When immigrating to the UK with pet cats and dogs, the flight journey is the most important part of the owner’s worries. He is also worried that the baby will not adapt, and he is also worried that there will be danger in the middle of the flight. There are three main ways for pets to fly from Hong Kong to the UK: direct flight, connecting flight and taking a private jet. Pet Holidays will introduce the advantages and disadvantages of the three methods below. 1) Direct flights to the UK
Advantages: Convenient and quick Disadvantages: Hard to find a person Price: The cost is higher than the transfer method
Cathay Pacific and British Airways (BA) are two direct options for immigrating cats and dogs to the UK from Hong Kong. The owner and the pet can take the same passenger plane, but the pet must be transported as checked baggage or by freight. The flight time takes about 12.5 hours. Pets must fly alone in a cage. After arriving, they will be sent directly to customs clearance, and they will not be able to meet their owners until about 6-8 hours later.
British Airways has a flight from Hong Kong to the UK every day, and each flight can carry up to 4-7 pets. However, under the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, direct flight options have almost disappeared. British Airways has gradually reduced pet seats since July 9, and the original flights began to be rescheduled and canceled urgently. As for Cathay Pacific, it was announced earlier that the price of pet seats will be greatly increased from August 1, but the supply situation after the price increase is still a mystery. Moreover, after the fare increase, the air ticket cost for large pets is almost the same as that of flying a private jet, which is very uneconomical. It is hard to find a way to buy air tickets as an individual passenger in a daily “big lottery”, even if you buy in bulk as a travel agency intermediary, it is quite difficult. All in all, before the epidemic slows down, the probability of successfully arranging direct flights for pets to the UK is very low.
2) Transit route via Europe to the UK
Pros: Affordable price, pets are allowed in the cabin Disadvantages: It takes a long time Price: The cheapest
There was no way to start a direct flight, and many owners began to try to enter the UK via European transit. There are many related routes, but because the UK has divided different countries into three color lists of green, yellow, and red under the epidemic situation, those who return to the UK from “red light countries” and areas must be supervised and quarantined, regardless of whether they are people or pets. Therefore, when considering the route, we must pay attention to epidemic control.
The better route at present is to cross France from the Netherlands, and then go to the UK through the Anglo-French Tunnel. Owners and pets can take KLM to Amsterdam in Hong Kong. After arriving and leaving the country, they can choose to drive or rent a Pet Taxi across France. They will help the pets to complete the paperwork at the border of the British-French Tunnel, and then take the train to the UK through the British-French Tunnel. The whole journey of the train will take about 35-40 minutes to arrive in the south of the UK. After arriving in the UK, there is no need to go through the pet paperwork procedures, saving customs clearance time. In addition to the train, you can also choose to transfer to the Eurotunnel shuttle bus after arriving in France, and the fare will be cheaper. In addition, you can also choose to transfer to a ferry. There are restaurants and bars on board. The scenery along the way is beautiful and comfortable.
