T&E’s Post

💼Want to take more business trips by train, and wondering who’s providing the best services ? ✨Explore the first-of-its-kind ranking of European rail operators, evaluated across eight key criteria, to see the ingredients for a successful experience. 🚅With growing awareness of the climate impact from business travel, companies are actively encouraging their employees to embrace the #shift2rail. ✅To make this shift a reality, coordinated measures from the European Commission, Member States and rail operators are essential to unlock the full potential of rail for business travel. ➡️Learn more: https://shorturl.at/Zrd2U VCÖ - Mobilität mit Zukunft Pour un réveil écologique

Who is leading the way on long-distance rail in Europe? A new ranking from our friends at T&E France (Transport & Environment) evaluates 27 rail operators across eight criteria, such as ticket prices, reliability and onboard amenities. Trenitalia, SBB, and RegioJet get the best grades. Trenitalia stands out for its travel experience, SBB is the most punctual operator in Europe and RegioJet has some of the most affordable tickets. See the full ranking 👉 https://lnkd.in/e3PVDPzP Affordability is key for passengers, and when flights are cheaper than rail travel, people will choose carbon-busting flights over low-emission rail. To help shift the balance and grow rail travel, we need more customer-friendly fares, both in the UK and across Europe. That's the ticket to making train travel accessible to all.

British train companies are the priciest in Europe, a new analysis has revealed. A study from campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E) listed Great Western Railway (GWR) Eurostar and Avanti West Coast as the top three most expensive European train firms by ticket price. GWR fares are around two and a half times greater than the European Union (EU) average, while Avanti West Coast passengers are forking out one and a half more despite long-running complaints over the quality of its service. The study, which examined more than 8,000 tickets, looked at average costs for typical weekday train fares when tickets were purchased seven and 28 days in advance. Continue reading 👇 https://bit.ly/4g62c3J

Title: Navigating Turbulence: The Future of European Airlines Amid Fare Weakness Despite a strong post-pandemic recovery in air travel demand, the European airline sector continues to face significant challenges, including weak fare growth, rising fuel prices, and stiff competition. Notable players in the industry, such as Lufthansa, Ryanair, and EasyJet, have struggled to boost passenger revenue per available seat kilometer (PRASK), with Lufthansa’s PRASK inching up only 1.2% year-over-year in Q3 2022 and EasyJet's remaining flat. The intense competition, primarily from low-cost carriers expanding their networks, and the surge in jet fuel prices, up by approximately 50% since early 2022, are pressing full-service carriers. However, optimism still flickers as industry analysts predict eventual fare increases driven by strong travel demand and sector consolidation, alongside strategic cost mitigation efforts like fuel hedging and labor negotiations. 🛫 Do you believe that European airlines can overcome these hefty challenges and sail into smoother skies with higher fares? 🔍 How might further industry consolidation impact competition and pricing strategies in this sector? I’d love to hear your insights or any personal experiences with European air travel recently! Share your thoughts below. #Airlines #EuropeanTravel #Airfare #AviationIndustry #Investing #EconomicTrends #CorporateStrategy

Analysis of Cirium schedules data for 2024 by AIR SERVICE ONE indicates that the German air travel market is still down almost 20% versus 2019, with the domestic market in particular slow in recovering (see https://lnkd.in/dQYPpfqM). And it's not because everyone has taken to trains within Germany. As recent fan experience at the Euros revealed to a wider audience, the German rail network is not the efficient, punctual, hi-tech operation people expected it to be (see https://lnkd.in/ebfxf4pQ). Among Europe's three biggest (U)LCCs, Ryanair has gradually been ramping up capacity post-pandemic and actually has a higher share of seat capacity now (7.5%) than it did in 2019 (6.7%). It now serves 14 German airports versus 17 in 2019 and is the country's third biggest carrier after Lufthansa and Eurowings. easyJet has cut a huge amount of capacity and is now just the seventh biggest airline in Germany, having ranked fourth in 2019. It now serves just four airports versus 12 in 2019. Wizz Air has overtaken easyJet and now serves 12 German airports having added Stuttgart Airport earlier this year.

Air France and its partners (Transavia France and Air Corsica) now account for less than two thirds of the French domestic market (by seats), down from 90% in 2010, according to AIR SERVICE ONE analysis of Cirium schedules data. This is in stark contrast to Germany where Lufthansa Group now has a virtual monopoly on domestic air services. Competition has increased in France thanks to easyJet more than doubling its share of the market from 8% in 2010 to 19% in 2024 and the emergence of Volotea in 2012. The latter now accounts for 11% of all domestic seats and offers almost 60 routes within France. Ryanair accounts for just under 4% of all French domestic seats and operates just 10 routes this summer, six of them from its base in Aéroport Marseille Provence. In terms of total market size, between 2010 and 2019 there were between 31.1 million and 32.9 million seats available domestically. In 2022 this had recovered back to 26.8 million seats. However, capacity fell by 3.2% in 2023 and is currently set to fall by a further 6.1% in 2024 to 24.3 million. That would make the market 25% smaller than it was in 2019. For comparison Germany's domestic market is 50% smaller than in 2019 while the UK domestic market is just 9% smaller despite the collapse of Flybe which was the second biggest domestic carrier in the UK in 2019. The French government banned several point-to-point domestic routes (from May 2023) where high-speed rail travel existed as a valid alternative. This affected several routes to Paris Orly. However, 'connecting' flights to Paris CDG were allowed to continue.

Intra-Europe airline seat capacity in 2024 is overcoming pre-pandemic levels, and there is a revised pecking order in the industry. Europe's low-cost carriers (LCCs) including Ryanair, easyJet, and Wizz Air have hit the accelerator on intra-Europe market share, with share of seat capacity expected to reach 56% in 2024. Prior to the pandemic, this group of companies held just 48% share. Where is this share coming from? The gains come at the expense of full-service carriers (FSCs), including Air France/KLM, Lufthansa, and IAG. These players have been more prudent in adding capacity, and focusing on routes that stretch well beyond the borders of Europe.   Most of the net gains went to Ryanair followed by Wizz Air.  Load factor for LCCs in 2023 was slightly lower than pre-pandemic level, but still in the range of 89%-93%, therefore the aircraft deployed were well populated. Among the FSCs, Turkish Airlines was the only major player to increase capacity share while the other positions eroded.   While there are different strategies employed to maintain healthy financial foundations, the challenge facing both LCCs and FSCs is the same: Can they master the delicate balancing act of matching supply with demand amid continued economic volatility and other disruptive factors?    My next post will analyze profitability and pricing power, which is a major component of maintaining strong margin performance. Stay tuned. #airlines #airtraffic #travel

Flight should be accessible for all Canadians and that’s why WestJet ✈ is calling for action on affordability. Last week our CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech delivered a pivotal speech at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce outlining two years of exceptional growth since the launch of WestJet’s Growth Strategy, and three critical recommendations to the federal government on how to immediately improve affordability and competitiveness in air travel: 1. Undertake a comprehensive review of Canada’s user-pay system for aviation infrastructure. This review should consider competitiveness impacts, intermodal equity, border leakage and value for taxpayers. 2. Implement an immediate freeze on mandatory imposed government fees, charges and policies that increase the cost of travel. 3. Cease collection of airport rents by the federal government. There are many stakeholders in air travel, and together we can improve guest experience, competition and affordability. This includes our government partners, and we look forward to what’s ahead for all Canadians! https://lnkd.in/gqEg4Vhh

I've said for a while that if I was Air Canada or WestJet I'd be exploring how I got involved in high speed rail between Canada's urban centres, and its airports. The thing is, are they doing this to actually transform their business model into something more sustainable, or are they doing this to protect their existing market position? If you look at how European airports have become more interconnected with the high speed rail network (including Air Canada doing integrated ticketing), this could be a smart move not just for the company, but the industry as a whole. The next age of the train is coming. https://lnkd.in/gDGM486K

ITALY: Works on major rail lines Italy's high-speed trains operated by Trenitalia and Italo will be delayed or cancelled this month due to railway maintenance works, reports Wanted in Rome. Rail traffic is suspended between Verona and Vicenza until August 20, which will cause disruption on the Turin-Milan-Venice high-speed line. Frecce, Eurocity and Euronight trains will be diverted, increasing travel time to 120 minutes. On the Milan-Bologna high-speed line, services will take up to two hours longer than normal from August 12-18 and speed restrictions will be implemented from August 19-25. This will mainly affect Frecciarossa trains on the Turin-Milan-Rome-Naples-Salerno route. Timetable changes, cancellations and diversions will affect the Florence-Rome ‘Direttissima’ line from August 12-23. On the Bologna-Prato line, services between Pianoro and San Benedetto will be affected until September 8.