Eurostar sees ash cloud help lift revenues
ICELAND’S volcano Eyjafjallajokull significantly bolstered Eurostar’s business after the high-speed European train operator carried 100,000 more passengers during the first half of the year pushing revenue up by 18 per cent.
Additional passengers looking to avoid air travel during the last six months boosted Eurostar’s revenue to £404m.
Eurostar saw passenger numbers climb six per cent to 4.6m during the first half of the year and said there has been a notable increase in customers including a higher number of Americans and Australians using their trains.
Nicolas Petrovic, chief executive of Eurostar, said: “Over the last six months, we have delivered strong growth in both business and leisure bookings. As the economic environment has strengthened we have seen an uplift in the business market and an overall increase in the number of passengers travelling.”
The train group, jointly owned by British, French and Belgium bodies, said it is expecting to place a further 20 trains on its Paris route during August due to increased demand.
“While our core routes continue to be busy more and more people are opting to travel further afield and explore new destinations by train, forward bookings are looking strong and with the increasing appetite for high speed rail travel in Europe, the trend looks set to continue,” said Petrovic.
Airlines including British Airways, Air France, easyJet and Ryanair all reported losses after the UK’s airports were closed for six days in April due to the threat of volcanic ash.
Ryanair, which reported its first quarter results earlier this week, said the volcanic
disruptions dented its profits, which fell by up to 24 per cent and caused it to ground more than 10,000 flights at a cost of €50m (£42m).