6 July 2000

Dear Mrs Hamilton

Thank you for your letter. I am pleased that your organisation welcomes our participation in the Pet Passport Scheme and we hope to be able to extend this to other points on our European network in the near future.

The charges for the carriage of pets incorporate a number of separate costs. The air freight charges are based on IATA rates used by the majority of airlines and on the Amsterdam-London route this charge is £53.00 plus £1.80 per kilo. IATA regulations for the carriage of live animals determine the size of the container, which must allow the animal to stand and turn around and this often results in the charge being made on volumetric weight rather than the actual weight of the shipment. A small cat would, therefore, have a volumetric charge of at least 10 kgs which would cost £71.00 (£53 + £18) just for the airfreight.

In addition to the freight charges, the cargo agent who issues the Air Waybill requires a handling charge of about £34; there is a further charge by the cargo handling agent at Heathrow of about £22 and a charge by the Animal Reception Centre of £30 for collecting the animal from the aircraft. Finally, there is a charge for a container (unless the owner already has a suitable one) which could add another £50.00 or so depending on the size.

Although the charges might appear high, in the case mentioned in your letter it is likely that only one third was revenue earned by the airline, with the remainder being charges by third parties.

UK law states that all animals subject to quarantine must travel to the UK in the aircraft hold. It is possible that French regulations may differ and the Air France charge of £80 could relate to a cat travelling in the aircraft cabin, in which case some of the cargo handling charges might not apply.

We have, as you know, only been operating this scheme for a relatively short time and we will review the systems, procedures and charges over the coming weeks to see if there is any possibility of costs being reduced.

Thank you for bringing this matter to my personal attention.

Yours Sincerely

Original signed by

Austin Reid, Chief executive Officer BRITISH MIDLAND