# Cats by Air



## smudges (May 2, 2013)

I've been looking into various ways of transporting two cats to PT. My favoured way is to take them with me on a TAP flight. I've checked and you can take them in the cabin with you.
Has anyone done this? I am very interested to hear about traversing airports and how it works on the plane. Is it possible to book an extra seat and put them on that, rather than under the seat in front.
Any insight greatly appreciated.
TIA.


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

I have friends who brought their two cats from the States by TAP and said they had no problems at all. The cabin crew were wonderful and helped all they could. 

I see no reason why you should not be able to book an extra seat for them. I flew TAP from Gatwick and booked an extra seat for my desktop PC tower as I didn't trust it travelling in the hold. The first surprise was that all I had to pay was the basic fare without any airport taxes. The second surprise was when I checked in. After checking me in, the woman closed the desk and escorted me to the front of the security line to make sure that I passed through OK. That's what I call service.

If you have any particular questions about traversing the airport I will be happy to pass them onto my friends for you.


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## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

I assume you know the paperwork etc you need to get before travel but as an aside, I can highly recommend the herbal calming collars you can buy.

We put those on our cats when we shipped them from RSA & even after travelling for something like 36 hours they were ultra laid back on arrival.


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## smudges (May 2, 2013)

Thank you both for the replies. I originally brought the cats back with me from when I lived in Spain, so the paperwork is very familiar! I was going to go to the vet at the appropriate time and find out what solutions they can recommend but I will also look into the collars, One of my cats is very nervous and will need all the tranquilising help she can get.
Being escorted through the airport is really what I wanted to know...I was having traumatic visions of the cats being sat in departure lounges etc with all the noise and bustle. My thought was to book one of those private lounges for the waiting period as I know they are pretty empty,
I'll go to the TAP office in London to book the seats, I think, to be sure that they know all about it!


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

When we drove our two to Spain the vet gave us tablets to keep them calm for the sea crossing. I imagine that you will be flying from Gatwick or Heathrow. If Gatwick I can highly recommend the No. 1 lounge. It is very tranquil and admission includes your drinks, snacks and a hot snack relevant to the time of day you are there. The cost at the moment is £28 which is pretty good if you think what you might pay for food in the airport. If you are travelling before 28 April they will also include access to the Premium security line and that is such a cool way to breeze through security.

Link to No. 1 here: https://goo.gl/Co97XDĺ


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## smudges (May 2, 2013)

Yes, I foresee heavy duty pills, calming collars and goodness knows what else in their future! Thanks for the lounge link, appreciate it.


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## JohnBoy (Oct 25, 2009)

You're welcome.


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