RAIL
Digital editor Tom Newcombe compiles the latest news from
buyingbusinesstravel.com
Open-access operators top rail passenger satisfaction survey
DISTRIBUTION
CAMPAIGNS FOR GREATER ADOPTION OF OPEN ACCESS across the UK rail network have been given a boost following the publication of a list of top performing train companies by consumer group Which? According to the
LUFTHANSA REJECTS GTMC CLAIMS OF
SALES HIT BY GDS FEE LUFTHANSA HAS STRONGLY REFUTED CLAIMS FROM THE GTMC that its market share of the business travel sector has been hit by the introduction of the Ð16 Distribution Cost Charge (DCC) fee for GDS bookings. Research published by the GTMC claimed that market
share had dropped 8.5 per cent following the introduction of the charge in September, compared to the previous three months. The organisation’s CEO, Paul Wait, said the figures showed corporate buyers were “voting with their feet”. However, Lufthansa said the data only represented the volume of bookings made through GTMC channels and does not take account of increases in the bookings through other avenues.
A spokesperson for Lufthansa said: “The fact is, we have sold more tickets online via our own channel, where the share has risen from 29 per cent in June 2015 to 35 per cent in December 2015.”
The airline added that when analysing bookings
across the group, it cannot see any decrease due to the introduction of the DCC. “As published in our Q3 results, the Lufthansa Group is heading towards a record in 2015,” it said. “The published traffic figures for the later months of 2015 were influenced by the biggest and longest strike action in the Lufthansa history. Even taking this into account, we cannot see any switch away from Lufthansa.”
The airline said it is continuing to “make a huge effort” in establishing modern and alternative distribution channels, which it hopes will provide a direct connection to the group’s offer.
6 BBT MARCH/APRIL 2016
study of almost 7,000 rail passengers, open-access operators Grand Central and Hull Trains achieved the highest satisfaction rating among commuters. Grand Central, which operates on the East Coast mainline, achieved five stars for availability of seating, punctuality, cleanliness of trains, reliability and value for money. Hull Trains was second with a customer score of 73 per cent. An open-access operator is a train company not
AIRPORTS
London City airport sold for £2 billion
LONDON CITY AIRPORT HAS BEEN SOLD FOR A REPORTED £2 BILLION TO A CANADIAN CONSORTIUM. The sale of LCY, which is located near Canary Wharf and popular among business travellers, ends a bidding process that started last August. The deal involves Alberta Investment Management Corporation, and investment funds the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Wren House, part of the Kuwait Investment Authority. The high valuation of the airport has led to a number of airlines, including British Airways and Cityjet, threatening to pull its aircraft if the new owners raise charges to fund the sale.
We don’t believe it will have a material impact on our business
IAG boss Willie Walsh on a Brexit result from the European Union referendum (talking on BBC Radio 4)
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
subject to franchising, instead purchasing individual slots on the mainline from a railway infrastructure company. The GTMC, which has campaigned for the Office of Rail Regulation to recognise the benefits delivered by open-access operators, welcomed the study. “We feel it is no coincidence that the top performing rail operators, Grand Central and Hull Trains, are both open-access operators while those at the bottom of the table with the least satisfied customers are not,” said GTMC CEO Paul Wait. The worst performing
rail operator was Southeastern, Thameslink and Great Northern, with an overall satisfaction score of 46 per cent.
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