News: Eurostar enjoys sales boom following terror alerts
Flights > News > # 901 (15/08/2006)
Train operator Eurostar has seen a surge in passenger numbers in the aftermath of last week’s terror alert as people heading to Europe try to avoid continuing delays at UK airports.
Eurostar, who operate high-speed services from London Waterloo and Ashford in Kent to destinations in France and Belgium including Paris and Brussels, carried almost 30,000 more travellers than normal in the four days following the Government’s decision to beef up airport security amid fears of a possible plot to blow up aircraft flying from the UK to the USA.
Eurostar has also seen significant numbers of travellers using Eurostar as part of longer rail journeys between the UK and mainland Europe, making onward connections in France and Belgium via other high-speed operators. The Netherlands, Germany and the south of France have proved particularly popular onward destinations.
Eurostar spokesman, Simon Montague, said: “Many travellers will have discovered that Europe's high-speed rail network is an increasingly attractive alternative to short-haul air travel.”
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I've always felt that the train offers significant advantages over short hop flying, so it is hardly surprising to see Eurostar reporting a massive surge in bookings after last week's chaos at British airports. It would be far more interesting if the new passengers that Eurostar has attracted stay loyal to the train once the airports return to normality.
I can't help thinking that if Eurostar has been able to report such a huge surge in bookings, they must have had a significant amount of spare capacity in the first place. Granted, August might not be the busiest month for cities like Paris – huge number of the city’s residents head down to the Cote d'Azur at this time of year, which results in many of the city’s best restaurants and boutiques shutting down. Yet, August should still be the busiest month for any travel company because it is peak school holiday season. Eurostar has the added appeal of providing onward connections to numerous other destinations within France, many of which are not particularly close to major airports.
We would expect to see Eurostar continue to enjoy strong sales as long restrictions on hand luggage continue. Who wants to nip across the channel on a weekend break or business trip if you have to check most things into the hold? Restrictions on toiletries will add further to the inconvenience, although at least it is now possible again to take a laptop on board. Eurostar has cannily marketed itself towards business passengers, who no doubt appreciate the convenience of a city centre to city centre service, without the hassles of lengthy security queues and sitting around waiting to board.
On the other hand, leisure passengers are still heavily influenced by price, and Eurostar have still got some way to go here in order to be truly competitive. Headline grabbing giveaway fares often mask the full cost of the journey, and we have never seen the price of a return Eurostar ticket from London to Paris go below £59 (even this price is often subject to heavy restrictions). Good value single fares are even harder to find. This might explain why there are still large numbers of empty seats on many Eurostar services.
