>PRICE  SHOCK ?   YES !   If using a 3rd Party Pet Shipper<

BEWARE They will in MOST cases rob you blind !!

READ the following case scenario.......
Only the name of the client has been changed to protect identity....

Robert Casey is a member of the military, living in Norfolk, VA getting ready to pcs to the UK   He has two 85 lb dogs, and two giant # 700 kennels. He will be responsible for ALL paperwork for re-entry into UK. He wishes ONLY an estimate from pet shippers for the following:  To make all flight and booking arrangements; pickup dogs from residence in Norfolk, VA and transport to appropriate airport in Washington, DC.  Also, provide total airline shipping charges and their own fees......  The ONLY airlines that can be considered for this are: Continental.  Their flight would be from DCA Reagan airport to Newark, NJ, then onward to London LHR  Their quote, based upon size of dogs and kennel sizes was: $3726 which includes the animal handling and customs fees at LHR, British Air, From Dulles non-stop to LHR.  Their charge quote was: $3387 inclusive. United airline is NOT approved for animal shipments on the Pet Passport system.   Virgin Atlantic is approved, BUT, will NOT deal with professional pet shippers, only with pet owners directly. A common  misconcept is that: ALL pet shipments MUST  be done by a professional pet shipper.  This is NOT true.  The owner can do this themselves if they wish. The  following three shippers are in the Washington, DC area, and would NOT be considered as 3rd party shippers in this scenario.

Action Pet Express      Quote was for above airline charges, Plus a Total of:
$600 to cover transport from Norfolk, and ALL business fees      $3987  for everything
Club Pet    $5020 for everything
Animailers    $ 4700  for everything
The following are considered 3rd party shippers, and their quotes
Pet Relocation in Spicewood, TX appeared to be the MOST outragious
price wise with a grand total of: $6800 to $7200
Airborne Animals in New Jersey was: $6300
Cosmopolitan Canine Carriers (non-ipata member in CT) was $6550
Air Animal in Tampa, FL   was  $5095
World Pet Transport in Lexington, KY  was $5584
World Care Pet in NY  was $4950
Jet-A-Pet  was $4822
Animals Away in NY  was $5115   
Very interesting that this was the ONLY firm who made it clear in their estimate that they would NOT review the paperwork provided by the owner for correctness 3rd party shippers would have you believe that using them is superior to using pet shippers in your own area. It's hard to justify that by making a few phone calls and sending some
emails should cost you literally Thousands of dollars more than necessary. Another price scam going on !! KLM, Air France and Alitalia have a joint scam venture going on.  They will only allow certain ipata members (not all) to make flight bookings for animals
as cargo.  This creates a monopoly.  The special shippers then raise their own fees and you and I have no control over this.....
Most of these shippers have accounts with these airlines that allow for the shipper to charge you the full rate, then the shipper ONLY pays the airlines a discounted rate, thereby making much more money at your expense....

TAKE THESE STEPS TO PROTECT YOUR INTERESTS !!!!!!

ALWAYS request a complete itemization of ALL charges from the Pet Shipper.  If they refuse, and many do, HANG UP!!! You have a right to know all of your expenses and just what you are paying for.  ALWAYS demand a copy of the completed airway bill. ALWAYS request the names and contact info of the sub-contractors being used by the primary pet shipper.  You have a right to know at ALL times who has care of your pet !

REMEMBER   In the above scenario: ACTION PET EXPRESS would charge $3987 for the same identical services that Pet Relocation charges $6800 for.

DON"T be fooled by fancy advertising gimicks  Fancy Blogs.

In the business world today, to use a middleman (middlewoman or middleperson) your total costs will INFLATE.

So it is the same if using a 3rd party pet shipper for your pet shipping and/0r pet relocation needs and services.

You are well advised to go to  www.ipata.com and locate pet shippers at the origin and/or destination points of your pet's travels plans.

In most cases these will be the vary same people the 3rd party shippers would use.
You can deal with them direct; save yourself bundles of money, and receive MUCH better personal service !!

The major 3rd party shippers to look out for (the MOST expensive) are: Air Animal in Tampa; Pet Relocation in TX; Happy Tails Travel in Tucson; O'Brien and Pet Express both in San Francisco Bay Area; Animals Away in NY; Cosmopolitan Canine Carriers in CT; Airborne Animals in NJ. 

FOUNDING MEMBER  IPATA  1979.  In the Pet Shipping and Pet Relocation business since 1969. We LOVE what we do.......

In the pet transportation business, many pet transporters just pat themselves on the back !!  Just view their ads and blogs !  We'd rather get our pats from the Pet Transport public themselves.  Our Keyword is Large enough to Serve you; Small enough to Know you !!