This website is not affiliated in any way with or endorsed by HighSpeed1 Limited.
Less Flights to Europe
With the new international train services introduced at St Pancras International station and Ebbsfleet International station, many more UK travellers first choice is now by rail. Civil Aviation Authority reports declines in short-haul flights for international business passengers going to Europe.
This is a result of a combination and range of factors, however Eurostar reports show passenger numbers increase by 10.3% in 2008 and further excellence in punctuality for 2008 reported at 92.4% arrivals/departures on time, against an average of 65.4% on average for airlines operating routes to Europe. According to Civil Aviation Authority data.The fall in business-passenger flights to and from Paris and Brussels has mostly been due to the impact of Eurostar, however in response a reduction of short-haul services by some airlines, which carried significant numbers of connecting passengers via Paris, Lille and Brussels Airports. While other key transport carriers have either combined partner services (Virgin) or updated existing services such as Air France (Mobile Boarding Pass)
Recent reports
Although the current worldwide economic downturn has had a significant effect on business travel demand particularly in the last quarter of 2008, Eurocontrol data reports suggest that the latest economic downturn has had a much more significant impact on business aviation, with the number of UK business flight bookings falling by over 20% year on year in the fourth quarter of 2008 and early 2009. While within the same period Eurostar reported record levels of passenegers, suggesting that the market has started to optimise both spend habits and been careful to calculate the total cost of travel.Aviation traffic is based on Eurocontrol data showing IFR flights by types of aircraft, which are considered to be most likely used for business aviation services