Like the other railway companies, Thalys has seen a recovery in its leisure and business traffic. " The occupancy rate has returned to the same level or even higher than 2019, but the transport plan is only 78%" confides Bruno Dierickxmarketing and sales director. On the business side, employees of SMEs, start-ups, freelancers and lobbying firms operating in the UK are back on board. Brussels. There is still a shortfall in corporate sales, which should return to pre-crisis levels by the end of the year or early in 2022. " We were hoping for a catch-up in October, but many employees...
Like the other railway companies, Thalys has seen a recovery in its leisure and business traffic. " The occupancy rate has returned to the same level or even higher than 2019, but the transport plan is only 78%" confides Bruno Dierickxmarketing and sales director. As far as business is concerned, employees of SMEs, start-ups, freelancers and lobbying firms operating at Brussels. There is still a shortfall in corporate sales, which should return to pre-crisis levels by the end of the year or early in 2022. " We were hoping for a catch-up in October, but many employees are still in the red. teleworking in Belgium and Germany" he notes. To stimulate the market, a promotion on subscriptions will be launched in the next few days.
Putting the offer back in the hands of business customers
In the longer term, Thalys believes that it should benefit from the cost-cutting measures taken by companies as part of their travel policy and a lower carbon consumption in order to stand out from the airlines. The switch could come into play on Paris-Amsterdam and Paris-Cologne, its longest routes, where competition with air travel remains strong. " Our main competitor is still carwhich has regained some strength with the health crisis" he points out. In order to (re)attract business customers, the carrier's priority was to reintroduce new services to restore flexibility and facilitate day trips. Thalys currently operates 15 return services between Paris and Brussels, including 9 to Amsterdam and 4 return services between Paris and Cologne.
Thalys, future Eurostar Red
The renovation of 17 of its 26 trainsets between now and 2024 should also appeal to business customers, thanks to enhanced comfort and on-board service (see box). The conversion of the other nine trainsets will depend on confirmation of the upturn in traffic over this period and on the requirements of the ongoing merger with EurostarThalys is due to be renamedEurostar Red in reference to the colours of the trains running on its network (the cross-Channel branch taking that of Eurostar Blue). But the merger is far from being a smooth ride, with Eurostar suffering a double whammy with the impact of the health crisis and Brexit, as well as the arrival of its first rail competitor, Renfe, in two or three years' time. " For the merger to succeed, both parties must be in good shape" acknowledges Bruno Dierickx, who confirms that the 30 million passengers is still the goal.
we're not immune from a pleasant surprise in the business customer sector
Pending the commercial and marketing launch in two years' time of this merger, called Green SpeedBy the same date, i.e. the end of 2022 or the beginning of 2023, Thalys hopes to return to its pre-crisis volumes, including 80% of its business traffic. " Leisure will compensate for any delay in business, as Thalys was already saturated in this segment before Covid. But we're also not immune to a pleasant surprise in the business customer segment." concludes the manager. A return to profitability should follow in the same timeframe.
Ruby trains with enhanced comfortOn the occasion of an official trip between the stations of Brussels-Midi and Paris NordOn Wednesday, Thalys inaugurated the first of its 17 renovated TGV trains, the so-called Ruby. The second will be put into service on the network in the next few weeks, with the whole process due to be completed by the end of the year. end 2024. The areas have been completely redesigned - only the old coat hooks have survived - to offer more comfortable seating, electrical sockets and USB ports in all classes of travel, information screens at the ends of the carriage, a new luggage rack running above the seats and a brighter atmosphere thanks to a set of LEDs overhanging the central aisle. Visit Comfort and PremiumThe "rose gold silver" seat structure highlights the colour of the fabrics, speckled grey and burgundy red. Passengers will find two shelves of different sizes, a reading light, a soft headrest, a newspaper and jacket holder, a wide footrest and a sturdy handle for easy access. Seat numbering is now at eye level, integrated into the luggage rack like the reading light. There is still plenty of space between the seats, to accommodate the tall stature of the Dutch. The generous seat reclines mechanically, and manually in Standard class. Red and orange tones predominate in this latter class, which benefits from quasi-shell seats to save space while offering more privacy between the rows. " We have succeeded in bringing real generosity to this class through services and small gestures." says designer Matali Crasset, who worked with the Belgian firm Yellow Window on the renovation project. Space has been saved in the bar, which has been renamed the KioskIt will be equipped with automatic machines and transformed into a place where people can pass through and consume goods quickly. This will increase the capacity of the trains to 389 seats with the addition of 28 seats divided between the two classes. |
