Eurostar FY 2006 sales up 11.7 pct with over 5 pct rise in passengers
LONDON (AFX) - Eurostar, the high-speed passenger train service that links Britain with the Continent, said 2006 was a record year as more travellers switched from airlines.
Sales for 2006 were up 11.7 pct year-on-year to 518.3 mln stg with 7.85 mln travellers carried, up over 5 pct.
Of these, the company saw a 17 pct increase in business traveller numbers.
The company said it benefited from increased security at airports since the summer and foggy weather in the UK before Christmas. Many of these travellers were using Eurostar for the first time and Eurostar estimates that 1000 business customers a week have now permanently transferred from flying to high-speed rail.
Punctuality in 2006 was a record 91.5 pct.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2007/01/11/afx3319864.html
Record Year for Eurostar as More Travelers Switch From Airlines
Eurostar, the high-speed passenger train service linking the UK with France and Belgium, saw record sales and traveler numbers in 2006, as it attracted thousands of passengers from the airlines.
Sales topped half a billion pounds for the first time, rising 11.7% from pound;463.8 million to pound;518.3 million. North American sales of Eurostar tickets by Rail Europe, Eurostar's official North American representative, increased 6% for the year, with exceptionally strong sales August-December, with an average monthly increase of 30%.
A total of 7.86 million travelers chose Eurostar in 2006, up 5.4% over 2005. Of those, more than 200,000 bought tickets in North America from Rail Europe.
Source: http://www.etravelblackboard.com/index.asp?id=60423&nav=8
Eurostar profits surge thanks to 'Da Vinci Code' effect
The success of The Da Vinci Code film led to soaring sales for Channel Tunnel high-speed train company Eurostar in 2006, it has been announced.
The thriller movie, set in London and Paris and promoted by Eurostar, helped the company record an 11 per cent increase in sales to 518 million last year.
The company, which operates to Paris and Brussels from London's Waterloo station, carried 7.85 million passengers in 2006 - an increase of more than five per cent on the 2005 total.
Business traveller numbers rose 17 per cent and the number of trains on time improved from 86.3 per cent in 2005 to 91.5 per cent last year.
Source: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23381350-details/Eurostar+profits+surge+thanks+to+'Da+Vinci+Code'+effect/article.do
Air travel troubles benefit Eurostar
Eurostar enjoyed its best year yet in 2006 as the increasing stress of air travel and the damage it does to the environment persuaded more business travellers to switch to the high-speed rail service to Paris and Brussels.
A record 7.85 million passengers travelled on Eurostar - 5 per cent up on the previous year - while sales rose nearly 12 per cent to top pound;500m for the first time.
A spokesman said that an estimated 1,000 business passengers a week were switching from plane to train because of increased airport security and the general hassle of air travel.
He also said the environmentally friendly nature of rail was of growing importance to big corporate customers such as banks and multinationals who were looking to cut their carbon emissions.
Source: http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article2145181.ece
Eurostar, Taxes and Michael O'Leary
Bad news for airlines in Europe -- Eurostar saw record sales and traveler numbers in 2006 as it attracted thousands more travelers from the airlines. Sales topped half a billion pounds for the first time, rising 11.7% from £463.8 million to £518.3 million. In total 7.85 million travelers chose Eurostar in 2006, up 5.4 % on 2005. Leisure traveler numbers rose by 4.5%, while the largest increase was in business traveler numbers, rising over 17% and generating an 18% increase in business sales revenue. Eurostar continues to see strong year-on-year growth. It is now carrying 28% more travelers than in the 12 months before the opening in September 2003 of the first section of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, now named High Speed 1.
Source: http://iagblog.blogspot.com/2007/01/eurostar-taxes-and-michael-oleary.html
Eurostar profit from airports chaos
Eurostar saw record sales and traveller numbers in 2006 as it attracted hoards of passengers who might usually have taken flights to France and Belgium. The security meltdown at British airports during the summer and the severe fog before Christmas put many travellers off flying.Eurostar sales topped half a billion pounds for the first time, rising 11.7% from 463.8 million to 518.3 million. In total 7.85 million travellers chose Eurostar in 2006, up 5.4 % on 2005. Leisure traveller numbers rose by 4.5%, while the largest increase was in business traveller numbers, rising over 17%.Eurostar has also recorded its best ever punctuality figures. 91.5% of journeys were on time, compared to an average of just 70% for flights on the London to Paris and London to Brussels routes.
Source: http://www.flightmapping.com/news/1149.aspx
3, 2, 1 ... Let's go: Tips and top spots for travel in 2007
The high-speed Eurostar systems between London and Paris will finally be realized in November with the completion of a new rail bed through southeastern England. Eurostar also gets a new London home at the stately St. Pancras rail station. The new service will cut the travel time between London and Paris to one hour, 51 minutes. Meanwhile, in London, o2, the onetime Millennium Dome, will reopen as an entertainment complex.
Luxembourg (the city and country) and Sibiu, Romania, will be the co-European Cities of Culture for 2007, with a series of arts and music exhibitions and events sponsored by the European Union.
Berlin's famed Tempelhof Airport, built by the Nazis and later used by the U.S.
Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/travel/16517694.htm
Airport woes boost Eurostar sales
Tightened airline security and foggy weather at UK airports in December, which caused widespread disruption to flights, helped lift Eurostar.
The firm forecast that demand for its services would remain strong in 2007.
"We expect 2007 to be another good year," said chief executive Richard Brown, adding that the Tour de France in July and the France-hosted Rugby World Cup in the autumn were already generating strong demand.
When launched, Eurostar was owned by French state-run railway operator SNCF, Belgium's SNCB and British Rail.
The UK interests are currently held by Eurostar UK.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6250977.stm
Huge rise in business use of Eurostar
The number of business travellers using Eurostar grew by 17 per cent in 2006, according to the cross-Channel rail operator. Some 630,000 business travellers used the high-speed rail service during the year, up from 538,000 the year before.
The company said: #147;Many of these travellers were using Eurostar for the first time and it is estimated that 1,000 business customers a week have now permanently transferred from flying to high-speed rail. #148;
Richard Brown, Eurostar #146;s chief executive, added: #147;I am delighted at the strong growth in the number of business travellers, who are discovering the punctuality and productivity advantages that Eurostar offers compared with the experience of flying.
Source: http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11250-2542217,00.html
Eurostar's record year as travellers switch from planes
Eurostar's record year as travellers switch from planes
Eurostar is reporting record ticket sales and passenger numbers for 2006 ndash; claiming thousands of people chose its trains over flying to the Continent.
Sales of tickets for the company rsquo;s high-speed trains to France and Belgium topped half a billion pounds for the first time, rising 11.7 per cent from pound;463.8 million to pound;518.3m.
In total 7.85 million travellers chose Eurostar in 2006, and increase of 5.4 per cent on 2005.
Leisure traveller numbers rose by 4.5 per cent, while the largest increase was in business traveller numbers, rising by more than 17 per cent.
Source: http://www.kentnews.co.uk/kent-news/Eurostar_s-record-year-as-travellers-switch-from-planes-newsinkent2539.aspx
Eurostar Reports Increased Sales And Passenger Numbers In 2006
Eurostar train services through the Channel Tunnel from Britain to France and Belgium Thursday reported a rise in sales and passenger figures in 2006, helped in part by its promotion of the film hit The Da Vinci Code, the company said. Presenting its results in London, the high-speed Anglo-French train company said sales had risen by 11 per cent in 2006 to 518 million pounds (one billion dollars). The company, which operates to Paris and Brussels from London's Waterloo station, carried 7.85 million passengers in 2006 - an increase of more than five per cent on the on the 2005 total. The Hollywood film based on the controversial book by Dan Brown was set in London and Paris and promoted by Eurostar.
Source: http://www.playfuls.com/news_10_8528-Eurostar-Reports-Increased-Sales-And-Passenger-Numbers-In-2006.html
What a ferry good idea
YOU might think there are only two ways of getting to Paris: catch a cheap flight or hop on a Eurostar.
And then you stay in a city centre hotel. But there is, as a certain Prime Minister once argued, a third way, and I reckon it beats the other two options hands-down.
Drive for an hour from York to Hull, and you can embark on a P O ferry and spend a night cruising across the North Sea before embarking at Zeebrugge for breakfast. Then a three-hour drives takes you to a campsite in the countryside outside the French capital, equipped with superb swimming and other recreational facilities.
From here, you can take day trips into the capital and also to Disneyland Paris, before driving north again to spend a couple of days on another site near Amsterdam.
Source: http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/redir.php?from=ec&to=1136853&l=what_a_ferry_good_idea
Eurostar reports record passenger numbers
Eurostar, the high-speed passenger train service that links the UK with France and Belgium, has reported record sales and traveler numbers in 2006.
Increased security at airports since the summer and foggy weather in the UK before Christmas meant that thousands of passengers switched from the airlines ...
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