La competition There's good news on the railways when it comes to fares. And now on the Paris-Marseille since the arrival of Trenitalia's Frecciarossa trains on June 15. According to a study based on tickets booked on Komboa platform for booking train, bus and plane tickets, the SNCF has cut the price of its Inoui TGV tickets by an average of 33%. between 15 and 30 June compared with last year. The average price was €78 in 2nd class, compared with €117 a year earlier, while the standard class Frecciarossa fare was €72, a far cry from the introductory price of €27 for a single ticket between Paris and Marseille. The study also confirms the ever-higher prices for Ouigo with fares up 15% and an average price up from €76 to €88 this year over this period. This means higher pricing for this low-cost offer compared with the Inoui TGV, and greater profits for SNCF thanks to lower operating costs...
With the school holidays SNCF then gradually increased its fares. The national carrier's fares fell by 13% between 1 and 15 July, but rose by 13% over the following fortnight. Average fares are now €71 in 2nd class for Inoui TGVs, €61 for a seat on Ouigo and €49 for Trenitalia, which remains the best bidder. Kombo explains this latest increase a higher occupancy rate, as Inoui tickets went on sale well before Trenitalia tickets, meaning that the stock of low-cost tickets had already been used up" . It will be interesting to see the price differences for September, once the summer period is over...
Trainline reports an increase in bookings from 202% on the Paris-Marseille route
" Our study confirms once again that competition lowers prices and directly benefits passengers" says Matthieu Marquenet, co-founder of Kombo which is obviously pushing for an increase in bookings via platforms that allow price comparisons, Trenitalia is not distributed via SNCF Connect. Competition is set to intensify in the future, with the Italian company initially only offering 4 daily round trips, compared with SNCF, which offers 17 rotations a day, including 3 in Ouigo. If train capacity is high, Trenitalia should be able to increase its capacity over the coming months, as it has done on Paris-Lyon. Supply also creates demand, boosting rail traffic between the two cities. Trainlineanother platform that handles both leisure and business customers, claims to have recorded an increase of more than 200% in tickets booked on this route over one year, when the sales of the two carriers are added together.
