A humble request from a passenger (me) for BA Crew from AUH on the 9th to LHR
 

Hi to you all,

It may seem a little odd that a passenger posts up here (in fact i do hope this is ok to do...) I have been flying BA almost all my life, and ive always found the cabin staff so helpful and i have a very personal and heart felt request if you all dont mind...

I traveled with my dogs from Canada, using BA to DXB, i think the only thing that kept me sane was being able to inform the cabin crew that i was flying with my dogs and to ask them to please let the pilot know...It was reasuring as a pet owner to know i had the support of the crew to keep what little hair i had left from falling out worrying about my pups.

I am now faced with a dilema, im leaving the UAE, and im faced with a problem, my dogs are flying unaccompanied before i am able to...i have to take them to the AUH cargo and see them off for their 02:30 flight on the 9th!! :{:ugh:
I have someone at LHR there to collect them however, its the in between that's causing me to get an ulcer.

If any of you are pet owners, you may (i hope) understand what im going through here, I have no access to you guys on the flight, i cant reassure myself that "phew the pilot knows, and the crew know, ok i can relax a little knowing the hold is at least being monitored for temperature and such"

So, to my small request for any crew members who may be on that flight, please if you would be ever so kind, let your pilot know he has the only members of my family in his cargo hold :sad: I have hope in the ground staff will inform him as well, but again i dont know, i cant ask anyone...Ill be sitting in my car in the Cargo parking lot until the flight is gone and i know they were on it, that is all the power i have. So again, IF any crew is scheduled to be on the BA072 on the 9th at 02:35 flying from AUH to LHR, know that hidden away under your feet are 3 packages that mean the world to a VERY VERY appreciative soon to be passenger.

Please be assured that the pilots know whether they have livestock in the hold and it's their job to know. Lossely speaking (category wise) they know what they are carrying and plan accordingly. I don't want to sound patronising but the flight crew aren't clueless about what they are carrying down below.

And as awful as it sounds, the crew on your previous flights probably didn't tell the Captain anyway.... knowing what i've told you rather than not caring.

So please be reassured.
From crew of a different airline.

Im just going by what ive been told, almost everyone i know that has sent their pets and been on the same flight will ask, they might have not bothered to ask the pilot, but i guess i liked being (falsely?) reassured, but oh well, it was worth a shot to ask, i don't doubt they know what they are carrying, its their job, i know that. But, I had to ask, at the very least someone may see it and ask anyway.

Oh well, i dont work or an airline, i dont know how its all organized :O thanks for your input anyway :)

No need to worry, we (the pilots) know when and what livestock we carry onboard the aircraft.

I can't speak for BA as I don't work for them. But when I know that we carry livestock I make an effort to go downstairs and have a look at the animals before they are loaded. I make sure that they have got water and if necessary will top the water up from my own bottle.

May I make one suggestion? Please make sure that you attach a bottle of water to the dog kennel. So that the handlers can top up the dogs water after they loaded him into the hold.

I work in dispatch I'm usually involved in the process of making sure everyone who needs to be notified has been notified about live animals.

ALL flights that carry cargo must have cargo documentation on board which the crew will usually read through so they have an idea of what's downstairs. Any 'special' cargo (such as perishable goods, livestock, dangerous goods etc) will be specifically highlighted for the crews attention. The dispatcher will also ensure the crew are aware of any animals onboard. In addition to this, either the capt or first officer will usually physically see the animal prior to it being loaded on the aircraft during their walk around. Where I work at least, any animals on board are usually put in the SI section of the loadsheet too for the flight deck to see.

As CEJM said, I'd also highly recommend strapping a bottle of water to the outside of the crate so the ramp team can top up the dogs water prior to departure, and also post arrival. I know that myself and many of my colleagues tend to get bottles of water off the crew on inbound flights if there is animals on board to top up their water.

Hope this put your mind to rest a little bit :ok:

BA pilots receive a notification of any special cargo in the hold. It will say...

1. Live dog

...on it. We'll check the hold temperature and make sure the hold it's travelling in is suitable for animal carriage. He/she won't be forgotten about. The same goes for any concerned owners of cats, tropical fish, birds, baby chicks, gold, silver and banknotes. If it's in the hold, we'll know about it.

just a thought......
 

join a BA facebewk page and see if you're able to connect with a PAX who may be on that very same flight and ask them if they wouldn't mind asking the gate agent and CC on the flight to mention to the flight deck that your " livestock" (a cold name for a family member in my opinion but I know that's the proper term) are traveling on board. While I know all crews are careful when they know pets are on board, that is the key, making sure they know! There are mistakes made all the time and it would be horrible for it to happen on this upcoming flight. When traveling with any of our pets, I always make sure to have CC notify the flight deck. It's not the crew I don't trust, but the ground ops as they get so busy and often side tracked with other issues of importance. Now in the event that your animals could wind up being stolen by a stranger who might take that opportunity to steal your pet upon their arrival, make sure you request and insist that proper ID be shown at the arrival city. Best of luck !!!

Thanks everyone for your input, i really do appreciate it very much, the bottle of water idea is a good one, you are always told to put a bag of food on the side but they dont mention water funny enough.

That said, I will be freezing water in the bowls so it melts during the flight (less spillage in case of turbulence, etc)

I will be with them on the ground until they have to be checked by customs, where i cannot go.

SassyPilotsWife, i dont have a facebook account (in this day and age, i know i know) i can set one up tho just look for "britishairways" im guessing?

Im not worried about them on arrival, i have good people picking them up :) Who will most likely be there before they are even ready to go :ok:

Reassurance
 

I shipped three cats from Muscat to Phoenix a couple of years ago. They flew BA all the way, via London with a change of plane obviously and a stop in Abu Dhabi on the first leg too. They travelled unaccompanied. My wife & I made the journey a couple of weeks later.
They arrived in fine shape 36hrs after I dropped them of at the cargo terminal .
Good job BA and all those involved along the way! :D

Again, thats awesome, im glad to know that they will be looked after.

And thanks for everyones input :)

Ill ask our shipping agent here who is doing the paperwork and prep if i am even able to attach a water bottle to the crate, dunno how they are security wise. I will be freezing some water in their bowls that will be on the doors so it will melt as the flight continues, since there is no one to give them water for those 7 hours i think thats probably important, i know i get dehydrated on flights, cant imagine not having any water for that time.

Well i will be at the airport until i know the flight has gone and ill ask the cargo guys again if everything went OK before i take the drive back home :zzz:

SassyPilotsWife, I dont have a FB account (yeah i know, i know) but going by what people have been saying so far, i guess i shouldnt worry too much.

Hopefully they take the flight back as well as they took the flight here!

I have carried dogs, and other livestock, on BA flights many times.

It is not uncommon for the ground staff to inform Senior cabin crew of this fact if the owners are travelling. I always made a point of contacting the customer and reassuring them all was well. This is more important when the flight involves a transit.


I know you have said you are not travelling on the same flight, but please be assured BA will take good care of your beloved dogs and all will be fine.


They may even be on the new 777-300 so very comfortable!

Worried Dog, yesterday, just before leaving Calgary, the Captain came up to me in the cabin. "Jude, please tell the people in 7A and 7B that we have their dog safely in the hold and that we will make sure the temperature is comfortable."

I passed the message on to two very relieved passengers.

The Captain knew she was carrying a dog because it said so on her NOTOC. NOTOC refers to Special Load Notification to Captain or simply Notification to Captain,The NOTOC is divided into 2 parts: Dangerous Goods and Other Special Load. She had asked the dispatcher to confirm and then took the trouble to make sure the passengers knew that she knew. :)

Sending your dogs by air freight is incredibly worrying for an owner, but like others here have said; cockpit and cabin crew know and care about the live animals in the hold.
Really we do. :ok:

Thank you all again, i am a little more relaxed now, I really appreciate all of your words of reassurance, it does help, and just like Jude said, its really stressful for the owners, since its not something we do every other day, maybe 2-3 times in the life of your dog will you ever have to fly him/her if you are so inclined.

Where as just speaking with my agent here they have been sending animals out almost every other day of the week alone!

Thanks again, everyone!

Oh...if any of you happen to know any BA CC, that may know someone in the AUH route, feel free to pass along my thanks and appreciation for their work :ok:

Worried Dog,

The aircraft has a specific hold for carrying 'livestock' (Cats, dogs, sheep (NZ)). When we are notified by NOTOC (See above) then the heating and airflow to that specific hold (on the Boeing 777) are increased to ensure the animal is comfortable.

Personally I always check that the livestock has been loaded into the correct hold and well/sensibly secured. For example a dog box next to/facing a cat box is not sensibly secured! Common sense in most parts of the world but sadly not in some.

Your pets will be in the best of hands!

Hey All,

Just thought id close up my thread with letting you all know that my dogs arrived in the UK just fine, a little stressed but, well and are now loving the cold weather!

I would also like to say a big thank you to everyone for re-assuring me, i stayed at the cargo area (even tho i was not able or allowed to see them once passed security) until i knew they had left, got a few hours sleep and called the fine folks at HARC to be told they were all fine and had landed safely :)

Again thank you all, and thanks to BA and the AUH Ground Crews :ok:

Its not something id like to do again! I think i was more stressed than the dogs were in the end :ooh: but it was nice to know they were take care of and arrived safely!

Hey there, just felt I should assure you, not all crew dont care, I personally used to have passengers with their pets in cargo and I can assure you the captain knew on each and every flight and I made sure he knew that my pax were assured that he knew. ;)

Hi worried dog
did all go well?:)

I was just listening to a show on BBC radio 4 called Cabin pressure had me in tears series 1 episode 1