News: Flybe Challenges Train Companies
Flights > News > # 687 (09/01/2006)
 |
|
|
Budget airline Flybe is reporting a 27% increase in passenger figures for December over the same period last year.
The airline claims that its continued growth in passenger figures also reflects a growing trend in domestic travellers choosing to travel by air over train, and comes as train operators across the UK increased regulated fares for 2006 by an average of 4%.
Flybe offers a total of 82 domestic routes from 19 bases and operates over 96,000 flights a year. The airline has offered comparisons between its air fares and rail ticket prices on a number of popular domestic routes. In a rare move for a comparative claim, Flybe have included their own taxes and charges, and compared themselves against the best available discounted rail fare, rather than the standard "walk up" ticket price - although these are "regulated" fares which are rising.
Flybe commercial director Mike Rutter commented:
"With train companies seeing it as their right to aggressively increase fares on an annual basis and in no relation to inflation or to improvements in service, the low cost airline industry is benefiting directly with a strong rise in passenger numbers particularly across domestic routes. With great value, transparent pricing and significantly quicker travel times, it’s no wonder passengers are exploring other options to rail. Passengers have woken up to the potential of low cost air travel as a very real alternative to rail travel – maybe it’s time the train operators woke up to the competition that poses and looked at making their offering more competitive and consumer friendly again."
Add to:
Related Articles:
Related Airlines:
Related Airports:
Comment:
Despite increased walk-up fares, rail passenger numbers are also continuing to grow, with routes where new trains have been introduced showing the strongest advances. Long distance and regional rail travel in the UK grew by 5% in 2005, w
