless he's a great dane or something.  A few weeks ago they quoted me $1,775 to ship my 65lb lab/shepherd (in a XXL crate) and a 12lb cat (in a small crate).  (Also Dulles -> Heathrow, BTW.)

Yeah, that doesn't seem right! Thanks for the comparison.

Did you check Virgin as well? Are their prices similar?

Virgin quoted something like $2,020, plus DEFRA's fees on the UK side (about £300, unless they go unaccompanied, and then it's £295 more).

BA's fees were (supposedly) inclusive of all fees, so it ends up being $700+ cheaper when all is said and done.  Assuming their quotes are still accurate a few months from now when my pets actually fly.

Virgin quoted something like $2,020, plus DEFRA's fees on the UK side (about £300, unless they go unaccompanied, and then it's £295 more).

BA's fees were (supposedly) inclusive of all fees, so it ends up being $700+ cheaper when all is said and done.  Assuming their quotes are still accurate a few months from now when my pets actually fly.

 

OMG - ! I can't believe how expensive this all is!

Yeah, the prices are pretty crazy!

Just for comparison, I was quoted $1000 for my cocker spaniel on BA, and told the same thing - call about 2 weeks before travel to book her ticket.

 I was quoted about $2200 from BA to travel with my 75lb Lab mix in a Giant Petmate crate, and a 21lb terrier mix in the petmate intermediate size crate...damn dogs with funny proportions! The Lab is really long, and the terrier really tall...so they're traveling in these crates and my checkbook takes the brunt of it! I'm flying them out of PHL and I know that PHL is supposed to be @ $200 more expensive then surrounding airports, but for all the running around I'm going to be doing that day, I think I'm happy to pay the extra to not have to drive 2hrs+ to another airport with my stuff, the crates and the dogs!
   BA is all inclusive, while Virgin is not. The BA quote is still @ $500 cheaper BEFORE all the non-inclusive fees, so at least I feel like I'm getting them flown as cheaply as possible.
   Be warned--BA told be when I booked them in that-despite what the website says about crate dimensions-they need 5in+ of headroom...so I'm glad I ended up with the bigger crates in the end.
   The dogs go for their health certificates tomorrow afternoon   I still have WAY TOO MUCH packing to do     

  Be warned--BA told be when I booked them in that-despite what the website says about crate dimensions-they need 5in+ of headroom...so I'm glad I ended up with the bigger crates in the end.

That is really good to know, thanks!  I think my dog will be fine in the XXL crate even with the 5" headroom requirement (which will be wasted on him as he'll be lying down the whole time, either snoozing or begging for belly rubs from the airport staff!), but I'll double-check before I buy the crates!

I wonder if the cat also needs 5" of headroom (which he'll also never use)?  That would make for an awfully large cat crate...

That is really good to know, thanks!  I think my dog will be fine in the XXL crate even with the 5" headroom requirement (which will be wasted on him as he'll be lying down the whole time, either snoozing or begging for belly rubs from the airport staff!), but I'll double-check before I buy the crates!

I wonder if the cat also needs 5" of headroom (which he'll also never use)?  That would make for an awfully large cat crate...

  I know, my terrier mix is all legs, and pretty short coupled...she looks teeny tiny in the crate that gives her the 5in+ headroom because she just curls up in the backend of it and takes a nap  But what can you do? You just have to play by their rules

When looking up the dimensions of the XXL crate (it's 9" taller than my dog so he should have plenty of headroom ), I found quite a few craigslist postings for crates, so that might be a cheaper option for getting them as well.  The pet store prices are rather ridiculous (I think the XXL is $200 or something).