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
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
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 sees record sales
EUROSTAR, the train operator running services to Europe through the Channel Tunnel, said today that it achieved record sales in 2006, with sales rising 11.7 per cent to £518.3 million.
Passenger numbers for the operator, whose trains link London with Paris and Brussels, were up 5.4 per cent to 7.85m.
The group said it expected just as strong a performance over 2007.
Eurostar said it had benefited from increased security at airports and foggy weather in Britain.
Related topics
Channel Tunnel
http://business.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=508The railways
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=168 This article: http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/business.
Source: http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=56762007
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
Travellers suffer in storm's wake
But there was better news for Eurostar passengers, with the Channel Tunnel high-speed train company able to run a full service, except for one early Paris to London train which was cancelled. Severe weather in northern France had led to a suspension of Eurostar's London to Paris and Brussels services in the second half of Thursday.
A severely-reduced service was operating on GNER's East Coast main line between London and Edinburgh while an emergency timetable was in operation on the Virgin West Coast main line. GNER spokesman Alan Hyde said: "We have been working hard to ensure that our trains and crews are in the right places to run as normal a service as possible.
Source: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=33852&in_page_id=34&in_a_source=
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
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
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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Source: http://www.mad.co.uk/Main/News/Articlex/08eb7fff92aa4199b6ad6d1e563af752/Eurostar-reports-record-sales.htmlEurope cleans up after killer storm
The Eurostar service between Britain and continental Europe has been restored in full. London's London Bridge station reopened after being closed when part of a roof collapsed.
Source: http://www.gulfnews.com/world/United_Kingdom/10098189.html
Eurostar posts record sales
Eurostar, the cross-Channel rail service, today reported record sales figures and traveller numbers for 2006 as it won customers from a troubled airline industry.
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Source: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9077-2542082,00.htmlEurostar Says Full-Year Sales Rose
Eurostar Group Ltd., the operator of the train service connecting Britain with continental Europe, said Thursday that full-year sales rose 11 percent as more people switched away from aircraft travel.
Revenue in the year through Dec. 31 rose to 518 million pounds (US$1 billion; euro773.3 million) compared with 463.8 million pounds in 2005, Eurostar said in a statement.
The train operator carried a total 7.85 million travelers in 2006, a 5 percent increase on the previous year. Leisure traveler numbers rose by 4.5 percent, it said, while the largest increase was in business travelers, rising over 17 percent.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/01/11/ap3320286.html
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