Reading and comprehension

Experts in the airline industry believe that there are three main reasons why people travel. There are: business, visiting friends and relatives (the so – called “ethnic” market), and holiday.

The businessman, forced to travel at time that suit his business, will pay the full fare. But the holiday and “ethnic” travelers, unlike the businessman, are under no real compulsion to go abroad, so the airlines have to make more attractive offers to persuade these kinds of travelers to buy an airline ticket.

The attractiveness of the offer is usually directly related to the price. The airlines know that the more they can trim the cost of a holiday, the more people will buy it. So, with the help of travel agents, they can arrange bulk travel and accommodation at holiday hotels at very low rates because of the large numbers of bookings they can provide. Then they pass the benefits of these quantity discounts on to the holiday – maker in the form of low – price inclusive tours.

This kind of holiday travel has been so successful that the airlines themselves are helping to finance new hotels. Many of them are already major investors in big international hotel chains. As more hotels become available, airlines can fly more people to fill them.

UNIT 3

SENDING CARGO BY AIR

Dialogue

Mr. Marshall is taking a model of oil refinery to the conference in Bahrain. He decides to send it by air freight and has his driver, John Davis, take it down to the airline cargo unit for dispatch, where he talks to cargo clerk Richard West.

Mr. Davis: Good morning. I don’t know if I’ve come to the right place, but I want to send a package to Bahrain.

Mr. West: Yes, sir, you’ve come to the right place. If you give me the details, I ‘ll be able to help you.

Mr. Davis: Well, it’s a scale model of an oil refinery and my chief, Mr.Marshall, of Western oil Company, wants it sent to Bahrain as quickly as possible.

Mr. West: Good. Well now, first of all, has Western Oil given you an IDG form – Instructions for the Despatch of Goods?

Mr. Davis: No, but I’ve been given a letter for you that should have all the instructions and information you’ll need. Here it is.

Mr. West: Splendid. Now let’s see what it says. It’s to be sent to Marshall, care of International Hotel, Bahrain, and will be collected from the airport by Mr. Marshall’s representative.

Mr. Davis: Yes, I understand the local Western Oil representative will pick it up.

Mr. West: Good. Then it says the weight is 21 pounds – that’s 9,5 kilos – and the value for Customs purposes is 4.50. No value declared for carriage. Western Oil will pay all charges at origin and all carriage charges, and finally, they want us to handle the documentation.

Mr. Davis: Is that all you needed to know?

Mr. West: Yes, that’s fine. It gives us all the information we need. Oh, there’s just one more thing though.

Mr. Davis: What’s that?

Mr. West: Well, the letter says it’s a model of a refinery. Do you know whether it’s a working model – in other words, are there any actual oils or petroleum products present in the model for demonstration or other purposes?

Mr. Davis: Oh, no. I know this model well. Mr. Marshall takes it all over the place with him. It’s made of papier mache and wood, with some bits of plastic and so on. There’s no actual oil or petrol in it at all.

Mr. West: That’s good. So we shan’t have any problems of classifying it as restricted on safety grounds.

Mr. Davis: No, it’s a perfectly harmless model.`

Mr. West: Right. Now let’s check the weight and size. Where is the consignment?

Mr. Davis: It’s outside in the boot of my car. I’ll bring it in… Here it is, it’s very light for it’s size.

Mr. West: Right. On to the scales with it then… Yes, the weight’s O.K., and now for the dimensions.

Mr. Davis: When you consider how large it is, it’s surprisingly light, isn’t it?

Mr. West: Yes, it is. That means, of course, that the charges will be assessed on the basis of volume, not weight.

Mr. Davis: There are a number of other things that Mr. Marshall wanted me to check with you. First of all, when will it get there?

Mr. West: There’s our Singapore flight leaving this afternoon that arrives at Bahrain during the night, or there is the Far East freighter which leaves early tomorrow. If there isn’t enough room on the first flight, it’ll certainly be carried on the freighter.

Mr. Davis: So our rep could collect it from the Bahrain airport some time tomorrow?

Mr. West: We’d better say the day after, to allow for local Customs clearance, which might hold things up for a few hours.

Mr. Davis: O.K. And then Mr. Marshall asked me to tell you to make sure nothing is stood on top of the model in the aircraft. The flat cover over the top is only thin plastic and could easily be broken.

Mr. West: Yes, we have plenty of experience of handling fragile cargo, and you can be sure we’ll take very good care of it.

Mr. Davis: And then there’s the question of the cost, Western Oil has an account with you. Will you invoice them in the usual way?

Mr. West: Yes, we’ll do that. Do you want me to calculate the cost now?

Mr. Davis: No, Mr. Marshall didn’t ask for that. I think he’ll be quite happy if you invoice the company in due course.

Mr. West: Have you any other queries?

Mr. Davis: No, I don’t think so. What about the consignment note, or whatever you call it – do you want me to sign it or anything?

Mr. West: No, that’s all right, we can make that out in our office here, acting on your behalf as authorized in your letter, and so a signature isn’t necessary. Incidentally, it’s usually called an air waybill nowadays, not a consignment note.

Mr. Davis: Well, that seems to be everything then. I’ll go back and tell Mr. Marshall it’s all O.K. and he can tell our rep in Bahrain when to collect. Many thanks for your help. Goodbye.

Notes:

1. rep: representative

2. stood: place, put

3. on your behalf: for you

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1415