Each carrier has their own regulations so you will need to contact Monarch. Some airlines will accept pets (in a suitable container) in the cabin if there are spare seats. I believe your cat and its container must weigh a max of 5 kg for this to be ok.

Otherwise they put the cat in a heated and pressurised part of the hold.

You will need to have all the necessary documents and check with the carrier what sort of container is acceptable to them for size, both for ease of loading and for your cat's comfort. You will need to arrive at the airport a couple of hours before you are due to check yourself in so that you can take the cat to the correct checkin point for it ... possibly even the freight terminal. You obviously must tell your carrier WELL IN ADVANCE that you wish to bring a cat - don't just turn up and hope!!!

Pre-travel do not let the cat eat heavily, but make sure that there is plenty of water available even during the flight. You might wish to discuss light sedation with your vet, especially if your cat is nervous.

Do remember that Tenerife is a whole new ball game for your cat - much hotter and different smells and hazards, so do keep him/her well groomed and find a local vet as soon as you settle in so that if your cat does feel unwell during the early days, you know whom to contact.

Incidentally cats can suffer from the human equivalent of depression and culture shock, so plenty of reassurance will be needed, but a loved cat always copes when its owners give it plenty of TLC. All the very best.

A very informative and helpful reply. Thanks!

One thing missed out there and that is that you must have the correct documentation at Tenerife to allow you to pick up the cat. This has to be handled by a local agent, and you are best to use an animal carrier like http://www.animalairlines.co.uk

Thanks for that Bawbee! My cat has only 'done' UK to Alsace ... and travelled with me in the cabin even though she was booked to go into the hold because the check in agent was a cat lover herself and didn't want to separate her from me if possible!

Torrenter

Regarding the post that says about sedatives. Check this with your vet. We have just got our dogs passport ready for our move to Tenerife and I asked our vet about this as although only young our dog is terrified of loud bangs i.e. fireworks, cars backfiring etc. Our vet told us never to sedate a pet when travelling on aeroplanes as they are less able to deal with any stress if they are not 100% alert. I have also had quotes from petcarriers for our dog who is only a small Jack Russell so would probably need the same size container as your cat which has to be high enough for them to stand with their held held up, wide enough for them to turn around and long enough for them to lie down in comfort. I have been quoted anything from £350.00 to nearly £600. I then phoned BA who stated that their costs are £20 for excess baggage charge and then £6.55 per kilo (weight of dog and kennel). Monarch quoted me £357 which included the container. Also the documentation when taking your pet as excess baggage as opposed to airfreight are all issued by the airline, that is why your have to pre book your pet and not just turn up so you will not need an animal carrier.

Bawbee - I don't know if this was the case when you perhaps transported an animal but I have researched all of this very recently and found that you can do it yourself just as easily and save yourself a fortune in the process.

Hope this helps

Rgds Jackie

Jackie: there's so much useful information in your post that I ended up confused!

What did you eventually choose, and for what sort of cost?

Bawbee: Other than a current pet passport, what other documentation is needed?

Torrenter

I am sorry that I confused you, as is normal with us women, we know what we want to say but it comes out wrong.

Although we have not booked it yet we are going to take our dog as what they call Excess Baggage. When we book our flights we are going to book him on the same flight. We have chosen to fly with BA. The cost for the dog will be £20 for what they call excess baggage and then we have to pay £6.65 per combined kilo of weight for the dog and his kennel. So if the dog and his kennel weigh a total of 20kg they will charge us £133.00 plus the £20 excess baggage Totalling £153.00. A lot cheaper than sending him with an animal carrier. With this service they will be put in exactly the same place in the plane that they would if they were sent with a per carrier and that is in the hold which is temperature controlled and also kept dark as they feel animals settle better when it is dark. You do not need to worry about any other documentation for your cat as long as he has his passport the airline sort the rest when you book.

Hope I have made this a bit clearer.

Rgds Jackie

Thanks, Jackie. That's a lot clearer, and very helpful.

One more question; how do you obtain the correct 'approved' pet carrier? I assume we cannot use Robbie's current wickerwork cat carrier?

Hi

No unfortunately you cannot use a wicker carrier. It has to be one that is approved by airlines. We have a large pet shop near us called Pets at Home. It is like a pet super store. If you have a good pet shop near you I am sure they will be able to help. If you tell them it is needed for air transportation and they don't stock them they may be able to order you one (don't forget to measure your cat) height with head held up, across the widest part of your cat (normally shoulder to shoulder) and the length to determine the size carrier you will need. I have seen them in our pet super store and the prices range from about £50 to £90. The carriers can be quite heavy so I am going for one on wheels, it costs £85.00 but the wheels lock so our dog won't be wizzing up and down the hold during the flight. I am also going to check out e-bay to see if they have any on there.
If you are still unsure as to what carrier you will need I am sure your vet who issued your cats passport would be able to tell you.

Hope this help

Rgds Jackie

Thanks again Jacke. Looks like the air-approved carriers are cheap and common on ebay

Bawbee: Other than a current pet passport, what other documentation is needed?

As Jackie says, the rules may have changed since Mrs B's cats were shipped over here, but I had to go to the local shipping agent in Arrecife to get the papers which enabled me to collect the cats from cargo at the airport. There were also local taxes to pay.