Redcoat Express Pet Travel

Moving by itself is stressful. Moving with a pet is even more stressful, especially when it involves flying.
The transport regulations here in the UK are such that when you need to transport your pet onboard a plane, you will need to work with an pet traveling agency. They will be the middleman between you and the airline and will organise all the communication with both parties. I had gotten the contact details from Jayne at Redcoat Express from United when I inquired about «shipping» my dog Momo from London to San Francisco. In fact, they had given me name of 4 agencies, but Jayne responded first and that — to me — is a really good sign. Throughout the whole process Jayne was on top of things and organised it all beautifully; she made me feel very much at ease.
Here’s a bit of information for dog owners, when you need to fly with your pet to the US:
* at least 30 days prior to departure, make sure your dog’s rabies vaccination is up-​to-​date;
* 10 or less days prior to the departure, go to your vet and get a Health Certificate and have them stamp page 28 in your pet passport;
* contact Jayne at Redcoat Express and ask her to handle the paperwork for your dog; she will also make sure that you have the right travel equipment: here’s what we needed:
— travel kennel must be airline approved (we used
)
— two water dishes, absorbent material/​shredded paper with blanket/​bedding that dog is used to for the base (no toys, collars or food is permitted in the travel kennel)
* at the day of travel, one of Jayne’s colleagues will meet you at the airport; this is where you will part with your friendly canine companion.
What I really appreciated about working with Jayne and her colleagues that above all they were really nice and helpful. I contacted Jayne on her mobile several times and she always picked up immediately. On the day of departure, we realised that we’d forgotten to bring the water trays, which we had filled with water and frozen in the freezer. She laughed and said that they always have spare containers anyway.
Her colleague — Tony — who met us at the airport was also super friendly too. What happened was that our dog kennel looked a bit small for our dog and he was concerned that the airline might reject the size. Instead of freaking us out — however — he said that this happens all the time and that he has other-​sized kennels at home and would simply switch it out if the airline made fuss; luckily all turned out well and the kennel size was fine. Wonderful customer service!
Just to show you what is involved from a monetary point-​of-​view, here’s what we paid:
— Pet Air Fare — £ 550.00 (based on the weight of our dog and travel kennel combined)
— Airlines Surcharges — £ 99.80
— Agent Export Documentation Fee — £ 55.00
— Agent Export Customs Entry Fee — £ 25.00
— Meet at Heathrow Cargo area — £ 75.00 (meet time is 4 hours prior to departure time)
Total amount…£804.80