Rail firms up the ante

Two of Europe's leading train companies Eurostar and Thalys are to form a marketing alliance branded Rail Team. Eurostar operates high-speed services linking London Waterloo with Brussels Midi and Paris Nord. Thalys also operates high-speed trains but these run from Paris Nord via Brussels Midi and on to Amsterdam and Cologne.

Both rail firms say they will cooperate on ticketing and scheduling. This will make it easier for passengers to switch from one train to another, especially at Brussels Midi, where both services meet. Until now, making a connection has been a hit and miss affair because Eurostar and Thalys schedules don't always match. It will also make it possible to include Eurostar journeys on Thalys tickets and vice versa. In other words, it will be possible to incorporate the popular triangular route of London-Brussels-Paris-London on one ticket. They also say they will link their loyalty schemes.

Both rail firms continue to face fierce competition from the airlines. Although Thalys has captured almost all the Brussels-Paris market, the airlines are strong on routes like London-Cologne, Paris-Cologne and Paris-Amsterdam.

Why has the arrival of Rail Team taken so long? After all, the airlines have been forging alliances for years and Eurostar and Thalys are a natural fit because they don't compete.

When Business Traveller poised these points to Eurostar, a spokesperson responded, "Yes, what you say is correct. I can say that over the years we've had so much customer feedback on this issue. The problem has been that both ourselves and Thalys use different systems. But we now have a strong commitment to proceed together, to develop services for passengers and to compete more effectively with the airlines."

Eurostar has no timescale for Rail Team. But the spokesperson said matters were proceeding "as a matter of priority." For more information go to Eurostar and Thalys.

Report by Alex McWhirter


All-business fares to NY plummet

All business class carrier Maxjet has slashed the price of its soon-to-be-launched transatlantic service. The US carrier launches a six times weekly service between London Stansted and New York JFK on November 2 (the eastbound flight starts on November 1). Maxjet hopes the lower price of £854 return will encourage more business people to try the flights. It will certainly appeal to the many small to medium-sized firms located within the Stansted catchment area.

Maxjet CEO Garry Rogliano told Business Traveller: "For the same price as a flexible economy ticket you can now fly business class. Our aim is to make business class more affordable and attractive to a larger market."

Rogliano believes that transatlantic business class passengers have been getting a raw deal from the big carriers. "We analysed 15 different UK-US routes and we saw that 8% of the passengers were providing 50% of the revenue."

Maxjet expects most of its passengers (60%) to come from the UK/mainland Europe with the remainder from the US.

Although some UK travellers may view Stansted as inconvenient that view may not be shared by travellers on the other side of the Atlantic. Says Rogliano: "US travellers will find they can reach the City in 45 minutes by the Stansted Express. Stansted will offer US passport holders faster clearance. The other morning [as a US national] it took me 90 minutes to clear passport control at Heathrow."

Maxjet will operate with a 102-seater wide-bodied B767. Seating layout will be six across (2-2-2) with 60 inches of legroom. Flights depart Stansted at 10.00 returning from JFK at 18.30. The carrier says it will offer Stansted passengers use of Fast Track along with the SAS lounge. Passengers leaving JFK will have access to the Korean Air lounge. When they reach Stansted they'll be able to use an arrivals' lounge at the adjacent Radisson/SAS hotel. For more information go to Maxjet web site

Report by Alex McWhirter


Get inches for pounds

Passengers travelling with Flybe can now pre-book a seat, including seats with extra legroom, for a charge.

The cost of pre-booking a normal seat is £5, while reserving one with extra legroom costs £15, both through Flybe. Passengers travelling in Flybe's premium economy class can pre-book their seat online at no extra charge. The seats can be pre-booked at the time of booking or up to the day of departure.

Other online improvements from Flybe include the ability to book flights through its website on the day of departure, up to two hours before scheduled take-off. previously this had to be done over the phone or at the airport.

Flybe is not the first carrier to enable passengers to secure an emergency exit seat, and the extra legroom that goes with it. Bmibaby customers can book the extra legroom seats for £10 online on a first-come-first-served basis. The £10 charge is per flight, per passenger, and with only eight emergency exit seats on the carrier's Airbus 737-300 aircraft and 12 on Airbus 737-500 aircraft, you need to be quick. Go to bmibaby.

Other carriers offering extra legroom seats for a fee are Monarch Scheduled and Thomsonfly, which charge £15 per flight to reserve the seats online. Both also charge £5 to book standard seats online. Go to Thomsonfly or Monarch.

Virgin Atlantic offers extra legroom seats for £50 per passenger, but this can only be done at airport check-in.

Report by Ginny McGrath


Brussels route saved

Domestic carrier Eastern Airways has snapped up the Southampton-Brussels route after the departure of VLM from the south coast airport.

Eastern Airways will launch flights on November 1 and says its twice-daily schedule is more convenient for business travellers than the schedule of its predecessor. Flights leave Southampton at 7.10am and 5.50pm and return from Brussels at 10.10am and 8.40pm, making a day return to the political capital of the European Union possible.

Fares start at £265 return including taxes and charges.

The Brussels route is the first international service for Eastern Airways, which currently operates from 16 UK airports. Its existing routes out of Southampton are to Leeds Bradford, Newcastle and Aberdeen. The carrier also operates out of Stansted to Manchester. For details go to Eastern Airways.

Report by Ginny McGrath


JAL eyes Oneworld

Oneworld is set to recruit the largest carrier in Asia Pacific, the second new member to join the airline alliance this month.

Japan Airlines (JAL) would be the largest carrier in the alliance in terms of group revenue, and would join American Airlines and British Airways as the alliance's largest three airline members, according to other measures such as fleet size and route network.

Five Oneworld members already operate in Japan, but the move by JAL, which is still subject to the necessary agreements and procedures, would bring a 10 per cent expansion to the Oneworld network, adding 68 destinations including 56 in Japan and five in China.

JAL already operates to seven Oneworld hubs: London Heathrow, New York JFK, Hong Kong, Chicago O'Hare, Los Angeles, Singapore and Sydney, and has bilateral agreements in place with six alliance carriers: American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, Iberia, Cathay Pacific and LAN.

As reported by Businesstraveller.com last week, Royal Jordanian made history as the first carrier from the Middle East region to enter a global airline alliance, and in May Hungarian carrier Malev started proceedings to join the alliance.

Other existing members of Oneworld are Finnair and Aer Lingus.

Report by Ginny McGrath


Westin comes over all W

It appears that elements of the trendy W hotel group, with its quirky extras and concepts, are rubbing off on its sister brand, Westin. As part of an overhaul of the Westin brand, Starwood Hotels and Resorts is introducing new minibars to its Westin properties.

Among the healthy gadgets, snacks and gizmos going into the minibar, which has now been renamed the "Purification Station", is a stress relieving spray, sweets that revitalise your skin, and a pure oxygen dispenser.

The first Purification Station will debut at the Westin New York at Times Square, in its Renewel Suite, a $2,000-a-night suite that features a decompression chamber, spa bath, gym and music, light and water features, all designed to soothe the weary traveller.

Among the products on sale in the Purification Station are:

- Essential oil patches called Naturopatches, including bergamot to relieve stress, and arnica to ease aches and pains
- BORBA's Skin Balance Gummi Booster Confections, which are intended to revitalise skin with an organic cultivated bio-vitamin complex
- Skyn Iceland Anti-Stress Oral Spray, which is sprayed into the mouth like a breath freshener, and should ease tension
- Dr. Hauschka Jet Set Essentials kit, which includes pampering face and body products from the popular organic brand

Despite these holistic additions, guests who head for the minibar because they're peckish will not be disappointed – alongside these products will be organic wine, beer and cookies. The new minibars, or elements of them, will eventually be rolled out across the Westin brand globally.

Even the humble bedtime mint on the pillow is being scrapped in favour of something more wholesome – instead guests will be presented with a Moondrop Homeopathic Sleep Therapy Lozenge, which contains sleep-inducing natural ingredients.

Report by Ginny McGrath