To view the source of the fuel pricing, please click here. This is the US Dept of Energy table, and you will need to view the prices on the Rotterdam ARA for Kerosene Jet Fuel.

As you would expect, the structure and application of our fuel surcharge is fair and transparent. It is also industry standard, and will allow for the reduction in surcharge when the oil prices reduce. Should you have any queries regarding the above, please contact customer service or by telephone at 0800 089 5888

11 February 2010
Weather delays in Europe/NE USA

Dear customer,

Northern Europe is experiencing exceptionally heavy snow, and we are anticipating delays in France, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands and Luxembourg today. Our overnight truck is struggling to get to our depots, as operation stack was in place last night, and whilst we normally arrive at Paris (for example) at approximately 05:00, the truck is still en-route now at almost 11:00 local time, having only got to Calais a short while ago.

Flights and Eurostar are all experiencing heavy delays too. 24 hour delays are likely to most shipments sent to these countries yesterday, but we will be sending information to separately by individual shipments.

The North East of the US is also seriously affected by snow, and the National Guard have been called in to help move snow in Washington DC. The situation is so bad in DC that even snowplough operations were suspended yesterday due to safety concerns, and Baltimore has banned any vehicles other than emergency vehicles from it’s streets.

Whilst New York is also badly affected, and JFK was closed yesterday, causing the cancellation of our morning flight (BA117), the airport is currently open, and today’s BA117 has left, albeit half an hour late, having got airborne at 09:02. However we still have to contend with the conditions on the ground once the flight lands, and this is still a continuing problem.

If you have any urgent shipments to the North Eastern states, please expect delays, and contact us if you need advice on any specific shipment. We will continue to endeavour to minimise delays, but some are inevitable. For more help, please contact customer service.

Kind regards

Air Courier International

01 February 2010
February Holidays

Dear customer,

Please find February’s global holidays attached. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

February Holidays 2010.pdf

Kind regards,

Lee Guy

13 January 2010
Weather problems

Dear customer,

Overnight the home counties, including Heathrow, have had further snowfall, and up and down the country the situation is much the same. Flight delays are expected today, and as you can see from the attached photograph, taken at 11:20 this morning (literally 5 minutes ago!) in our car park near Terminal 5, the roads in this area are still quite treacherous, and it is still snowing, albeit lightly.

Please be advised that whilst we will be offering full service today, we may be slightly delayed in getting to you given the conditions. We will keep you informed on an individual basis should any severe delays be expected to collection times. The situation in much of Europe also remains poor, and again, we will continue to update you regarding individual shipments should delays happen.

On a different note, as you may have heard in today’s news, there has been a major earthquake in Haiti overnight, and service to the island is currently suspended until further notice.

We hope you all arrive and return home safely to your offices today, and we look forward to receiving bookings from all those that made it in!

Kind regards,

Darren Winter

Air Courier International

03 December 2009
Global Mail - Last posting dates for Christmas

Dear customer,

For clients using our global priority mailing services, please note the following last posting dates for Christmas 2009:

4th December 2009- South & Central America, Caribbean, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Far East, New Zealand and Australia.

10th December 2009- Japan, USA, Canada and Eastern Europe

11th December 2009- Western Europe

The above applies to postal services only. Whilst normal delivery parameters can be expected for courier services, please be advised that gifts and non-document shipments tend to attract more attention from customs than at other times of the year in December. As such, please remember to be explicit in your descriptions of contents for non-EU shipments in order to avoid delays in customs clearance. If you have specific requests regarding sending gifts or non-document items, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards,

Lee Guy

02 December 2009
December Holidays

Dear Customer,

Please find global holidays for December attached, along with out own opening hours for the Christmas period. Please note that as per every year, we will have staff available to assist 24 hours a day throughout the festive period – please call 01753 561300 should you require emergency assistance.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

December 09.xls

Air Courier Christmas 2009.pdf

Kind regards,

Lee Guy

11 November 2009
2 MINUTE SILENCE

Dear Customer,

Please be advised that Air Courier International will observe today’s 2 minute silence at 11:00 GMT in remembrance of our fallen servicemen and women. During this time our phones will be switched to night service, and should you need assistance please leave a message and we will call you immediately after the silence.

As a result of today’s ceremony, we expect some delays as roads are closed around the Westminster area. These delays are not expected to be significant, but if we are having any trouble getting to any collections or deliveries, we will contact you individually.

Kind regards,

Darren Winter

Air Courier International

05 November 2009
November Holidays

Dear Customer

Please find November’s global holiday list attached. Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards,

Air Courier International

November's holidays are now available in xls format - click here

21 October 2009
Further Royal Mail Strikes this week

Dear Customer

According to news reports today, no real progress has been made between Royal Mail and the CWU in their attempts to head off strikes on Thursday and Friday of this week. As all UK mail companies use Royal Mail for that ‘final mile’ of delivery, there is currently no viable alternative at a similar cost. We have endeavoured to offer an alternative via courier delivery at key points throughout the dispute, and have re-instated the offer for the rest of this week.

We are offering until the end of this week (23rd October) to deliver any UK mainland envelope up to 1000g for £6.85 plus VAT, next working day courier service.

However, due to heavy demand we have experienced on previous offers, we are having to prioritise between genuine courier deliveries and those that are intended for this service. Collection is from central London locations only and bookings must be made ONLINE by 15:00 for collection that day (for details of how to book online if you currently do not, please contact us). Further, to identify your shipment as eligible, please mark each booking “POSTAL STRIKE OFFER” in the notes section of our online booking portal. This price applies only to standard next day delivery, and any requests for AM or timed deliveries will revert the shipment back to normal courier rates and surcharges.

To recap:

• Up to 1000g, next day delivery, £6.85 plus VAT
• For bookings made online only
• Central London collection points only (contact us to check if you are unsure)
• Bookings must be made by 15:00 for collection same day
• All bookings must show “POSTAL STRIKE OFFER” in notes section
• Any special or timed deliveries will automatically be treated and priced as full courier service
• Will be added to your monthly consolidated invoice under normal credit terms

We hope this will help you to get your critical mail delivered on time at an extremely reasonable courier rate, on a fully trackable service complimented with proof of delivery. Please note however, that a signature is required at delivery point, and therefore no shipment will be left if nobody is home (in these cases a card will be left for the recipient to contact us).

We genuinely hope this measure will help reduce the impact that the industrial action is having on our clients, and welcome any comments you may have.

Kind regards,

Air Courier International Ltd

09 October 2009
Postal Strike

Dear Customer

As you are almost certainly aware, Royal Mail staff are taking industrial action on an ongoing basis. Given the uncertainty surrounding postal deliveries at present, we are again receiving a large number of enquiries into our UK next day services.

In response, please be advised that whilst we do not offer postal services, we are offering for until the end of next week (16th October) to deliver any UK mainland envelope up to 1000g for £6.85 plus VAT, next working day courier service.

Should industrial action continue beyond next week, we may continue this offer to assist customers in getting their critical mail delivered on time at an extremely reasonable courier rate. This is a fully trackable service complimented with proof of delivery, and timed deliveries are available at a surcharge.

To take advantage of this offer, please book as normal – no special arrangements need to be made as this price will apply to all eligible shipments from all clients. The only stipulations are:

1. Envelopes only up to a maximum weight of 1kg (parcels priced at normal rate)
2. Full details of delivery required on booking – ideally these jobs should be booked on line, but we are able to take details over the telephone
3. Highlands and Islands of Scotland excluded
4. Price is subject to VAT at 15%

We hope this measure will help reduce the impact that the industrial action is having on our clients, and welcome any comments you may have.

Kind regards,

Air Courier International

23 September 2009
Power at Air Courier International and Singapore Grand Prix

Dear client,

Please note that in an update to our earlier communication, we have more services available to us now, and phone lines are working again. However we are still working on 1 out of 3 phases, and the cause of the issue is a severed cable in our area caused by engineering works. This will be fixed at some point in the next 24 hours (hopefully) and until then our situation will not improve. We have a generator on site and our UPS’s have held up well, but overnight there is a possibility of more disruption when they actually make the fix. For now, please use our normal numbers to call us, but we will advise if this changes for any reason. Thank you for your patience throughout, and I can confirm that this will have zero effect on shipments booked and sent today.

Please be advised that deliveries to Singapore are currently subject to delays due to the Singapore Grand Prix, practice for which begins tomorrow. The roads below are absolutely closed and as a result, collections and deliveries are impossible.

1. Raffles Boulevard, Raffles Quay
2. Nicoll Highway (between Stamford Road and Bras Basah Road)
3. Stamford Road (between Beach Road and Nicoll Highway)
4. St Andrew's Road
5. Parliament Place
6. Fullerton Road (between Connaught Drive and Esplanade Drive)
7. Esplanade Drive
8. Raffles Avenue
9. Republic Boulevard
10. Temasek Avenue & Raffles Link (between Raffles Boulevard and Raffles Avenue)
11. Orchard Road
12. Marina Blvd
13. Shenton Way

All other areas are subject to delays caused by the knock-on effect of the closures and the increased amount of traffic that the Formula One paddock brings with it (not to mention the spectators). If you have any particular requests or wish to double check a delivery time, please contact customer service.

Kind regards,

Darren Winter

23 September 2009
Power Failure

Dear customer

Please note that we have had a repeat of yesterday’s power failure, and currently have no landlines, and only limited services for email and internet. We are getting our landlines diverted to a mobile as a temporary measure, but please use the following numbers if you need to contact us urgently:

07766 050512
07734 057683
07766 050513
07917 365115
07903 445800
07704 096141
07909 224210

We will update you as soon as normal service is resumed.

Kind regards

Darren Winter

16 September 2009
Postal Strike

Dear Customer

As you are almost certainly aware, Royal Mail staff are taking industrial action again this week, with delays today in the London and South East areas likely. Given the uncertainty surrounding postal deliveries at present, we are receiving a large number of enquiries into our UK next day services.

In response, please be advised that whilst we do not offer postal services, we are offering for this week only to deliver any UK mainland envelope up to 1000g for £7.25, next working day courier service.

Should industrial action continue beyond this week, we may continue this offer to assist customers in getting their critical mail delivered on time at an extremely reasonable courier rate. This is a fully trackable service complimented with proof of delivery, and timed deliveries are available at a surcharge.

To take advantage of this offer, please book as normal – no special arrangements need to be made as this price will apply to all eligible shipments this week from all clients. The only stipulations are:

1. Envelopes only up to a maximum weight of 1kg (parcels priced at normal rate)
2. Full details of delivery required on booking – ideally these jobs should be booked on line, but we are able to take details over the telephone
3. Highlands and Islands of Scotland excluded
4. Price is subject to VAT at 15%

We hope this measure will help reduce the impact that the industrial action is having on our clients, and welcome any comments you may have.

Kind regards,

Air Courier International

08 July 2009
July Holidays

Dear Customer,

Please find global holidays for July attached. Should you have any queries, please let us know.

Kind regards,

Lee Guy

July's holidays are now available in xls format - click here

08 July 2009
Delays in Tehran

Dear customer,

Please note that due to high air pollution in Tehran City and suburbs, the Iranian government has enforced a closure on public and private sector companies operating in the affected areas on Wednesday 8th and Thursday 9th July. We cannot make any collections or deliveries in Tehran on these days as a result. Assuming the working ban is lifted, normal service will resume on Saturday 11th July.

Kind regards

Lee Guy

23 June 2009
New Service to Saudi Arabia

Dear Customer,

Please find attached our latest service enhancement – next day delivery to Dammam, Dharan and Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Next Day Upgrade.pdf

Kind regards,

Lee Guy

01 June 2009
International Holidays, June

Dear Customer,

June's holidays are now available in xls format - click here

Dear Customer,

Please be advised that we are experiencing severe problems with traffic in central London today. Apart from the closure of the A4 at Hammersmith for much of the morning, roads are also being blocked around Parliament Square as 3500 supporters of the Tamils are staging a protest demanding a ceasefire in Sri Lanka.

Apart from the congestion and delays caused in the immediate area, delays from East and Central City are being experienced in shuttling our work to Heathrow. As always we will endeavour to keep any delays to a minimum, but we appreciate your understanding should our drivers be delayed in reaching you today.

If you wish to check on a collection or any affected transit time, please do not hesitate to contact us for more information.

Kind regards,

Lee Guy

Dear Customer,

This communication is intended for all clients in the London area.

Please be advised that heavy disruption to roads is likely tomorrow, especially in the square mile but inevitably this will have a knock on effect to lots of other parts of London. This is due to the demonstrations taking place in advance of the G20 meeting in London.

From www.bbc.co.uk/london we have the following information:

1. Four marches are planned to start at 11:00 BST, beginning at Moorgate, Liverpool St., Cannon St. and London Bridge stations. All four marches are then planned to converge on The Bank of England (Threadneedle Street) by noon.

Road closures will be in place along these routes with very heavy congestion expected anywhere nearby. All roads around Bank junction are likely to be closed due to large crowds in the area.

2. A ‘Climate Camp’ is also due to take place somewhere in the square mile, but is being arranged by text messages on the day. Protestors are due to meet on Bishopsgate at 12:30 BST however, and disruption and road closures are likely as a result (especially given it’s proximity to the start points of the other marches).

3. A march and rally is scheduled to start at Grosvenor Square in the West End at 14:45 BST heading for Trafalgar Square. As a result the following roads will be closed until approximately 18:00 BST: Carlos Place, Berkeley Square North Side, Bruton Street, Conduit Street (Eastbound), Regent Street (Northbound), Piccadilly Circus, Lower Regent Street, Haymarket, Pall Mall East.

4. In East London around Docklands Excel (the actual venue for the G20 Summit) there will be many road closures and again heavy congestion. Tidal Basin Road is already closed at Silvertown Way.

We will endeavour to meet all our collection obligations, but clearly in some cases it will be physically impossible. As we are sending drivers to London earlier than normal tomorrow, we would strongly advise clients in or near affected areas to book collections as early as possible or preferably today if at all possible.

We would be grateful if any clients that are not operating or are closing early tomorrow, could advise us of this in order we can cancel any regular collections.

If you have any particular concerns or wish to discuss tomorrow’s arrangements with us, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01753 561300.

Kind Regards,

Lee Guy

Dear Client,

We have been informed that a major strike in the mainly public sector is scheduled for tomorrow (19th March). We are lead to believe this may cause some delays in the Paris and surrounding areas, and possibly to other areas that are normally onforwarded overnight. We will endeavour to limit delays as much as possible, but the train and air network is likely to be affected, as are utilities such as electricity supplies. We will advise of any delays to individual shipments as normal, but should you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards,

Lee Guy

Dear customer,

Whilst we have been collecting from clients today as normal, we have now pulled all drivers from their routes in light of the worsening conditions. Furthermore, as London airports remain closed, and lanes remain closed on the South Eastern section of the M25, it is likely that most material collected today will suffer delays.

Snow is expected to worsen before getting any better, and we therefore expect delays of at least 24 hours for all material to all destinations tonight. UK bound material will be despatch as normal but will be subject to local delays depending on the weather.

If you would like to check on any particular deliveries, please contact us at cs@aircourieruk.com or on 0753 561300.

Kind regards,

Lee Guy

Please be advised that a general strike is due to start tomorrow (Thursday 29th January) in France. This will include all administrative sites, schools, banks and also the transport companies.

Delays are likely, and same-day deliveries to regional cities cannot be undertaken.

If you have any concerns about individual deliveries, please contact customer service - cs@aircourieruk.com or by telephone on 01753 561300.

We will endeavor to minimise any delays, and to keep you updated on a regular basis.

Kind regards,

Lee Guy

To all customers.

Please see below operating hours for Air Courier International over the 2008 Christmas period.

On the days where the offices are closed our duty manager will still be on standby 24/7. Please call our main number whereby a recorded message will give you the emergency number to call.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support this year and wish all our customers a very happy Christmas and a prosperous 2009.

Best regards from everyone at Air Courier International.

Dear customer,

Please find December’s global holiday list attached.

December 08 Holidays.xls

Kind regards,

Lee Guy

Dear Customer

As you are probably aware, terrorists mounted a serious attack on Mumbai last night. We are holding all shipments received yesterday in our warehouse, meaning a 24 hour delay for anything sent yesterday. We are monitoring the situation and hope to be able to despatch tonight, minimising the impact of any delays.

Meanwhile, protestors in Thailand have now forced the closure of Bangkok’s second airport, Don Mueang, in what appears to be an escalation of the action being taken there. Our services to Thailand remain suspended, as there are no flights to or from Bangkok at present.

We will keep you updated on both these situations, but if you have any queries on individual shipments, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards,

Lee Guy

Dear Customer,

Please be advised that due to anti-Government protests, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport has been closed. It appears that the protesters surged into the terminal building resulting in a full closure of the facility until the unrest has been brought to an end.

I can confirm that the material exported on Monday evening’s flight has definitely arrived OK but we are not yet aware if this is likely to have an impact on clearance and recovery of our material. We will have a far better picture of what has been affected by tomorrow and will advise on any individually delayed shipments as early as possible.

With this in mind it appears that airlines are reluctant to operate a service this evening so there will be no export available today. We will of course monitor this very closely and keep you informed, but judging by the news reports it appears the situation may be protracted as there seems to be a political stalemate in Thailand at present.

If you have any queries about particular shipments, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind regards,

Darren Winter

Dear Customer

Please be advised that Air Courier International will be observing today’s two minute silence at 11am. As such, we will divert our phones to night service for that period, and should you call, a messaging service will collect your message, which will be returned immediately afterwards.

Kind regards,

Darren Winter

01 October 2008
Telephone Lines

UPDATE: 12:35pm: Please note that our phone systems are now working normally. Again, our apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Dear Customer

Please note that our telephone lines have a fault and we are unable to dial out or receive calls. We have reported this to BT and are awaiting further updates.

In the interim, please contact us by email at cs@aircourieruk.com

We will respond to all emails as soon as possible, but in an emergency, please call us on any of the below numbers :

07734 057683
07917 365115
07920 447420

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused, and we will let you know as soon as our problem is resolved.

Kind regards,

Air Courier International

Dear Customer

Please be advised that the UN General Assembly convenes in Manhattan today with over 100 state heads in attendance for the coming week. This generally results in traffic chaos in New York, especially on the Upper East Side where some roads will be completely closed for the entire week. We will endeavour to complete all deliveries where legally possible, but some delays are inevitable. If you have a shipment for New York with a deadline, please contact us prior to sending.

Kind regards

Lee Guy

Air Courier International

Dear Customer,

Please find September's worldwide holiday days here

For any queries, please contact Customer Services on cs@aircourieruk.com

Kind regards,

Lee Guy

Dear Customer,

Please be advised that today is Labor Day in the USA, which is a Federal (national) Holiday, and as such, no deliveries will be taking place. Many corporations will also be closed tomorrow, so some deliveries may be delayed a further day as a result.

Please also be advised of the beginning of the Holy Month of Ramadam today, 1st September, until October 2nd. During this period most companies and establishments in The Middle East region and Muslim countries elsewhere will have restricted opening hours. This is likely to affect deliveries and delays should be expected. If you have a specific delivery time to meet, please contact us in order we can make arrangements directly with the receiving party.

Kind regards,

Lee Guy

To all customers

Currently we have a systems fault on our online booking site. Our I.T. support are working hard to rectify the problem with our server.

Hopefully this will be be running as normal very shortly.

Apologies for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience

Kind regards

Lee Guy

Dear Customer,

Please find August worldwide holiday days here.

For any queries, please contact customer services on cs@aircourieruk.com

Kind regards,

Lee Guy