TRAVEL
SPOTLIGHT ON:
Surprisingly, all the sites offered tickets at identical prices. For a Monday morning journey from Manchester to London, the cheapest available off-peak return ticket cost £66.20 while the cheapest first class return ticket cost £399. So choosing a site is about function rather than price...
www.thetrainline.com
Ease of use: Searches are easy but the journey and price information pages aren’t intuitive and are heavy on jar- gon. You also have to click on a separate link to see prices
Navigation: It’s step-by-step, although the info for pro- gressing through the pages isn’t always obvious to see
Style: Fussy at times although the pages containing the important information are minimal and clean
Extras: The dedicated business pages include expense reports that retain details of bookings and costs as an Excel spreadsheet
www.nationalrail.co.uk
Ease of use: The journey information is clear and intu- itive to use, although you have to click on a separate tab to see the prices and choosing an open return isn’t imme- diately obvious
Navigation: Clearly arranged step-by-step although not all of the prices are presented to you immediately. It takes time to find what you want
Style: On the whole clear, but the adverts are distracting making some pages appear busier than they should
Extras: Quick links to service disruptions on the home page including engineering works, and you can set up travel alerts to your mobile phone
www.Qjump.co.uk
Ease of use: Great home page but the journey info is con- fusing because of its annoyingly small size. There’s a lot of info on one page but clarity has been sacrificed
Navigation:How to choose a ticket is not immediately obvi- ous but once that’s negotiated it becomes easier to navigate
Style: Minimal, although the presentation of informa- tion could be clearer
Extras: It has an online chat section where customers can chat to a customer service rep online from 8am-10pm every day of the week
24 » www.executivepa.com » Apr/May 2010
www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk
Ease of use: The easiest of the four sites reviewed here, especially if you’re not familiar with the jargon-like style of other sites
Navigation: Easy. There is a clear step-by-step process that is immediately obvious and that’s down to the clear explanations of journeys and prices
Style: Not as minimal and clean as other sites but the great use of colour makes your journey choices obvious
Extras: It offers an iPhone application which includes up-to-date travel info and maps. The site also offers country-wide event guides with options for buying appropriate train travel E
train booking sites
Booking train tickets is part of the job, but so is speed, efficiency and the minimum amount of fuss. So Executive PA has reviewed four of the most popular ticket booking sites to find out exactly what they have to offer BY CATH JANES
GOING PLACES
AIRPORT EXPANSION
Plans have been approved for an expansion at Southend airport which should be completed well before the Olympic Games in 2012. A 300-metre runway expansion should be completed at the same time as a new passenger terminal in 2011. Work has already commenced on a new railway station and control tower.
GREENER FLIGHTS
Jet2.com has installed new, lighter seats on its planes to help save on fuel consump- tion. The carrier will also be launching seven new routes from East Midlands Airport this summer – Corfu, Dalaman, Heraklion, Lanzarote, Paphos, Sharm el Sheik and Tenerife.
TRAVELLING BACK ON THE AGENDA
According to a Best Western survey the effects of the recession are easing, and more businesspeople have plans to start travelling again for this year. Back in July 2009 only 11 per cent of people were planning business trips, while that figure is now around 20 per cent, showing a slow but steady improvement.
HOTEL PRICES MOVING
Average room rates have increased slightly in London – rising to an £107.01 average room rate, an increase of 2.7 per cent, say PKF Hotel Consultancy Services. Occupancy levels and room yields are also on the up. But regional hotels are still struggling, with average room rates dropping 6.6 per cent compared to the previous year, leaving them standing at £59.07.
BRIT AIRPORTS SUFFERING
Last year saw 17million fewer passengers at British airports, than in 2008, say the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The 17 per cent slump in air passenger figures is the largest annual decline for 65 years.
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