A DOTING dog owner was left stunned when an airline quoted him a staggering £700 for a return flight – for his pooch.
Steve Mitchell was astounded after he was told by airline staff at Flybe of a £350 charge each way to fly Zooma between Aberdeen and Southampton.
The eye-watering figure contrasts with the paltry £20 return which Loganair offered to charge for the first leg of the journey from Shetland to Aberdeen.
The bill also came close to matching the £800 needed to take the family of four on their summer holiday south.
Mr Mitchell, 65, of Levenwick, wanted to take his terrier down for his mother-in-law, who had recently lost her own dog.
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But the extortionate price charged by Flybe meant the dog never left Shetland.
Retired Shetland farm dairies manager, Mr Mitchell said: “It was two to three weeks ago when we went away,”
“I’m still mad about it because I don’t see how one company can charge you 20 quid for a return trip and the other one wants to charge £350 for one way.
“We went down to see my wife’s mum. She lives down in Wiltshire and we fly down to Southampton usually.
“She recently lost her dog and is quite fond of our dog so we thought we would take him down.”
Mr Mitchell is not keen on relying on kennels, which he described as “impersonal”.
So Zooma instead ended up being looked after by friends while Mr Mitchell, his family took their summer break.
The change of plan was not before Mr Mitchell had the added expense of an “airline-accredited dog cage”, which he said was now “sitting in the garage unused”.
The dog-lover said he found it difficult to understand why there was such a difference in the prices quoted by Loganair and Flybe.
He said: “I’m not sure of the reasoning behind it,”
“It can’t cost that much. The only thing I can assume is Flybe don’t want to take dogs, so they price it out of the game.”
Flybe stated this week: “The safety and security of our passengers (both canine and human) is Flybe’s number one priority at all times.
“As an IATA-regulated airline, Flybe fully complies with IATA’s stringent Live Animals Regulations (LARS).
“This is the accepted worldwide standard for transporting animals in a safe and humane way by commercial airlines that protects both the customer and the airline.
“For this there are associated processing costs.
“Not knowing the exact details, Flybe cannot comment on the alleged quote given to Mr Mitchell.”
The news comes shortly after Flybe came under fire from Loganair after announcing the two would go head-to-head for passengers on the Shetland route.
Flybe chiefs met the public last week as the company, and its new partner Eastern Airways, outlined plans for their new service starting in September.
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