Urgent--traveling with pets to US--3rd party agency required?????

[Jcyordenana]

Hey expats,

So I made a reservation with Continental Petsafe to ship my two cats back to San Francisco, the same way they arrived a year and a half ago. I made the reservation June 1st. Our original return tickets were with Continental, now they are with United since the merger.

We get a call today from United saying our reservations are not valid and that it is not possible as an individual to ship animals back to the US as cargo, that we have to go through a third party agency. I checked into how much that would cost back in June and the quote I got was over a $1000 US. I can't afford that and they don't accept credit cards.

My question is this: has anyone flown their pets OUT of the Argentina back to the US and handled all the paperwork and bringing the animals to the airport themselves? And no, at the time I made the reservation, I was not told this in any way, shape or form, that it is required to pay a third party.

any help greatly appreciated. We are flying on Wednesday the 1st. It figures that Argentina has to send us home with an extra kick in the ass.

thanks for your help
Julie

 

[NYCExpat]

I flew my dog to the US on American as cargo in January. I handled all the paperwork and it was relatively simple. I would try American Airlines.

 

[Jcyordenana]

This was my impression as well, that the process is relatively simple, a pain in the neck bringing paperwork here and there but not much different from the process in the US.

What's making me insane is that we're being told it isn't possible to fly animals out of Argentina as an individual; I feel like we're being forced to pay a 3rd party to pad someone's pockets. I can't afford to change our tickets and go American, even if we could get a ticket at this late date, and I doubt we can send the cats as cargo when we aren't flying with them, were you on the same flight?

thanks for your help..

 

[Jcyordenana]

I'm sure I've read of others shipping their pets as cargo from EZE to the US on this site, am I nuts?
****

Good Morning,


Thank you for your interest in shipping with American Airlines Cargo.


On November 8th, 2010, major Transportation Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security changes affected imports to and through the United States. Individuals without an established business relationship can not tender (check in) cargo shipments, including live animals.

Shipments heading to the United States require the use of a professional freight forwarder, IATA agent, or customs broker with an established business relationship with the airline The freight forwarding company of your choice will provide a quote and shipping details.


The International Pet Air Transport Association is a good place to begin the search –
http://www.ipata.com/find-a-pet-shipper/search-on-line-for-a-pet-shipper/

 

[ItsyBits]

Call your airline company and ask them if they allow your cats to fly with you in the cabin. If they do ask about type and dimensions of the pet carrier. Any questions about argentinan rules, call Senasa(senasa.gov.ar).

 

[Jcyordenana]

thanks, but there's no room on the flight. Two months before the flight, that wasn't enough time. So I made my reservation on Continental, with some nice young person in the US who has no clue whatsoever how things work in Argentina.

So in case anyone else finds themselves in this delightful scenario, be prepared to pay $1400-1500 US (that's for two animals) to ship your pet home to the US by United. No credit cards, cash or bank transfer only.

American apparently doesn't force you to use a third party to send your animals cargo if you are on the flight. Not that I ever plan to find myself in this situation again, but I'll never fly United again, pets or no.

 

[Greg2231]

thanks, but there's no room on the flight. Two months before the flight, that wasn't enough time. So I made my reservation on Continental, with some nice young person in the US who has no clue whatsoever how things work in Argentina.

So in case anyone else finds themselves in this delightful scenario, be prepared to pay $1400-1500 US (that's for two animals) to ship your pet home to the US by United. No credit cards, cash or bank transfer only.

American apparently doesn't force you to use a third party to send your animals cargo if you are on the flight. Not that I ever plan to find myself in this situation again, but I'll never fly United again, pets or no.

You and your partner may want to look into getting letter's from a doctor stating that you are under there treatment and require your cat to be with you at all times for "emotional support", as any airline that fly's into the US must comply with the ACAA(Air Carrier Access Act) which is similar to the ADA but more broad and requires accommodation for "emotional support" animals.

Not only will you cat be able to fly with you in the cabin they are not required to be in a carrier, and the airline isn't allowed to charge you anything extra for having the "emotional support" animal with you on the plane.

 

[MrsT]

We had to use a 3rd party to fly our dog out a few months ago with Air Canada Cargo.
They were expensive, but they were really great at handling the paperwork, etc and making sure that our dog was taken care of on the flight.