Eurostar last month announced that its business travel ticket sales volume increased 11.9 percent in 2007, a main driver in the record 8.26 million passengers the cross-border train operator carried last year. Company officials attributed the strong business sales growth to a shift in the corporate market to its Business Premier product, added consistency in its deals with multinational corporate accounts and on-time performance in a year when delays plagued airlines.
Like most travel suppliers, U.K.-based Eurostar, which, negotiates annually with corporations, has been operating in a seller's market during the past few years, but general manager of business sales in the United Kingdom Darren Williams said he expects the negotiating climate to loosen despite an expected rise in demand later this year. "We will have to be more flexible in our negotiations," said Williams.
Eurostar expects the U.S.-E.U. Open Skies agreement, which goes into effect March 30, to bring greater business travel demand because airlines have shed frequency and capacity on short-haul routes where they compete with Eurostar in favor of allocating airport slots for long-haul flights.
The rail company also is considering partnering with U.S.-based carriers for combined ticketing, similar to its relationship with Virgin Atlantic Airways, in which passengers can buy air and rail segments on the same itinerary.
Meanwhile, Eurostar is driving consistency with U.S.-based accounts by "duplicating" agreements with those clients' European operations. "We are taking the approach of having consistency within the United Kingdom and with all travel buyers," said head of international sales Michael Davies.
To leverage the new direct-fulfillment global distribution system platform in the United States, to which Eurostar transitioned in June
(BTNonline, Oct. 8, 2007), the rail operator is developing technology to differentiate its display in the system. For example, the GDS displays a four-minute stopover in Kent, U.K., as an "indirect" line, which often sways travelers or agents to book a "direct flight with an airline," Davies said, adding that Eurostar's listed pricing is a total cost, but some airfares are displayed without taxes or other fees.