I have a friend with panic disorder who has to medicate around shrieky kids. Planes are a nightmare for her but when she has to, she drugs up and brings earplugs. unfortunately panic meds screw you up -just like epi pens and other allergy meds- but she would be strung up if she said kids shouldn't fly. instead, she makes sure she has the appropriate coping mechanisms in place and accepts the consequences for choosing to fly.

Falcons are allowed on Royal Jordanian...you only need an extra seat if you have more than one falcon with you

Hi Annalucy86

We flew our cats over from the UK via Heathrow in 2010 on Swiss in the cabin.

At Heathrow we presented ourselves to Check-in and they weighed the cats and directed us to the Swiss customer service desk where we paid the fees. We then went through to security where all our hand luggage was checked as normal. The cats were in Sherpa soft airline approved bags (tip - get these well in advance from the US - they cost a fortune in the UK) and the security staff took them off us to allow us to go through the metal detector. We then had a supervisor escort us, our hand luggage and the cats, to a side room where the cats were taken out of the bags and the bags taken away for x-raying. At this point we had bought harness and leads for the cats to ensure they didn't escape but both of ours are really nervous so didn't have any appetite for running off and of course, being in a side room meant that they were enclosed.

Once the bags were returned and the cats returned safely inside, there was nothing extra to be done regarding the transportation until we got to Zurich.

We arrived in Zurich late on a Sunday night and had concerns about getting them registered but in reality it was simple. We went through the Red channel and a quick scan of their chips and check of their passports later and the customs people declared them Swiss cats!

After that it was a short journey home to the house. End to end they were in their baskets for 7 hours. They didn't really complain once and we had no accidents. We had litter, food and water ready for them when we got home but as nervous cats they weren't really sure at all and hid under the only piece of furniture we had! It took time for them to get used to the house and the arrival of our furniture and belongings from the UK helped their familiarisation a lot. One of the hardest things they had to get used to was the parquet floors.... quite entertaining as they slid around!

I hope this helps.

Ferkel

Thank you mods for not editing the title to this thread .

HI,

I have just recently flown our new puppy over with Swissair from Heathrow to Zurich. It went completely smoothly and my stress was the anticipation beforehand.

I bought a canvas carrier that had removable rods inside enabling it to collapse under the front seat. They will weigh the carrier at check-in and it must be 8kgs or under.

Once I arrived at security, I was taken into a private room where I was asked to hold the puppy whilst the carrier could be checked over. This was over in a matter of minutes.

I did fly business class which I am so glad about as the extra seat meant that after take-off I put the carrier on there and could talk to him. Although as it is such a short flight he would have happily slept and it was more for my benefit. The cabin crew were wonderful and very helpful.

Once at Zurich, I simply went to the red 'something to declare' channel where I was asked to show his pet passport and letter from vets (as he was too young for rabies jab. I also paid a small import duty.

We also have experience of driving with cats as we drove over initially with our two cats. I sprayed their cages with catnip and they slept the whole way .

I wish you the best of luck with your journey

I forgot to mention I think you need to have a vets letter 24 hours before you travel stating that they are fit to travel

Hi Twiglet and Ferkel,
Thank you very much for your advice and sharing your experience. I will be sure to get a Vets certificate before we fly as well as Swiss Air also suggested this.
Thanks for putting my mind at ease!

Re going to the vet 24 hrs before flying.....all he does is check the cat and then stamps his pet passport (remember to take it with you!) with a 'fit to fly' stamp.

When we brought Oscar through Zurich the customs guys didn't even give him a second glance, even though it was obvious I was carrying some kind of animal in a pet carrier. (Must have been close to their coffee-break )

Good luck on your journey over here.

I brought my cats out here a few months after I moved here using Pet Exports (http://www.petexports.co.uk). They collected them from my parents place and took them to Heathrow for flights with BA - cost was about £700 for the pair. Beware the local 'arrival' tax charged at the airport - 400chf...

Hi there!

I flew my cat out of Heathrow (to the USA) in the cabin back in January of 2011- at Heathrow it is just as Ferkel said- be sure that your carrier is small enough that it fits comfortably under the seat (and is within the guidelines for size posted by the airline). The desk agent asked to see the vet certification (EU passport). I also asked the vet for a seperate paper stating that my cat was well and healthy and ready to travel just to have all the bases covered.

At some airports they will send the bag through the scanner and ask you to hold the cat away from your body while you walk through the people scanning machine, but not at Heathrow (at least in my experiences). At Heathrow they will take the cat (in carrier) to a seperate room and take her out of the carrier. You will then go through on your own. When they took my cat they didn't invite me to come along and I had to ask if I could accompany them. They let me, which was good as I was worried about my cat being stressed! While you are in the little room they take the carrier away and run it through the x-ray machine (sans cat). They then bring the carrier back and you can put your cat back inside and go on your way.

My cat has flown in cabin about ten times now and I have NEVER experienced any negative reactions from anyone- normally people are fascinated that I have a cat in the bag and flight attendants are nice and will move you to a place with more legroom (economy plus, etc) if possible. I feel sorry for the people with kids...they get the glares.

We are currently in Zurich and flew in this time in November from the USA. I had the EU pet passport with me and went through the 'goods to declare' line upon arrival. I had heard bad stories about people not declaring their pets so didn't want to take any chances. The Zurich customs people wanted the EU passport and ALSO a letter from the vet (luckily I had both) certifying her health. They did not charge me, but that seems to be unusual. They also insisted on me taking her out of the carrier on the table so they could have a good look.

All in all, just make sure that you have only one cat in each carrier and that you have the extra letter from your vet certifying the health and ability of the cat to fly (haha, sorry, I loved your original title). Although you are not supposed to need this extra letter, they definitely asked me for it in November!

Your cats will be fine, it's really a much less painful and complicated process than you expect! Promise!

Finding a good vet in Zurich, on the other hand...THANK GOD for the forum!

p.s. Put the travel bag out for a few days before you go, give the cat treats inside of it, play with a feather wand, etc. My cat loves hers and actually sleeps in it as a bed when we are not traveling or going to the vet. It's her safe space and I think that helps a lot to reduce the whole stress of travel.

I rang Swiss Air this morning regarding flying a cat from London Heatherow to Zurich in July 2012. I was informed that it could only be done if the cat was put in the hold,having done this before and having my cats totally stressed out after it took two hours to retrieve them once we got to Zurich I am in no hurry to repeat the experience.

Can anyone shed any light on why I cannot fly my cat in cabin from Heathrow to Zurich? having read accounts on here of people who have done the same journey I am a little baffled.
Best wishes
Darcy

Hi Darcy1,

I rang just yesterday and have booked two cats to travel in the cabin in April from LHR T1 with Swiss Air. I simply booked my flights online and then rang swiss air who were very helpful and confirmed that both were booked in. Its a cost of 100 EURO per cat per way.
http://www.swiss.com/web/en/services...s/animals.aspx
They confirm the size of your carrier to make sure its in the correct diemensions.

Try ringing: 0845 6010956

Prehaps you went through to a different number?

On the Swiss Airlines website, it certainly says you can travel with your pet in the cabin. I would call them back, as Annalucy said, and cite their written policy:

http://www.swiss.com/web/en/services...s/animals.aspx

I have NO experience with bringing a cat from LHR, only JFK.

I bought my cat over in 2005. I don't think there have been any policy changes since then. But I also flew Swiss, and she flew in the cabin with me, in her carrier under the seat. There was NO way I could put her in the hold. She never would have made it alive, I'm sure.

In all, it went pretty well, but there were a couple of head-scratchers along the way. First of all, I understood that I had to pay a fee to carry her in the cabin, and at the check-in, they didn't charge me anything, despite my having told them I would be traveling with a cat when I made the flight reservation and bought my ticket, and then telling them again at the check-in.

Since she's a bit on the high-strung side, I gave her a tranquilizer and by the time we got to security, she was kind of groggy. I had to remove her from the carrier and carry her in my arms through the metal detector while the empty carrier was sent through the x-ray machine. God only knows what it would be like now (in the US) with those body scanning machines.

Once we arrived in Zurich, I had to, literally, BEG the customs guys to take her paperwork (health certificate, etc.). Also, it was my understanding that I was supposed to pay a fee (150 CHF, I think) to bring her into the country, and since the customs guys could barely bother to take my paperwork, they just waived me through. Not that I'm complaining, but I was really surprised at how lax they were.

Anyway, I had been pretty stressed before the trip, but it all worked out fine.

Not sure if any of this helps, but good luck to you and your trip over with your fur babies.

whoever you spoke to is talking rubbish...... BTW its a call centre company you speak to - not swiss direct employees.

Ahh thank you both so much for your help,just spoke to a really helpful gentleman at Swiss who has told me exactly what I need to do.

I had definitely rang that number before cannot beleive I got such a different response lol.

Best wishes

Darcy

We brought our cat from NYC to Geneve last year. No problem. He had to get the EU microchip and his rabies vac 21 days before we left. We had a vet certificate showing his rabies vac was given and he was in good health. We can't remember, but look on the government website and we had a form for the vet to fill out. Make sure you have a carrier that is conducive to the airline you are traveling on. All airlines are different so we have to get a specific carrier for Swiss Air.

In NYC, his carrier went thru the detector and I held him in my arms and we went thru the metal detector. In Geneve, no problem. At customs we said we had him and we went to a special checker who did his micro chip (seems that is what they are most interested in, to find the cat in the database), looked at our vet papers and we were on our way!

Hello!

Well I have been there and done it 4 times with our animals. I moved here last July with 2 dogs and 2 cats in tow. We flew from Heathrow but I had to fly seperate flights as there was a restriction on the number of animals one person could book onto the flight. I was alone so it was impossbile for me to fly two 40 kg dogs and two cats.

Anyway, my experience overall was good. The animals were not stressed too much as I used feliway for our kitties which seemed to keep them calm. One of my cats has Kidney issues so I was worried about how long she would last until she needed to wee.

There are a few things to note from my experience and your comments:

- Do check with Swiss whether they accept hard plastic carriers in the cabin. Last year I was told only a small soft case with a total weight incl. animal 8kg was allowed. If you turn up at the airport with a hard case they will instruct you to check them in as cargo. But this may have changed since 2011.

- Cats do not come with you at the metal detector. You have to drop them at outsized checkin once after you've checked in. Its the same place where you leave your bikes etc. There is a really friendly Indian chap who was a god send. An animal porter is then requested to come and check the animal and take them away.

- Give yourself plenty of time to check the animals in. I flew twice with two sets of animals. The first time round check in was a breeze. As I said, you check yourself in as normal at the desk, then go over to the Swiss counter to pay for the animal and an animal porter from the airport comes to collect your pet from outsized baggage check in.
However, the second time was somewhat more disorganised. I arrived with an extra hour spare to check in. I checked in normally. When it came to checking in the animals and paying for them I was charged a totally different price at the desk. Also, the animal porter did not come until 5 mins before boarding. You must stay with your animal before it is taken as you have to take the cat out for the box to be checked and scanned etc. As you know with Swiss at Heathrow you're at the furthest terminal so I had to get through security and run for my flight in 5 mins!

- When you arrive at Zurich its pretty easy. You go to goods to declare. They will ask for the PET Passports. They will ask you to take the cat out so they can scan the chip. If all matches your free to go. The laws haven't changed on the Swiss side. Its if you want to return to the UK. All you need to do is make sure you pet has a microchip, had their rabies vaccination and a wait period of 28 days, and finally their tick and flea treatments 48 hours before. The vet can sign the passport to prove this has been done. There is no vet on site and the cat won't be checked for teeth or health etc. Thats what the vet in the UK does i.e. fit to fly etc.

All I can say is that from London its pretty simply. We've done it from Oz and that was less straight forward. Good luck and PM if you need any further help.

P.S Expect lots of looks when you come out in arrivals. People are so intrigued here by animal boxes lol

My Ex brought 3 cats back from Istambul, no paperwork. Thed did walk arround the cabin to the amusement of the other passengers!
She walked through the green channel following a 'foreign looking' couple with about 10 bags who got stopped!