Costly rail fares 'will boost flights'

Travellers reluctant to pay the new, higher train fares that came into force last week are likely to turn to flights instead, according to one expert.

Railway users saw the prices of some tickets go up by as much as 11 per cent on January 2nd, with an annual season ticket on one route operated by Southeastern now costing £3,480.

These increases will have a knock-on effect for local air travel services, said Tony Hallwood, aviation development director at Bristol Airport, which offers flights to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Manchester, Leeds and Belfast, among others.

"Increases in rail fares will see more passengers taking domestic flights," he commented, going on to add that such services are important to businesses looking to maintain their connectivity.

Last week, VLM announced that the recent disruption caused by railway engineering work on the west coast mainline had led to an increase in the number of people buying its flights between London City Airport and Manchester Airport.

Posted by Clare, 07 January 2008 11:36

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• Belfast
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• VLM