move is close...getting scared

I could use some reassurance...

I have had a stressful time getting prepared with my kitties and moving, and I am scared something is going to go wrong, they are going to get lost or something is going to happen to them...if anyone has gone through the process, can you just tell me how it went and that it went ok?

I am going through BA...have you guys had good experiences with them?

I'm a worrier!!!

I left from Boston Logan and I can't remember if I came through BA or Virgin, but staff at both end were incredibly professional. It takes a little while on the UK end because they check the animals over and give them water.

My cat is a former feral and so weirder than most. She came through just fine.

I've had really good experiences flying with my cat(s). I moved two to England via Continental and they couldn't have been better. That was the first time they flew, so I was really nervous (plus, they're older). There were a lot of animals there and I was nervous they wouldn't make it onto the correct flight. You could tell the people at the reception center really cared about animals and they made me feel at ease. We flew into Gatwick and the people at the Animal Reception Centre were fine. One of the cats had peed, so they took out all of the bedding and put it in a plastic bag (which promptly got thrown away!). A couple of years later I flew them on a short Aer Arann flight from Cardiff to Dublin. Again, the airline employees were so funny with them. Obviously I left them prior to boarding and when I walked out on the tarmac to get on the plane there was an employee laying on the ground looking at one of the cats in the crate. It was hilarious! I was kind of hanging back watching and someone saw me asked if they were my cats. I said yes, and she told me how lush they were! Sadly, one of my cats died in Dublin (not from flying, because he was old), but when we moved to the US in June we flew one cat back with us. She was older (15!) and she flew like a champ! She's a nervous kitty in stressful conditions. This time it was Aer Lingus and they were brilliant as well. 

Trust me, they do not want anything to happen to your pet and will do everything to ensure it gets there safely!

I flew my dog and cat from Dulles -> Heathrow on BA and they were great. My dog walked out of ARC like he'd taken a 20-minute car ride, and my cat looked pretty at ease and surprisingly un-furious at being stuck in his carrier. Both of them were clean and dry (not sure if the cat messed up his crate, but the dog's blankets were still clean), and ARC was nice enough to give me a leash (that I still use today) because mine either didn't get loaded up with my boys or disappeared in transit. They also took the giant dog crate off my hands for me. Everyone was nice and professional.

equestrianerd- great to hear that you flew out of Dulles on BA! We are hoping everything is going to go smoothly. Is the place where you drop off the animals at Dulles nice? How do you get there? Did they take you off the plane first thing, or do you have to wait until first class, etc is off the plane before you get off? And how do you get to the ARC with all your bags?? Eek!

CharmCityGirl- I've heard good things about Continental, our friends just flew with their animals to Norway on them. We have to fly BA because of our miles...which sucks actually because of the heat embargo in Dallas, otherwise we'd be flying out of there instead of Dulles. How funny about the guy lying on the tarmac in Ireland! I love the Irish! I visited there once when I used to live in Scotland, they are such funny people as it is. Good to hear your cats were ok, even though they were older. Sorry to hear about your kitty dying.

Stoatula- Good to hear that they give them water. Both my cats are pretty good natured, the older one is about 3, he is a little more cranky but strangely enough he travels very well. He just goes to sleep in his crate. But the younger one who is very much a people cat, HATES his crate and howls until he cant howl anymore. His little voice goes out. So he is just going to be beside himself. But they sound like they're going to be ok.

Thanks for the help!! Its making me feel better already!!

equestrianerd- great to hear that you flew out of Dulles on BA! We are hoping everything is going to go smoothly. Is the place where you drop off the animals at Dulles nice? How do you get there? Did they take you off the plane first thing, or do you have to wait until first class, etc is off the plane before you get off? And how do you get to the ARC with all your bags?? Eek!

My mom dropped off my animals (I was already in London), but she said the staff there was quite nice. I think there are signs along the Dulles access road for British World Cargo - she said it was pretty easy to find. I'm guessing you'd still have to de-plane like normal, but they do take the animals off pretty quickly. My boys' plane apparently landed around 9:30 and they arrived at ARC at 10:15.

Since I didn't fly into Heathrow, I didn't have to traverse the airport with bags, but I think it's pretty straightforward to get to (via car) from the terminals. You may want to look into pre-booking a cab to take you over there if you won't have a car.

Good luck!

My cats were on the same plane as me. You de-plane and go through immigration/customs/get luggage as normal. At Gatwick the ARC was not at the terminal building (I think Heathrow is the same), so my friend who picked me up drove me to the ARC which was a mile or so away. By the time we got there the cats were ready to be picked up! I signed the papers and we were off. I know some people have had to wait hours. It really just depends on how many pets they need to process at that time and if there are any issues.

Dulles airport is fairly straightforward (we flew in/out of there quite a bit), so I don't think you'll have any problems finding BA world cargo.