Press Release
Rail seats giveaway as Virgin Trains leaves airlines trailing
25 January 2006
Virgin Trains is to give away thousands of First Class tickets to airline passengers to spare them the stress of domestic flying.
Throughout February and March the dwindling number of air travellers between London and Manchester can swap their used airline boarding cards for a free return train journey between the two cities to sample the total convenience and comfort of intercity train travel.
Free First Class return tickets will be available for use until August in both directions between London Euston and 11 North-West destinations (see notes).
The bold move comes as Virgin West Coast has become the preferred form of travel on the key business rail/air route between London and Manchester following significant improvements to its business performance, now outstripping that of the airlines.
As the following table shows, Virgin West Coast has overtaken the airlines since introducing faster and more frequent services between London and Manchester in September 2004.
|
Date
|
Carrier
|
Passenger journeys (see notes)
|
% Market Share
|
% rise/fall in journeys Sept '04 - Oct '05
|
|
September 04
|
Rail
|
113,190
|
40.2
|
|
|
September 04
|
Air
|
168,585
|
59.8
|
|
|
October 05
|
Rail
|
221,783
|
58.4
|
|
|
October 05
|
Air
|
157,961
|
41.6
|
|
|
Rail
|
95.9
|
|||
|
Air
|
-6.3
|
Rail is also a clear winner on punctuality with 13% more trains arriving on time compared with its main rival British Airways' (BA) services from Manchester to Heathrow and Gatwick. Between February and October 2005 inclusive (the latest month for airline figures) West Coast Trains ran 82% of services within 10 minutes of schedule between Manchester and London, but BA managed only 69% within 15 minutes of schedule (please see notes).
Other advantages of travelling Virgin West Coast include:
- More than 30 trains are operated each way on the Manchester-London route on weekdays with a fastest journey time of 2hr 06mins. Trains typically link the two cities in under two and a half hours with many covering the 184 mile journey in 2hr 13mins.
- All trains have an onboard shop offering a wide range of refreshments.
- An at-seat audio system is provided at all seats and many seats also have power point facilities to charge mobile phones or laptops.
- At seat service is provided to customers travelling First Class which includes a cooked breakfast on most morning trains. Some weekday trains on the route now offer a Primo menu for First Class customers. This includes an enhanced Great British Breakfast on the 0645 and 0705 from Manchester; afternoon tea on the 1535 from London and a cooked evening meal option on the 1735, 1805 and 1835 trains from London.
Charles Belcher, managing director Virgin West Coast, said: "Millions more passengers are now using our trains compared to a year ago. However, we realise that there are still many people who have not yet enjoyed the faster, more punctual and more frequent service that we introduced in September 2004.
"This offer underlines our confidence that, once customers try us, they will stay with us."
Travellers are quite simply voting with their feet and taking the train for the most valuable use of their travel time. Just to make sure the message really gets home, as part of Virgin Trains' latest business travel marketing campaign, newspaper advertisements are appearing in national press emphasising the superior punctuality performance over BA.
If you wish to obtain an example of our current advertising campaign please contact the press office.
Notes to Editors:
Punctuality: Virgin West Coast punctuality is based on trains arriving at their destination within nine minutes of schedule. British Airways punctuality is based on flights between Manchester-Heathrow/Gatwick arriving within 15 minutes of schedule.
Virgin West Coast punctuality is based on trains arriving at their destination within nine minutes of schedule. British Airways punctuality is based on flights between Manchester-Heathrow/Gatwick arriving within 15 minutes of schedule.Passenger numbers: Stations used in the table to calculate the number of rail journeys to and from London Euston are Manchester Piccadilly, Stockport, Wilmslow and Macclesfield. Airports used to calculate the number of air passengers to and from Manchester Airport are London Heathrow, London City, London Gatwick and London Stansted.
Stations used in the table to calculate the number of rail journeys to and from London Euston are Manchester Piccadilly, Stockport, Wilmslow and Macclesfield. Airports used to calculate the number of air passengers to and from Manchester Airport are London Heathrow, London City, London Gatwick and London Stansted.Promotion: Free tickets can be obtained for travel between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly, Stockport, Macclesfield, Wilmslow, Liverpool, Preston, Crewe, Chester, Runcorn, Wigan or Warrington. For full details of the free First Class ticket promotion, called Plane Relief, visit www.planerelief.com
Spread your message to an audience that counts, with options available for our website, email bulletins and publications including The House Magazine.
