Eurostar To Redefine Rail Business Class Options

Channel Tunnel rail service Eurostar will ditch its First Class and Premium services in favor of two new premium classes that keep leisure passengers well away from business users.

Business Premier and Leisure Select, which will join the coach-equivalent Standard class on Sept. 1, is a reaffirmation of Eurostar's commitment to the corporate market. The restructuring, announced last week, comes just one week after the airline Bmi British Midland announced it would scrap business class on all but four routes from London Heathrow. Brussels is one of the routes for which Bmi will retain a second class, but Paris, the other route on which it competes with Eurostar, will become economy-only.

European airlines have hemorrhaged business-class passengers on short-haul routes during the past three years but Eurostar said its corporate clients are moving the other way, loosening policy to allow travelers back into the premium carriage. "Our passengers are on board a bit longer, so they are prepared to pay for the opportunity to work in comfort," said Paul Charles, director of communications for Eurostar. "No one does any work on a short-haul flight."

Eurostar's Business Premier passengers will enjoy a 10-minute checkin including, for the first time, a fast-track route through security and passport control. They also will have exclusive lounge access and a new express breakfast option, instead of the more leisurely cooked breakfast. Another new option is a limousine transfer at either end of the outbound and return journeys.

Published fares for Business Premier are £319 (US$581) to £450 ($820). Leisure Select costs £139 ($253) to £405 ($737). Like Business Premier, it offers a larger seat pitch, in-seat power socket and complimentary meal, but checkin time is 30 minutes and there is no lounge access.

Eurostar will attempt to steer leisure passengers away from Business Premier at the time of booking. "Business travelers don't want kids running around the departure lounge," Charles said. "Our research also told us that when they are traveling out first thing in the morning, they don't want to listen to leisure passengers tucking noisily into champagne breakfasts. Conversely, on the way back, business travelers want to unwind with a few drinks, while the leisure passengers are so exhausted that all they want to do is sleep."