Business travellers are choosing Eurostar trains over flights while airlines are currently having to scrap and cap flights amid an ongoing staffing crisis.
Eurostar said on Monday, July 18, that the number of corporate customers had rebounded to 70% of pre-COVID-19 levels, despite the rail service only offering 75% of its 2019 timetable.
“Business travel has resumed faster than we expected,” COO François Le Doze says. “We are confident that this trend will continue after the summer.”
Eurostar already controls 80% of the direct travel market between London and both Paris and Brussels, and is targeting a bigger share on its new Amsterdam route with the introduction of a fourth daily round-trip frequency in September, giving it capacity equal to that of 18 aircraft, according to Bloomberg.
A Eurostar spokesperson said the operator could easily fill more trains based on current demand but said it would keep to plans to build up services gradually to avoid running into the similar problem as the aviation industry – understaffing causing delays and cancellations.
