# best airline for pet transport us to france



## pishoux007 (Nov 14, 2008)

Hi,

I am moving back to Europe and will bring my 2 cats with me.
I can't take TWO cats in the cabin, so they will have to travel as 'luggage' and this makes me very anxious.

Which company would you recommend or consider the safest to transport pets?

Thank you


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## Tiffani (Dec 4, 2007)

the cats will travel as "manifested cargo" which, in spite of all the horror stories you will hear as you do research on the subject and the idea of your pet being considered "cargo", is actually a very safe mode of transport for animals. 

Check out IPATA for information on shipping your pets by air and different companies, all registered with them, that you can use. 

we were very happy with the company we used to ship our dog from the US to Australia. They were extremely knowledgeable and clearly had the pet's well-being at heart. We used Shady Spring Pet Relocation and if we had to do it again we would.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Depends where you are coming from, but ask your vet or even the local zoo for the name of a reputable pet transport company. They have all the up to the minute information about which airline has the best facilities and which airports have the best receiving facilities.

I used a company called Pet Express out of San Francisco, and they were simply super. They were even quite forthcoming with general information before I decided to use them to board and transport my two cats to Germany.
Cheers,
Bev


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## pishoux007 (Nov 14, 2008)

Thank you for your suggestions. I don't mean which Pet Transport Company, but which AIRLINE is the safest.
My candidates are
Air France
Continental
Delta
American Airlines.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

pishoux007 said:


> Thank you for your suggestions. I don't mean which Pet Transport Company, but which AIRLINE is the safest.
> My candidates are
> Air France
> Continental
> ...


I realize you were asking for the best airline - but a pet transport company would have the best and most up to date information on that.

Personally, I used Lufthansa (ok I was going to Germany) - but the pet transport company said at the time that Frankfurt had the best animal receiving facility in Europe and that Lufthansa had some of the best facilities and policies regarding pet transport. I don't know if that has changed.

But for flying to France, Air France and Delta are all the same flights (they co-list their flights and generally use Air France planes).
Cheers,
Bev


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## Tiffani (Dec 4, 2007)

Silver flew Qantas because that was (and I believe still is) the only direct LA to Melbourne flight available -- most others fly through Sydney.

A pet shipping company will do everything it can to get the pets on a direct flight or if that's not possible, one with as few layovers as they can manage. 

I don't know if there's one airline that is safer than another. They are all under the same legal restrictions with regard to pet shipping and care, which apparently are quite extensive. It'd be sort of like choosing a safer airline for yourself to fly in. Delta, Continental, six of one, half a dozen of the other....


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