Has anyone flown United Newark -> Edinburgh with a pet?

Hi all,
We are moving soon to Scotland with our much loved Shetland Sheepdog, Alba. On the Pet Travel Scheme approved carriers and routes Edinburgh is listed as an accepted port of entry serviced by United.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/180941/pets-air-routes1.pdf

However, on United site under 'Traveling to the United Kingdom with your pet' it states that you can only enter via Heathrow or Manchester.
http://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/animals/restrictions.aspx#uk

I've written to United to try to clear up but in the meantime I wonder if anyone else has taken this route?

Thanks,
Aimee

Not taken the route but just wanted to let you know you know sometimes the airlines aren't always the most up to date on things.  I've gotten the best information by calling animal reception at the airport for help.  Even DEFRA sometimes isn't as up to date as they are.  They will also check over everything for you as they are the ones who clear the animal so if there's a mistake they will catch it

Hi all,
We are moving soon to Scotland with our much loved Shetland Sheepdog, Alba. On the Pet Travel Scheme approved carriers and routes Edinburgh is listed as an accepted port of entry serviced by United.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/180941/pets-air-routes1.pdf

However, on United site under 'Traveling to the United Kingdom with your pet' it states that you can only enter via Heathrow or Manchester.
http://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/animals/restrictions.aspx#uk

I've written to United to try to clear up but in the meantime I wonder if anyone else has taken this route?

Thanks,
Aimee

I have! Just recently in fact.

The information on the  United website is outdated.
I called their PetSafe desk to clarify that and a few other points but I didn't find them very helpful, I could tell that they were just reading from a screen and didn't fully understand the process.
You're best off getting in touch with extrordinair , they are the company who manage the pet reception center at EDI.

 http://www.extrordinair.co.uk/Pet_Passport_Scheme.htm

Awesome thanks Larabee.
I found out the same info after contacting the PetSafe desk.
I've already been in touch earlier with the Extraordinair to make sure I was preparing everything correctly. They seem really helpful and knowledable.

How did it go with your pet?
Any tips or tricks?
I'm so nervous to put my baby in the hold of the plane. I can't wait to get on the other side of that experience.

Best,
Aimee

Well, I don't have anything for you that you won't have read somewhere before but I'll tell you about the things that I did which I was glad that I had done!

I don't know if you're flying out of EWR or not, we started at LAX and changed there but one of the things I did was to actually go to the United cargo depot before we left.
It started out because I was so scared of getting the wrong type of carrier that I had decided to just pay their rip off prices and buy my carriers from them ( for 2 cats btw)
As it transpired, they didn't have any for sale (despite me calling PetSafe to verify that they would have them.  )
So, I had to buy them somewhere else anyway but I took them to United along with the measurements (getting those was a job in itself, everything is a game with our cats! ) so that they could OK them.
They were pretty disorganized there, but helpful too if you know what I mean.
As the crates passed inspection I had them drill their holes right then. (They need to secure the door with zip ties and the drill holes are necessary for that) I was glad that I'd done that as the drill was pretty noisy and I think might have freaked the pusses out, had they been in the carriers at the time.
I mentioned that I'd not managed to find appropriate dishes yet so I was actually given (no charge!!! ) 4 dishes, 2 for food and 2 for H2O. The girl told me to freeze water in the dishes and put them in the carriers just before I left. Brilliant!
I also clarified the paperwork with them which put my mind at rest as I was still pretty confused at that point.

One other really good thing that came of my visit was that I learned from someone waiting in line that although the USDA (Hawthorne) is open until the end of the day, the vet is only available to sign the forms until 11 am so I had to plan 2 days for the whole vet visit/USDA visit thing as I there just wasn't time to get them both done same day with the drive involved from our vet to the USDA office.
And of course, once I'd been to cargo, I knew where to find it in the middle of the night when we were actually leaving!

Do fax your paperwork from the vets office to the USDA and wait for the confirmation that it's all in order. Our vet had made a small omission and I was able to have it corrected while I was there and save myself a trip. Time is precious at that stage in the game.

I read that someone had put an old t-shirt or similar in the carrier with their dog so that the familiar smell would comfort the animal. With our cats, I went the catnip route to get them used to the carriers, they went from being terrified of them to practically living in them, in one easy step!

Oh, another thing. Get to cargo EARLY on the day of departure. Don't listen to what they tell you. Petsafe told me to be there 2 hours before the flight! I'm like, I'm flying too and I have to be there 3 hours before as it's an international flight, how's that supposed to work?
Them..hmmmm ok then get there 3 hours before, Me, then I still can't get to the airport myself in time. Them, hmmm, just don't be there too early. Me-OK thanks so much for your help!
I went 4 hours ahead and was the only one there at 2.30 am. It took me a full hour to get through the process. If I had happened to be second or third in line, even allowing 4 hours, I would have been freaking out!

For some reason that I'm not quite sure of, I didn't worry at all, not one bit, about my cats during the trip. Well, maybe because my main concern was that for some unforeseen  reason, they would be refused and so once I had them checked in, I just had no more worries left. (Does this make me a bad mum?!)

The cats are fine thank you!!! The old girl got out of her cage, stretched her legs and went promptly to her litter box. She had seemed really pretty unconcerned.
The young one, although a really tough little cat was a bit more scared looking and she was really stiff for the first couple of days, evidenced by her walking a bit funnily. I imagine that she just stayed in the same tight little ball that she had been in when I left her at LAX. That soon wore off though and she's having the time of her life now exploring her new home.

cullyvan, is someone picking you up at EDI?

Oh, another thing. Get to cargo EARLY on the day of departure. Don't listen to what they tell you. Petsafe told me to be there 2 hours before the flight! I'm like, I'm flying too and I have to be there 3 hours before as it's an international flight, how's that supposed to work?
Them..hmmmm ok then get there 3 hours before, Me, then I still can't get to the airport myself in time. Them, hmmm, just don't be there too early. Me-OK thanks so much for your help!
I went 4 hours ahead and was the only one there at 2.30 am. It took me a full hour to get through the process. If I had happened to be second or third in line, even allowing 4 hours, I would have been freaking out!

I was told to get to the cargo office four hours in advance; I got there about five hours early. That office's whole check-in process took 90 minutes, so I was glad I'd allowed enough time to get through everything.

But I'm not an early-to-the-airport person. Ninety minutes before my flight is enough for me, because Philly's international terminal never has longer than a 10-minute wait at security, and I breeze on through. When moving the cats, I ended up at the airport so early, I didn't know what to do with myself.

Glad to hear your cats are safe and healthy and happy as expats, larrabee!

Thanks so much for all the details. I'm so nervous about it and I want to do everything I can to make it go smoothly.

We are flying out of Newark but live in the Boston area. We are driving to Newark so that we can shorten the exeprience for the dog and only have one flight instead of two.  Maybe I can go to visit the cargo area of United in Boston though ahead of time, just to get my stuff checked out.

About your question if someone is picking us up at EDI. GOOD QUESION. What happens at that side? I am not sure if I should arrange someone to meet us or if we should just cab it once we get through everything.

I've been emailing with the Animal Reception Centre at Edinburgh airport and they seem pretty helpful. It is such a small airport that I can't imagine they get tons of animals arriving at the same time but I still don't know what to except. How long did it take to get through the paperwork on that side? Where is the Animal Reception Centre at the EDI airport? Can we walk there once we get the bags? Or do we need someone to meet us and drive us over?

Another thing I think I already know the answer to but want to check is if we should give our dog something to help him relax. I think it is a big NO. I am so angry with my vet though because when I talked to her a couple months ago she perscribed Acepromazine. Since then I've read that you definately SHOULD NOT give them that before a flight. So while I know any form of sedative is OUT is there something safe to give for anxiety? I've seen people post about Rescue Remedy which I actually have (for myself!) and I can give him a little bit of that but I don't think that will last very long. I'm thinking from what I read that it's probably best to just give him nothing. I just can't stand the thought of him being scared and alone in the belly of the plane. Maybe I should take the acepromazine myself!

Thanks so much. I will be so happy when we get through all of this hopefully safe and sound.

So glad you found that info helpful.
You are correct, animals which are sedated will not be permitted to fly, there is too high a chance of death. If I were you I would tell your vet that this is the case these days.
Rescue remedy I can't advise on but personally I wouldn't do that either.

It's a funny set up at EDI and that's why I asked you.
The pet reception center is really close as the crow flies but you can't walk to it. By road it cost, as I remember, around 20gbp in a taxi  from the taxi rank to there and back to international arrivals. I had the taxi wait for me but I didn't leave from arrivals until I had confirmed that the cats were cleared and ready for me just to run in and pick up. I think it took about 90 mins from the plane landing until I got the call that they were ready. It's about a 10 min drive each way and I was there about 5 mins picking them up. I left my husband at the airport with the bags.
I chose to do it that way as I had arranged a local cab to take us home from the airport and they charge a flat fee but they would have had to put the whole journey on the clock if I had had them side track to the pet reception center.
So once I had picked up the cats and got back to the airport, I called the local cab to take us home from there.
If there is someone who can pick you up then that's obviously easier and cheaper but it worked just fine for us doing things the way we did.

I'm sure your dog will do great! It's always more stressful for the parent! :-) When I moved with my cats I slept in an old t-shirt for a few nights, then cut it in half and put it in each of their carriers. I don't know if this helped them, but I felt better about it. You can put his favorite toys in there with him. I also put some of those absorbent pads on the bottom under some towels.  

You'll definitely want to find out where the ARC is at EDI ahead of time. The one at Gatwick was a couple of miles from the airport, and there was no way to get there except by car. If you can have someone meet you at the airport or rent a car, it will be a lot less stressful for you. I would have had to get a taxi to get me to the ARC, then I would have had no idea how long it was going to take (in the end, my cats were ready by the time I got there) and I have no idea how I would have gotten a taxi to get back out there. Plus, do all taxis allow pets? I have no idea. It sounds like you've been in touch with the ARC, so these are all good questions for them.

You definitely can not give your dog a sedative. Someone who worked in baggage for an airline posted on here once that they put the animals as far away from the engine as possible, and it's dark. So, it's a fairly calm environment for them.

I flew from Newark and the people in the animal reception were really great. This was awhile ago, so hopefully it's still the same! I think we were told 4 hours in advance, but it ended up being between 3 and 4 hours. They do have a lot of animals flying from there, so I would get there as early as possible. I remember one person flying domestically got there about an hour before his flight. They told him he wouldn't have time to do all of the paperwork (there were a bunch of us there waiting), so he had to take the dog in the cabin. As long as you have a humongous crate, you'll be fine. You can give the dog water, but not food.

You can put his favorite toys in there with him.   

If flying with United, as cullyvan is, toys are not permitted.

  You can give the dog water, but not food.

One can, and should attach a ziplock bag containing "less than 16oz" of dry food to the outside of the cage. This is advisable in case of unforseen delays.

This is the link to the checklist that United use when deciding if your pet is eligible to fly.

https://www.united.com/web/format/pdf/travel/animals/CGO556_Live_Animal_Checklist_REV_Dec2011.pdf

If flying with United, as cullyvan is, toys are not permitted.

One can, and should attach a ziplock bag containing "less than 16oz" of dry food to the outside of the cage. This is advisable in case of unforseen delays.

This is the link to the checklist that United use when deciding if your pet is eligible to fly.

https://www.united.com/web/format/pdf/travel/animals/CGO556_Live_Animal_Checklist_REV_Dec2011.pdf

Interesting about the food. They weren't too happy that I wanted to put food on my cat's crate (they're on special diets). I flew Continental, so it might have been different. Thanks for the corrections!

I flew Continental, so it might have been different. Thanks for the corrections!

Yes, I'm sure all the airlines have different rules and regulations.   I just flew this route myself on Untied so all their rules are pretty much ingrained!

Glad to hear your cats are safe and healthy and happy as expats, larrabee!

Thanks seahorse!!!  They're loving it.
I have spent a lot of time in the UK in the last 3 years, without the pusses obviously, so now, when I wake up here with them on top of me or in my face, I'm just so happy! 

Thanks seahorse!!!  They're loving it.
I have spent a lot of time in the UK in the last 3 years, without the pusses obviously, so now, when I wake up here with them on top of me or in my face, I'm just so happy! 

Glad you finally got them over with you and they're doing great. My cats made the trip great as well and it was so worth the hassle and money to have them there with me. :-)