RAIL
SERCO AWARDED CALEDONIAN SLEEPER CONTRACT
SERCO HAS WON A 15-YEAR CONTRACT to run the Caledonian Sleeper rail service between Scotland and London. From April next year, Serco will take over the franchise, which connects Inverness, Fort William, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow to London, from Aberdeen-based First Group. The company has promised to invest £100 million in
new rolling stock and improvements, including en-suite berths, flatbeds and a brasserie-style club car. It said there will also be investment in a new website, a broader range of fares and earlier boarding of trains. Serco, which runs outsourced services in more than 30 countries, including air traffic control, prisons, and back- office support, was previously banned from competing for government contracts due to alleged overcharging related to an electronic tagging scheme, although this ban was lifted earlier this year.
GROUND TRANSPORT Carolyn McCall Easyjet in focus
EASYJET CEO CAROLYN McCALL SPOKE TO BBT JOURNALISTS AT THE GTMC CONFERENCE IN MARRAKECH AND AT ACTE’S BUYER EVENT AT GATWICK AIRPORT
EASYJET’S LOW-COST MODEL underpins its successful growth, according to the airline’s boss, Carolyn McCall. “What does ‘low-cost model’ mean? It means we have
new engines and high fuel efficiency. Our plane utilisation, turn-time and load factors are very high, we use our assets really well. We don’t have fancy offices, we share hangar space with plane maintenance. Without that low-cost model, we wouldn’t be able to do the low fares.” McCall said she was not concerned about Ryanair’s
recent moves to attract corporate travel business. “Ryanair only flies to a few primary airports – but not many. It’s an entire change to their network strategy if they’re going to really be relevant to business travellers. All our research confirms that business travellers want convenience, primary airports and speed – often, they want to get there and back in a day, and don’t want a two-hour transfer to city centres.” McCall said Easyjet had considered flying its Moscow
BLACK CABS’ BATTLE WITH UBER COULD END IN COURT
A ROW BETWEEN DRIVE-SHARING app firm Uber and London black-cab drivers over the use of taximeters is heading to the High Court. Taxi drivers have already caused mass disruption and brought central London to a standstill as thousands parked up in a recent 24-hour protest over the app. Uber calculates the journey distance and fee and relays this information to the driver. The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association says this acts as a taximeter, which private vehicles are not allowed to use. Transport for London, which regulates and licenses the taxi and private hire trades, has invited the High Court to rule on the issue. It said the “rapid pace” at which smart phone technology has developed means there needs to be legal clarity on the matter.
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
service from Heathrow, before deciding on Gatwick. The airline has also applied to join a key committee, which represents operational and strategic interests of carriers operating out of Heathrow. “There’ve been quite a lot of rumours that Easyjet would never fly from Heathrow – which is baffling, because we have ten aircraft at Paris CDG, we fly out of lots of hubs already, and we’re the number two airline at Schiphol,” she said. “It all depends on cost, and Heathrow is expensive.” She didn’t give a definitive view on Gatwick’s and
Heathrow’s bids for runway expansion. “We’ve seen none of the economics behind either of those visions. Inevitably, it will be the airlines – and therefore the passengers – that will fund this. It’s a very big decision.” Scrutiny of the bottom line is key to Easyjet’s relationship with business travel buyers, said McCall – and why she’s not looking at traditional, volume-based corporate deals. “For us, it’s all about the fact that we save corporates a minimum of 30 per cent on their air travel budget.” Easyjet says this claim is backed by independent TMC benchmarking for its routes in 2013. “Legacy carriers need the volume,” she added. “The reason we want business travellers is because we know we get higher yields.”
BBT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014 BBT JULY/AUGUST 2014 2 9
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