Shared Flight (with pets) from UK to US?
 

After 5 years in London, I will be soon be relocating back to the US. I am bringing my dog with me, but don't feel comfortable sending him via the cargo hold of a commercial flight. (He's adopted and I think the whole experience would be too hard on him.)

The option of going via Cunard's Queen Mary cruise line also wont work as it's booked through March 2014!

Given that, I'm hoping to gather other pet-owners interested in flying a similar route so that we can share a charter flight. With enough people, the cost is pretty reasonable (about USD 4,000 per seat,) given there's no extra cost of kennels/agents/etc.

So I am wondering if anyone else would be interested in this? My ideal route is London to Boston in January, but am very flexible in terms of route and timing. (Basically, anywhere UK to anywhere on the east coast of the US/Canada between now and February would work.)

Please let me know if you're interested and I can share more information.

Thanks in advance!

Cunard also sounded like a great option (we were going to relocate the other way) a number of years ago, but they were also fully booked during the times we needed too. Sadly, your dog is not allowed in your stateroom, but must be kept at the kennel area for the entire duration of the trip. :td:

If you do find someone to share your charter, please report back on how the charter went and which company you decided on. We are always interested in hearing about traveling with pets ;)

Have you considered traveling to France or another EU country and then flying with your dog in the cabin to BOS?

Also what type of dog do you have and how many pounds does it weigh?

Thanks very much for the replies!

I will definitely let you know how the charter flight goes if that does work out. From speaking with a few jet companies, it sounds like there is a fair bit of interest from people travelling with pets, either because their dogs aren't allowed on a commercial flight due to the breed (pugs, etc) or because they just want a less stressful option than the cargo hold. One company is even thinking of setting up a monthly pet flight from UK to US, which would be great - with a full flight, chartering is actually reasonably economical. Anyway, I'll let you know what I find out!

In terms of flying with my dog in cabin, he's 35kg/70lbs, so unfortunately too big to go under the seat :( I've not seen any airlines that allow a larger dog in the cabin, so I think my only option on commercial flights would be for him to go in a travel crate in the cargo hold, which I don't think would work very well for my dog. Thank you for the suggestion, though!

Thank you again for the replies and I will let you know how it goes!
Karina

Have you tried Victor? http://www.flyvictor.com/
They are starting a UK/London route and will help you organize a flight as well.
I have used them from Geneva to the UK

Thanks, maxmin33! I am in touch with Victor (and a few other charter options) and am hoping something will come up soon!

Karina

My wife and I are in the exact same situation! We need to move from the UK to the US in January. We are flexible with the departure location, destintation, and timing. We have two cats and one dog and would love to make this happen. Please let me know if you have had any success at organizing this charter.

US to UK Charter?
 

I think this is a GREAT idea. Our last flight on Virgin form LHR to JFK, was a real mess for the pets. We couldn't get a cab, then when we got one, he didn't know where cargo was and neither did we:P THEN we found our rental car, got to cargo and there was NO WATER in the containers. I watered the animals but they wouldn't let the dog out to pee until I had gone all the way across Kennedy to get the paperwork stamped. By the time I got back we were all stressed out and I don't know what to do about travel plans this year.

My dog is old and can't handle cargo, but I miss UK and hate NY winter. I miss my horse in UK too:(

If anyone has ideas for traveling back to UK with an old dog, I am all ears. US is getting as difficult to travel into as UK used to be:(

FURS CLASS on VICTOR - YES!
 

Hi hdune.

I don't have any suggestions just yet, but am still working on a "pet flight" from the UK to the US in December or January. Once everything is sorted, I'll let you know how it goes, in case it can help with your trip to the UK.

Good luck!

After a slight delay in my relocation, I'm now looking again to share a charter flight in order to move my dog from the UK to the US - would anyone else be interested?

I'm also trying for Cunard's Queen Mary and am on the waiting list, but they're booked through Dec 2014 and I'm not too hopeful...

Thanks!

Charter flight interest
 

Hello, we'd be very interested and are relocating from EU mainland to US this spring:summer... We took our dog on Cunard moving over here and alas the spaces are indeed all booked!

Hi Jason

I've just sent you a private message if you're still interested...

Thanks!

Flying dogs from UK to USA
 

Karinap,

We are also looking for a way to get our 2 dogs from the UK to the USA-east coast also (Baltimore/Washington) . Very interested in the chartered flight option! Not sure when you are trying to go but we are looking at August or September. I saw you said it was approx. $4000.00 per person when you were thinking about going in January, is that still the price? Also, how much more would the dogs be? Please feel free to email me.

Stacey

Hi Stacey - I just sent you a private message - please let me know if you're still interested!