Rail Company Eurostar Slowly Progressing In Raising GDS Availability

By Amon Cohen / October 19, 2008

Eurostar belatedly has achieved top-level distribution through global distribution systems in the United Kingdom and United States, but remains unavailable through GDSs in other countries.

A number of teething problems mean that Eurostar has not yet officially announced its GDS presence, but BTN has learned that the Channel Tunnel passenger rail operator achieved primary screen access through Amadeus in April and Galileo and Sabre in June. That means agents and self-booking tool users can compare Eurostar times and fares alongside those of competing airlines on London-Paris and London-Brussels services.

Eurostar originally announced in summer 2006 that it expected to achieve primary screen access in the first quarter of 2007, but technical obstacles proved much greater than anticipated. "We are a train company trying to distribute in an online environment and the complexities of it were relatively unknown," said Eurostar UK director of sales and marketing Emma Harris. "This is setting a precedent. We are the only train company in the world with primary screen access."

The new distribution method means bookings now can be issued as e-tickets, with passengers able to collect from self-service machines in the United Kingdom and France. However, there are a number of difficulties still to be resolved, one of which is the lack of GDS access in France or Belgium, preventing U.K. and U.S. agents from booking one-way tickets from Paris or Brussels.

"I would say that GDS access for Eurostar is 80 percent done, with 20 percent still needing to be sorted out," said a senior executive at a travel management company in the United Kingdom. "However, there is nothing major wrong. It is definitely better than it was a year ago."

Harris said Eurostar is looking to secure primary screen access in continental Europe as well. "We do have a plan to roll out in certain markets," she said, "but it is really important for us to get it right in the United Kingdom first."