Which Airlines allow Pets?
When flying internationally you've got a reasonable choice of airlines. British Airway will allow cats and dogs travel as hand luggage or in the hold. Virgin Atlantic allows cats, dogs to travel as cargo in the hold. Dutch Airline KLM will carry pets as hand luggage, checked luggage or as freight. Lufthansa carries pets as hand luggage or cargo, American Airlines carries cats and dogs in the cabin or in the hold and many of the other large international airlines also transport animals. All airlines will require you to reserve your pet's travel before you go. Each airline has slightly different regulations about what and how they will carry animals. While some airlines allow pets in the cabin, others do not and there is always an administrative charge for transportation of animals.
Low-cost airlines
None of the UK based low-cost carriers will allow pets to travel in the cabin. Only Flybe will allow pets to travel in the hold as cargo. Some European discount airlines have different rules:
• Germanwings allows cats and dogs to travel as hand luggage, travelling in a waterproof box, as long as the total weight is less than 8kg and the total dimensions less than 45 x 29 x 22cm.The Scandinavian low-cost carrier Sterling.dk allows cats and dogs to travel in the cabin instead of a hand luggage baggage as long as the dimensions do not exceed 50x40x25cm and the weight does not exceed 10kg. Pets can also be carried in the hold for a cost of €6 per kilo.
How to carry your pet?
You can book your pet to fly two different ways: accompanied or unaccompanied. Accompanied flying does not necessarily mean that your pet will be able to sit with you. If the animal is traveling with you, the travel cage will have to be small enough to fit under the seat in front of you and the standard maximum allowable weight is normally 8-10kg. Normally, only one pet is allowed per basket (and only one basket per passenger) though some airlines will permit very small animals to travel together, usually with a maximum of two per Cage, so two young puppies, under the age of six months, might be allowed to travel together. But note that no airline will transport animals that have not yet been weaned.
If your pet is traveling in the hold, you must provide enough food and drink for it for the journey and you must have fed it within four hours of the departure time. The hold is usually left dark so that the animals can settle down to a good sleep and the temperature is controlled. Be careful if flying in the summertime as pets will not be carried on planes if the temperature is expected to exceed 85F at any point in the journey. Snub-nosed dogs and some breeds of cats (such as Siamese) have even stricter travel procedures, because they find it harder to breathe than other anima. Some airlines refuse to carry them in the hold at all and none will permit them to travel if the temperature is expected to be above 75F at any point in the journey. Cargo departments of most airports are separate to the passenger terminals, so make sure you know where you need to go to pick them up.
Rules for travel
The following are standard rules for travel, but do check with the individual airline as variations occur.
• Documentation must be ready in advance of travel. Some countries require import licences and records of vaccinations will always be needed. A certificate is required from a vet stating that the animal is in good health and it must have been issued within 14 days before travel.
• Baskets or Cages must be big enough for the pet to sit, stand and move around in and must be well ventilated on all four sides. The animal must not be able to fit its nose or paws outside the mesh or ventilation holes. They must be locked and secured Water and food containers must be accessible from the outside. The container must be marked "live animals" on the side, in letters at least an inch high.
Pet's passport: The DEFRA (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) Pet Travel Scheme (commonly known as pet's passport) lets animals from certain countries enter the UK without undergoing the six month quarantine period. This means that you can bring your pet back into the UK as well, without them having to undergo quarantine. To meet the rules of the scheme, your pet needs to be fitted with a microchip, vaccinated against rabies and then blood-tested. You then have to wait for six months after the animal has been blood-tested to check that the vaccine was successful to get the documentation from the vet that will allow it to travel and your pet will be issued with an EU passport. The scheme applies to dogs, cats and ferrets. Other domestic animals such as birds, rabbits, rodents and fish can also be transported under the scheme, though, obviously, they do not have to be micro chipped or given rabies vaccinations. The scheme is excellent for providing easy transportation of animals from the UK, but it does take time to follow the procedures, so make sure you start at least seven months before you're due to fly.
Airmiles for Pets??
Virgin Atlantic and United Airlines have launched frequent flyer programmes for pets. Virgin's Flying Paws reward scheme lets animals win gifts for themselves and air miles for their owner. On their first flight, the animals will receive a "welcome onboard pet pack" complete with doggy t-shirts, toy mouse or, for the ferrets, a flying jacket and collar tag. All pets will receive their own passport, which lets them collect paw prints that they can redeem for gifts. United's programme, United Pet Pass, lets owners earn an extra 1,200 air miles when their pets travel with them.