C-130

I have recently taken on a new job which requires much travelling between glasgow and the companies head office in London (central).

I have been travelling by train and plane to these meetings, that said it has been predominately train as I have relocated to Glasgow City Centre making the airport less accessible than it was. So this has sparked in my mind what is better in the opinion of the BA forum flying down or getting on the train.

I have been travelling first class by train down to london kings cross and euston (discovering that the east coast first class is significantly better than that of Virgin). On the train I must get an early train (usually leaving around 4:30 or 6:30) to arrive in London between 9-12. If flying I could get the 6:45 flight from Glasgow and be in central london before 9. So I would only be at the airport before 6.

I have found the train is more expensive way to travel than air. Often the cost difference can be up to £150. I usually would be greatly annoyed at this but as east coast now do a rewards program for travelling I get a free trip roughly for every 7 to 10. This of course BA do not offer and the mileage is not much from these sectors to get a great discount or a upgrade.

Onboard I do prefer the service found on the train. The first coaches tend to be very empty with few persons travelling the full length down to London so you can set yourself up very comfortably, connect to the broadband and get my cooked breakfast and light snack. The on board meals taste very good.

That said on board BA I prefer the attitude of the crew and the general products found on the service. I do also like the conveince of having the lounge as it provides a light continental breakfast and somewhere comfortable to relax.

Overall for me to be able to maximise my work day I do prefer the train as I have internet access, quite cabin, power and a plentiful supply of food. I do enjoy flights when I get the chance for them now but unless it is international flight I would most likely take the train over the plane domestically.

What is everyone else's thoughts on the matter? And is there anyone else who has to use both train and plane? How do you find the experience?

cornishsimon

Good comparison and thanks for posting

cs

FlyerTalker6245

I did Virgin First Class London Euston to Glasgow Central one Sunday in February.

The train was absolutely heaving, and being a weekend the service was only Pepsi and shortbread basically on board.

I didn't like the First Class Lounge in Euston as it was heaving and very cheap with only cheapest of cheap orange juice and warm Pepsi available.

I found the train extremely claustrophobic: it was completely full and I was crammed in.
It was far too hot the whole journey. The power worked well, but the internet was slow throughout the journey.

The Virgin staff were all lovely and really friendly. But I really prefer BA.

Teefaf

Before I moved back home permanently, I spent four years shuttling back and forth between LON and GLA. If time was tight I generally flew; if I was on my own time I generally took the train (standard class - this is my own money I'm talking about!).

The train is a much more relaxing way to travel, even if it's busy. The hassle of getting to an airport, security, liquids restrictions, delayed flights etc is not worth the hour-and-a-half or so gain in journey time. Plus a Young Persons' Railcard made standard advance tickets pretty good value - buy up to the day before travel, and return on any train within a month of the outbound. BA is more expensive even if bought in advance (and horrendously priced if booking within a couple of weeks of travel, which was normal for me) and completely inflexible, so trains are the hands-down winners there. No real baggage restrictions on the train. And add to all of that the ability to plug in a laptop and work/chill for 4.5 hours and the train, to me, is a clear winner.

My office was near Euston, so if going home for the weekend I could leave my office at 4.45pm and be in my kitchen by 10.15pm, which at 5.5 hours door-to-door is not bad. Flying, I would leave the office around 7pm (so having to work late rather than leaving early! ), and given the inevitable delays on the last flight to GLA (earlier flights are always too expensive for me) I would rarely be home before 11pm.

Returning, by train I'd be up at 6am and in the office by 12.30pm, whereas by plane I'd be up at 4.45am and there by around 9.30am. As above though, plane might be quicker but it's more stressful, more prone to delays, relies on more public transport links and is much less flexible.

That said, day trips GLA-LON by train are not really viable IMO, so flying wins by default. And I think all my work trips between the two cities were by plane for reasons of time and a taxi to the airport!

Sorry that's all a bit disjointed. It's late and I'm tired and I wasn't expecting to be inspired to do a lengthy reply to a thread!

One final point... dare I mention carbon footprint?!

C-130

andset1191 I do agree with you. Virgin trains for the brand they carry is very poor on their first class rail service. They serve a pitiful meal and have extremely slim rolling stock as they use the pendolino trains.

My experience of Virgin trains has never been positive for example last week about 5 minutes before departure I sat in my seat and got myself ready for the journey. I felt thirsty as I had been working all day and had to run from the office to the train after the meeting so asked the purser in the cabin for water (he was walking past me). The purser tutted at me then I heard him with his colleague behind me commenting "the guy that wants the water must think i'm a bloody slave asking me for water before we even leave the station". So I would never travel Virgin Trains again.

I have not travelled in the air with them so can't comment greatly on their service.

The east coast trains have been upgraded their lounge for first class passengers is an entirely separate modern building part of the kings cross st pancras expansion.And the service on board is exemplary. I enjoy the region change of crews at each major station each with different personalities and add something to the cabin.

I have never been in first class in a train when it is busy as I take times before it is extremely busy. So I only see full standard class staring at the empty first cabin moaning at the staff about the lack of standard class accommodation.

So if I had the choice between BA or Virgin I would definitely choose BA. However BA or east coast I would choose east coast (now after a few journeys) unless time constraints made BA more sensible.

sorry end of rant about trains.

Alvador

I travelled on East Coast in first class last week (midweek) for the first time in over a year and was impressed. I found it spacious and quiet (I was in the "quiet coach") and the internet access worked well 99 % of the time - a big improvement on a year or so ago when a loss of the internet connection seemed to occur every few minutes. Also food and drink (including beer and wine) is now free in first class. Previously it was only tea, coffee and biscuits that were free.

Single first class fare from Edinburgh to London varies from £47.50 for the cheapest Advance Single (valid on the booked train only) to £192 for a flexible ticket.

I find it a pleasanter way to travel to London than flying but because the train journey takes between 4 and 5 hours and most of my trips to London are for only one or two days I suspect I'll continue to fly most of the time. I'm considering flying down and getting the train home next time though.

Thanks for mentioning East Coast's Rewards programme. I wasn't aware of that but have just joined!

Sixth Freedom

My favourite thing in the world: BA First
My second favourite thing in the world: BA Club World
My third favourite thing in the world: East Coast trains First Class

Domestic flights really do not do it for me. I will only use them if I am flying into LHR and then need to go to NCL. Otherwise, it is the train all the way.

C-130

Alvador remember to get your points through east coast you have to book through east coast. That caught me out on my first booking when I booked it through cross-country for the ecml.

And sixth freedom I totally agree with you. Besides point 2 as i've only experienced BA first, domestic and euro traveller to LCY.

There is nothing better than the rolling countryside and also being able to get the work done I require.

Swiss Tony

The train should be very good, but I took East Coast from London to Newcastle last month in first and was left somewhat disappointed.

The onboard service was dished out in a slap-dash, almost pantomime manner. I appreciate those trains rock around a bit, but even so they should be able to get at least half of the coffee into the cup. The return leg was a joke too as we sat in the quiet carriage yet the crew used the far end of the same carriage, next to the catering set up, as a social room and spent most of the journey b.1.tching and moaning (loudly) about the company, then to really take the biscuit, one of them started getting calls on his mobile phone.

These aren't problems I recall from the past so not sure why they suddenly seem to have managed to join a race to the bottom, especially when they're the only entrant.....

LondonAndy

Interesting question! I'm surprised that you prefer East Coast to Virgin, as all my experiences with Virgin have been very pleasurable (). The only problem is the lack of luggage space.

You should also be careful about your calculations on the East Coast Rewards scheme - I understand that the current redemption levels are introductory only, and will increase in due course. It may be worth others noting that the purchase of tickets for any train company (over a certain value - £20ish?) through the East Coast website will give you points for East Coast loyalty scheme and the booking engine is very good, like the Southern one. It is always worth checking that the tickets you want aren't available cheaper directly through the operator's website as sometimes they have discounts available only through their own internet site.

For me the big difference would be lounge access with BA. I'm travelling to Edinburgh and Manchester in the next couple of months and am flying up and getting the train back - partially due to timing, but partially due to lounge access at T5. Yes, it is only a room with some food and newspapers, but I like it

747_not_777

I detest trains. Most of my flying is domestics (MAN, NCL, GLA and EDI) - and I would never - ever - select a train over the plane.

For me, it's just too much hassle to get into London, then across London, simply to catch the train from the northbound stations. I much prefer 20 mins in the car to LGW, and then relaxing in the lounge and a quick snooze on the plane - and then arrive. Either that, or if it's MAN I'll take the car.

I truly hope domestic flights continue for a long long long time.

Cap'n Benj

I think you'd discover a very different experience if you travelled during the week.

As C-130 describes, you rarely have someone sitting in your seat cluster, the food offering far surpasses that offered by BA and compares better to that offered in CE.

I suspect the lounge would be no better than you've described, although perhaps a tad less busy, I've not experienced it, so can not comment. The reason I've not bothered with it though is another advantage of the train, albeit one that you perhaps lose due to its speed, and that's the fact you can turn up 10 minutes beforehand and just walk straight on.

Grimble

I usually fly - but when I have time I love taking the East Coast line (agree about the Virgin trains - in fact the reason I started flying BA long haul rather than Virgin was as a protest about the terrible experiences I had on Virgin trains. But I especially hate the Pendalino.). So I wouldn't be in the BAEC forum right now if it hadn't been for Virgin trains!

For me though the best thing about the train journey is the view - especially when you get to Newcastle and beyond. Crossing the Tyne, seeing the Northumberland coast, nuclear power station and all - and especially Bewick-on-Tweed. It's a magical journey and well worth it if you've never done it.

orbitmic

Well, exactly... errr... because you have a car and live 20 minutes from LGW!! For most people, this is exactly the reason to prefer the train because if they connect through central London, use public transport or come to London from somewhere else like the OP, it is much much easier, quicker, and reliable to get to Kings X or Euston than to LHR or LGW!

I also share the preference for East Coast over Virgin, and like Alvador, I'd point out that if you can use advance purchase First class, prices are much lower than what the OP mentions (in fact cheaper than cheapest domestic), standard class is obviously even cheaper, and conversely, cheapish domestic fares are not very flexible and flexible domestic costs much more than fully flex train.

Trains often suffer small delays but less often large delays than the plane. I still quite like the plane personally but that's probably only because the UK has a s*itty rail system with no proper high speed link yet and the 'Pendolino' is really little to write home about. When that comes and Edinburgh or Glasgow are about 2 hours from London, there will simply be no contest.

Finally, if taking the plane to EDI, I'd personally choose LCY over LHR and Cityjet over BA or BD.

Swiss Tony

Please don't tarnish the beautiful coastline of Northumberland with suggestions there's a nuclear power plant. That little gem is in Scotland...