Hello,

I am moving to Oklahoma, US from Malta, EU. I need to move with me my two dogs (Pug and a French Bulldog). The routing normally consists of 3 total flights to go there, last one being an internal flight to Tulsa airport.

I am trying to find info online but I am very confused on how this works. Can anyone please help me out with this questions?

• Can I put both my dogs in one crate? (they are always together and I think they will feel safer in one crate)
• Can I fly on the same flights as my dogs?
• Should I use a shipping company that specializes in pet relocation, and if so, how do I co-ordinate my own flights to be the same as my dogs?
• I always booked my flights through Expedia whenever I travelled to the US. Should I use a local travel agency this time? or book direct? still I want to be on the same flights as my dogs.

This is my first time travelling with pets, and I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed. Any advice is highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

There are folks here who can better answer your specific questions about arranging the flights, but one issue you may not have looked at is the potential health risks for short nosed dogs traveling by air. This article explains some of the special concerns of traveling with dogs like pugs and bulldogs..

Interesting thing about how pugs in the "west" have been bred. Some friends rescued a couple from China (where the breed originated). Nowhere near as short/snub nosed as the western breed.

At any rate, if you have time, take the dogs by surface to the U.K. if you can (presents its own set of challenges) and then take them on a Cunard ship to the U.S. (might be able to take the Cunard ship from other European countries to the U.S. Then continue by surface to OK (it ain't gonna be Amtrak unless you pony up a private car at ~$4 a mile).

To answer your questions, dogs will normally travel on the same flight as you. Do allow plenty of time for layovers so the dogs make the connections. Look up what current US Customs/CBP and USDA regulations are for dog importation.

The fees for dog handling could be quite substantial. The cruise may not be much more expensive, if you can get the dogs to the U.K.

Are they small enough for under seat carriers? If so, I’d move them in the cabin, either by making two trips or by finding a friend or relative to fly with you.

This. And this again.
Both pugs and French bulldogs are snub-nosed breeds - many/most airlines will not transport them in the cargo hold these days,and with good reason. Take them along as carry-on in the cabin if at all possible.
Both Air France (AF MLA-CDG-ATL plus Delta ATL-TUS) ) and Lufthansa (LH MAL-MUC-ORD plus United ORD-TUS) will transport your dogs in the cabin (provided they don't weigh more than 8kgs including carrier) and fly between MLA and TUS.
You will need to have a companion as in-cabin pets are limited to one per passenger on all airlines in question.
I would book directly with the airline and not use a travel agent. Experience has shown that if changes have to be made to accommodate pet-unfriendly aircraft swaps etc., it's best to not have a middleman 'owning' the ticket.
Book your connections with enough time to allow for getting the dog(s) checked in with the connecting airline at the transit airport .You will need to book the pets separately with each airline involved in the itinerary (and pay the fee to each airline separately as well).
Be aware of the CDC-mandated restrictions regarding the importation of dogs to the USA. Malta is currently not on the list of 'high-risk" countries so you should be good.

My Pug is about 8-9kg and my Frenchie is about 12kg so they cannot be in the cabin with me, also I am travelling alone.

If I book myself directly with the airlines, how does it work in the layovers? is there someone who will replenish my dog's water etc? also would I have to collect the dogs myself and go through customs at the first point of entry in US?

In this case, things get complicated. Neither LH nor AF accept your breeds for travel in the hold anymore, and ever since AA stopped accepting pets as checked baggage in 2020, Alaska is the only airline left in the US still offering this - but they have an embargo on brachycephalic breeds and will not accept either of your dogs as well: https://www.alaskaair.com/content/tr...d-restrictions.

The only airline I know who still will accept your dogs in the hold as checked baggage and flies between Malta and the US is ITA: https://www.ita-airways.com/en_us/fl...trip/pets.html. ITA just 'recommends' not taking snub-nosed breeds in the hold but does not ban them.
ITA also has a 10kg weight limit for in-cabin animals, so at least your pug could fly in the cabin. In my experience with them, you could get away with the Frenchie as well, providing he/she fits in the regulation-size carrier. They'll allow both dogs in one crate for in-the-hold transport, too.
However, ITA has a very limited network and flies nowhere near Tulsa.Their only US destinations are on the East (Boston, New York, Miami, Washington) and West (Los Angeles, San Francisco) coasts. They'll add Chicago in April 2024. So it's going to be a very long drive to Tulsa.
All US airlines allowing pets in the cabin have no weight restrictions, just carrier size restrictions.But none allows more than one pet carrier per person, so flying domestically is out if you are on your own.

Apart from that, you'll have to cough up some serious money for getting them to Tulsa as manifested cargo using a pet shipper I`m afraid.
If you decide to go this route, check out Turkish cargo: https://www.turkishcargo.com/en/prod...-cargo/tk-live - AFAIK, they do not mandate going through an agent/pet shipper but allow you to handle the paperwork yourself, saving the considerable fees. They fly to Dallas, so try booking the dogs to there for the cheapest price as that will only be two segments (Malta-Istanbul-Dallas) all on their own flights.

Thank you so much for your help.

I am very worried now because there's so little options . Last year I got a quotation with a local shipping company and they quoted via Lufthansa. About forking out good money, it's very true because they quoted about 2500 euros.
I contacted them again to see if they still offer the service, just in case I don't manage otherwise.

At least ITA having Chicago as a destination, is a bit of a relieve. It is a long drive to Tulsa and back, but it's only once and will do anything to get my dogs with me.
I always travelled from EU via United, but sometimes operated by Lufthansa or Swiss Airlines. Does it mean the same rule applies? i.e cannot have two dogs and one person?

No, when it comes to animals it's only the rules of the operating airline that apply. If you book a ticket for a codeshare flight on the United website, even if it has a United flight number, if it's operated by Lufthansa it's Lufthansa's rules and fees that dictate if and for how much animals fly.
Lufthansa still accepts snub-nosed breeds as cargo (for crazy money), but they stopped accepting them as checked baggage in 2020: https://www.lufthansa.com/us/en/dangerous-dogs.

If you don't want to drive from Chicago to Tulsa, you can also fly from Malta to Rome on ITA, then fly from there to Dallas on Finnair via Helsinki. Finnair does not ban snub-nosed reeds from the cargo hold, and they fly to Dallas (DFW) which is just four hours from Tulsa. You'd need to book this on separate tickets, though.
Finnair used to be my go-to airline with pets in the hold, until they decided to triple the price for this service. It used to be EUR 200 for a dog to fly to the US in the hold until 2019... now it's EUR 600, but they do allow two dogs in one crate, so that eases the pain in your case.

Adding to this: LH is slated to take over and integrate ITA at some point in 2024, and ITA's generous pet policies will then be history and replaced with LH's set of rules.. In case of prior LH acquisitions (Austrian, Swiss) that happened very quickly, and you have absolutely no leg to stand on then.
If integration happens before your flight you're SOL.You cannot rely on the current rules still being in place from summer 2024 onwards, so if you plan on using ITA I`d suggest to do this as soon as possible after they start flying to Chicago in April.