Flying with cats to Germany
 

My husband and I are moving from Atlanta to Cologne, Germany. We have three cats and would prefer to fly with them in the passenger cabin instead of sending them in the cargo area. Do you guys know if any airline flying this route will allow two ticketed passengers to bring three cats? Our cats will be travling in cages that can fit under the seat. We will be flying business. If the two of us cannot bring three cats, would airlines allow us to buy an extra ticket so we can take the extra cat (like what cellists do with their cellos)? Thank you in advance for any advice.

I think most airlines have a maximum limit on the number of pets allowed in the passenger cabin on a given flight. Sometimes there are also individual limits in each class of service - one airline I asked said it was 1 in FC and 2 in economy per flight.

Are all of your cats adults? Pets under a certain age (I think 6 months?) are allowed to travel in one carrier as long as there's enough room and counts as one I believe.

I would contact all of the airlines that fly this route directly for the most up to date information.

Have you already checked the requirements for your cats to enter Germany?

Good luck!

Patty,
Thanks for the info. My cats are all adults, so putting more than one in a cage won't work. My vet is familiar with the German requirements and is handling the paperwork, etc. I didn't even think about the possibility that airlines might limit the maximum number of pets in each flight. Thanks for reminding me!

I believe that the ability to carry on animals on international flights has nothing to do with airlines, but it has a lot to do with customs on the other end. They want/need to inspect papers/certs/and whatever the local laws require before "releasing" the animals to their owner in the new country. Each country has their own protection laws and they will be enforced.

I may be totally wrong, so good luck!

I also meant to say that in most cases you have no choice but to check in animals for international flights. :-)

Again, I may be wrong, but I know for a fact that some airlines will not transport animals between US and Europe at all, whether checked in or carry on.

I know that Air France will allow pets in the passenger cabin on flights to Europe, but I don't know if they have a limit on the number of pets. They're max weight allowance is 5 or 6 kgs per pet which should be fine for most cats.

And apparently Delta allows them in the passenger cabin too, as there's a recent thread on flyertalk about taking a cat to Istanbul in Business Elite :D

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ferrerid=18562

Thanks for all the advice!

I checked with Delta since we're flying from ATL and will probably end up on Delta. It seems like it allows only one pet in first, one in business and two in coach on every flight. To maximize our comfort, my husband and I will probably travel separately so we can both fly business with one cat and maybe one of us making another trip for the third cat.

I also checked KLM, but because it partners with NWA, the KLM site kept sending me to NWA, which has seemingly more stringent rules regarding pets than Delta.

My next step is to check with Lufthansa and BA and maybe Air France.

The Delta site actually has a downloadable form for transporting pets to the EU, which my vet will have to complete.

You might also want to check with Swiss. When we moved to Europe, we bought our two birds with us in the cabin, traveling in the former Swissair business class. Three cats for two pax does seem over the limit, esp. as each should be in its own carrier.
You should have no problems going through customs in Germany as long as your paperwork is correctly completed.
It's easiest for you and your cats if you have a nonstop flight. I doubt if there are nonstops to Cologne, but you could check for nonstops to Dusseldorf, which I *think* is closer to Cologne than Frankfurt.

P.S. It's a long story, but in the early 1990s, two of my in-laws' parrots flew from Jordan to the U.S. in the cockpit with the pilots!

I forgot all about Swissair ... I will check. As far as I know, there is no direct ATL-Cologne flight on any carrier.

BTilke - Do tell about the parrots! Did they learn any pilot lingo?

I agree that when traveling with pets it's best to take the most direct route, but I don't think there are any nonstops between ATL and CGN or DUS. The closest airport is probably FRA which is served by Delta and Lufthansa with nonstops from ATL.

Just a thought, but perhaps you could consider paying 2 people to fly in the main cabin with 2 of your cats. Then all of you could travel on the same flight. I'm thinking maybe some students that would like a free flight to Europe and aren't too picky about their destination. It's just an idea and I don't whether it would be any easier than the 2 of you taking 3 separate flights.

BA doesn't seem like a good candidate as they don't allow pets in the passenger cabin, only in cargo. Also I think there might be some issues with the UK pet quarantine laws but maybe as a transit passenger, those laws wouldn't apply to your pet.

Hope you find a good solution. I'd be interested to hear the outcome.

Can't they/you drive from Frankfurt to Cologne with the 3 cats, so you can take advantage of a nonstop to FRA?

ngodeia, my in-laws were living in Kuwait while my father in law supervised the building of the new palace (he traveled around the world managing big construction projects like the Citibank Tower in Honk Kong, the Equitable Center in NYC, and the Charlotte Coliseum, among others). Then Iraq invaded. They ended up as hostages, my father-in-law was taken to Baghdad, my mother-in-law got out pretty early after a few hair raising adventures. Anyway, a Jordanian friend took their parrots with him when he escaped back to Jordan. They stayed there for a few months til my in-laws got back to the U.S. and got themselves settled in their house in Taos, NM.
Parrots are sensitive and generally don't do well in cargo, so upon learning of their story, the pilots of their flights kept them in the cockpit for their journey home.
About three years ago, one of the parrots was featured in a Bird Talk magazine article. All's well that ends well!

ngodeia, by the way, enjoy Germany! We lived in Brussels for five years before moving to the UK in December. It's about a 50-50 chance that we might be moving back to Belgium by the end of this year. We also spent 6 months in Germany, in the Dusseldorf--Essen-Bochum area (which we really liked).
You'll be close to Aachen, be sure to treat yourself to a facial at the flagship Babor salon in the old town by the Aachen cathedral.

Okay, so I guess I can forget about BA if they don't allow pets in the cabin.

The idea of paying for someone to fly with the cats may work, but I wonder if it would be a problem when going through German customs control (in fact, our vet jokingly offered to fly with us, which could be very helpful).

I will add the idea of driving from Frankfurt to Cologne to my list of things to investigate when we go to meet with the relocation service people next month.

BTilke: Thank you for sharing the story. I am glad your in-laws made it safely home. And, it is reassuring to know that people generally do care about animals' well being.

We are definitely excited about the move ... after living in Asia and N. America, Europe sounds like a great adventure. I will have to check out Babor salon.

I believe that Air France is considered one of the most pet-friendly airlines.

Thanks to everyone who has offered advice and suggestions.

After talking to Delta, Air France and Lufthansa, I think we will go with Lufthansa.

The people at Air France and Lufthansa were very well-informed (actually, the initial 800-number agent from Lufthansa was no help at all, but the agent at the NY sales office was very knowledgeable) and both airlines seem very pet-friendly. On the other hand, Delta doesn't seem to handle too many animals.

We will likely fly direct from ATL to FRA and take a 40-minute train to Cologne. (People in my husband's company suggested this, saying it is by far the easiest way.) Lufthansa allows us to have two cats in business class and we just need to recruit a third person to carry the third cat for us.

Thanks for the update. Sounds like LH is the best option, providing the most direct route and allowing 2 cats in business. Good luck recruiting your 3rd pax!

Good luck with the trip - let us know how it goes. I am laughing when I think of a person arriving at immigration with a cat and little luggage being asked "What is the purpose of your trip" and having to answer to transport a cat.

When is all this happening?

Hello,
I will be going to Germany for a few weeks and have to take my cat with me. On my desperate search for information on what papers are required I stumbled across this thread. I have talked to several airline employees, but got very little information from them. Can you tell me exactly what I need to fly her with LH to Germany and back? Thank you so much for any help you can give.

gail - We actually have found quite a few cat courier volunteers once our friends heard that we're paying for the ticket. I guess we all have to go through immigration and customs as a family unit. Actually, we can really use an extra set of hands to help with the luggage and stuff.

Cassandra - We are shooting for late August.

Tiffy - There are two parts: getting the paperwork that allows your cat into Germany and arranging flights.

Paperwork:
Do you live in the U.S.? The E.U. has different rules for animals of different origins. From the U.S., you need to have a USDA-accredited vet complete four sections of a health certificate. You will need both the German and English versions of this certificate. Then you need to send these papers to the USDA for approval. These papers will be your cat's pass to enter Germany.

Flights:
From talking to various airlines, I did find the European airlines to be more pet-friendly in general. With Lufthansa, when you make a reservation, just tell them you will be traveling with a cat and if your cat (in its carrier) is less then 8 kgs, it can go into the passenger cabin with you. Lufthansa will provide you with the dimensions and requirements for the carrier. A tip here is to call the actual Lufthansa sales office in New York as the agents there seem better informed than the toll-free agents. If you end up getting an agent who isn’t sure about pet travels, ask to see if you can talk to someone who knows more about it.

I got all my information from various websites, but if you go to Lufthansa’s site and do a search using “pet travel” as keywords, it should bring up some good info. It also has links to other websites. Delta’s website (under program and services) actually has a health certificate form (English version) for download. Another good source is the USDA site http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/pettravel.html. (Sorry, I don't know how to make hyper links.)

By the way, allow at least a month to get all these things done. And, your cat will need a micro chip if it doesn’t already have one. And, I don't know what requirements there are to bring your cat back into the country, but the USDA should be able to tell you.

Hope this helps. If you have more specific questions, please post them here and I can try to answer them as I am also just learning the ropes.

Thank you so much, this did indeed help. I will keep the link for future reference. I talked to the NJ office and apparently all we need is a Microchip that she already has and the Veterinärbescheinigung (EU Vet certificate). :-)

We have friends who were moving to Europe and found regulations for importing cats differ from country to country. Unfortunately, their destination country had fairly restrictive rules involving quarantine upon arrival. So they ended up flying to a neighboring country and smuggling 2 cats across the border in the trunk of the car. Glad you do not have to go to these lengths!

Hi we are moving to france and need to move three cats. And we have the same sort of problem. Was the trird person flying your best option?

Head over to the bonjourparis.com board, where there's a whole section of taking pets to France, both short and long term.

jsandps - Yes, if we want to have all three cats in the passenger cabin with us, the only way is to get a third person to fly with us. Of course, this assumes that your cats meet all the in-cabin requirements, such as weight and crate size.

Thanks for your reply. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to transport the cats. Internet, Phone calls ect. I don't think it will be fun. But it does seem to be the only way. Three people , three cats and the right airline. Good luck with you move. Joan

I'm feeling bad for the cat that ends up in coach...but I commend you for insisting that the kitties travel with you on the flight. If you are interested in a tip or two on long flights with cats, email me at [email protected]. Too boring for the public boards, but if you are travelling with 3 cats I may have some tips to pass along...

Has anyone ever had a cat weighed by Air France? Ours is at about 6.5kg, which is over the 5kg limit. I'm not too worried because I can't envision the ticketing agent putting the carrier (with cat) on the scale, then taking the cat out, remeasuring the carrier, and subtracting, especially since the cat isn't grossly overweigh (just a little round).

Any thoughts?

ddgattina - I was wondering the same thing. I hope someone answers! I sort of can't imagine them weighing a cat, but who wants that kind of stress at the airport? "I'm sorry, your cat is overweight and can't come on board." I would think if it fits in a small carrier, they wouldn't mess with it. And think about it, they'd have to take the cat OUT of the carrier otherwise they'd be weighing the carrier too. Maybe you just have to have something from your vet. Anyway, I look forward to seeing an answer, if anyone has one.

From my calls to Delta and Lufthansa, my impression is that the limit is always for the total weight, meaning the crate is weighed with the cat inside. For Lufthansa, the total limit is 8 kilos. I don't know if Air France works the same way.

Just a thought - When I brought my cat ((@)) from Hawaii to the East Coast, she flew in a carrier under the seat. Since she was a timid soul, and easily frightened, the vet advised me to give her a kitty tranquilizer about an hour before we took off. It made all the difference in the world. She arrived half asleep, unflustered, and adjusted to the change better than I could have imagined.
((S))((*))

ngodeia, how go the moving plans? When will you be heading out to Germany? Have you found a place to live yet?

BTilke -- We are leaving on the 25th. The movers loaded our stuff onto the container yesterday and with luck, we'll see everything in about six weeks in Koln. We will be in temporary housing for the first month but have also found an apartment already (will however need to put in the kitchen ... still cannot quite understand the practice of moving with the kitchen sink, but am looking forward to new and interesting experiences such as this nonetheless). I'm sure I'll be posting questions on the Europe board often after we are settled in a bit. Thanks again for all the advice!

I will be traveling from East Coast to West Coast in early September with one fussy cat. Our vet is advising that medicating a cat to fly is not advised. I find that hard to believe. Those who have done this, what is the medication that was given? Any suggestions on the best pet carrier to use would be appreciated.