cc: Keith Briffa , Frank Oldfield , Elke Bergius date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 13:38:12 +0100 from: Keith Alverson subject: business class flight to: jansen@geol.uib.no Dear Eyestein, We have received your request for PAGES reimbursement for your travel to the HIHOL meeting in Avignon. Unfortunately, PAGES has a strict policy of not refunding business class travel. This policy has been bent for you once, after the fact and with *very much* difficulty, at the CLIVAR meeting in Venice since you stated that you were unable to find economy seat. However, we cannot bend the rule a second time in a row. It will be absolutely impossible to clear this expense with our financial auditors at the University of Bern and the Swiss National Science Foundation, especially as your travel costs are more than three times the cost of any other European participant at the meeting. The conference organizer, Keith Briffa, informed us before the conference that your expenses would be 300 GB pounds. Therefore, what I suggest is that we send you that amount, and you seek another source of funding for the additional amount. I am sorry about any inconvenience that this unavoidable decision may cause you. Keith Alverson