With the Channel Tunnel closed because of Thursday’s lorry fire and Eurostar
services suspended, business travellers are scrabbling to find alternative
means of getting to and from Paris and Brussels.
Eurostar operates up to 30 services a day in each direction through the
Channel Tunnel, with between 558 and 750 seats on each. Yesterday, 15,000
passengers were affected by the suspension while today 30,000 have been
unable to travel, said Eurostar.
Eurostar said this afternoon that travellers planning to travel this weekend
would be able to get refunds and should seek alternative means of making
their journeys, such as by air.
However, they may face extreme difficulties - airlines have been steadily
reducing services over the past few years, particularly between Paris and
London, in the face of increased competition from Eurostar.
Airline statistics company OAG says airlines
were offering just 2,800 seats on their scheduled services on Saturday and
3,000 on Sunday, meaning competition for them will be fierce.
British Airways’ website shows virtually
no seats available between London and Paris this weekend – with only
business class seats available on some flights.
Air France’s website shows no seats available on any direct flight from Paris
to London Heathrow all weekend, although it did have single economy tickets
flying via Strasbourg for £734.
The airline has now added two extra flights on Saturday and Sunday from Paris
Charles de Gaulle to London City, although fares of £442 one way may put
some off. Visit www.airfrance.co.uk
or call the dedicated call centre on 0871 66 33 777 to book.
Flybe, which operates services between
Birmingham and Paris CDG, said it had experienced a substantial increase in
ticket sales today. As a result, it has laid on a larger plane for its 1750
service from Birmignham and the 2045 return from Paris both today and on
Sunday.
Meanwhile, fares on Easyjet have
rocketed. The cheapest one-way fare on the carrier’s evening flight from
Charles de Gaulle to Luton is currently almost £450.
The situation from to and from Belgium has been made slightly easier too after VLM
added three extra flights between London City and Antwerp and Brussels today
and one extra flight tomorrow.
Norman Gage, director of business travel at Advantage
Travel Centres, which represents agencies such as Co-operative Travel
Management and Delta Travel, said: “Those trains have more than 500 people
on each and it’s chaos.
"It’s a Friday night as well. It shows the benefit of having a travel
management company make your bookings. Those with 24-hour services were on
the ball last night and made alternative arrangements for their travellers.”
Nigel Turner, director of public sector and industry affairs at business
travel agency Carlson Wagonlit
said: “We have 500 passengers affected between now and Monday. Our 24-hour
emergency centre was very, very busy last night and early this morning
trying to rebook people and our travel centres are in full swing today.
“One of the problems is that there aren’t that many services from Paris into
London any more. Airlines have trimmed their services or they have
disappeared altogether,” he said.
When questioned about the rising fares, Turner said it was not profiteering.
“It’s normal yield management - the airilnes are managing their inventory to
get the best value out of the demand.”
