Rail Europe Simplifies Ticket Categories and Adds Virtual Train Trips to Website
To simplify booking European rail travel, Rail Europe has introduced four categories of fares for point-to-point train tickets on all routes throughout Europe and the UK: economy (restricted economy), freedom (unrestricted economy), comfort (restricted premium) and premier (unrestricted premium). The company has also added virtual train trips featuring unscripted interviews with real travelers at www.raileurope.com to show North Americans how convenient and rewarding it is to experience Europe by rail.
"Market research showed us that North American travelers were confused by the myriad fares offered for the same point-to-point train ticket," explains Fabrice Morel, President and CEO of Rail Europe. "While some people simply want the least expensive fare, others are willing to pay somewhat more for a higher level of service and fewer restrictions."
Demystifying nomenclature
"We deal with more than 30 different European, train operators who supply us with a range of fare categories which are different from other operators, with designations such as Leisure Select, Preferente, Lybris, standard class, etc. Previously, we offered the same categories as our suppliers, although we realized this could be quite baffling, particularly to the first-time traveler on Europe's trains.
"Because we have the widest selection of rail tickets and passes of any North American supplier, we decided to do something to demystify the fare selection process. Our four new categories include all the available fares for the day and time selected, but we organize them into four buckets so that consumers can more quickly and easily select the appropriate one. And by the way -- we've done additional market research to verify that users could easily understand and navigate the new selection process," added Morel.
Live inventory
All the available fares for each departure on a particular route are displayed on one screen. Redundant price points have been removed and the price shown for each category is the lowest available fare. Once that fare is sold out, the next lowest fare is displayed until it is sold out. Rail Europe's site only displays live inventory of available fares.
Virtual trips let you share the experience
First-time train travelers can also benefit from the virtual train trips now available on Rail Europe's website (just click from the home page).
"Since North America doesn't have the same advanced, comprehensive rail system that we have in Europe," notes Morel, "we decided to demonstrate the ease and appeal of train travel by offering virtual tours on our website. A film crew captured spontaneous interviews with real-life travelers they met on the trains. In focus groups afterwards, consumers who had never been on European trains consistently said that these unscripted testimonials helped them understand how appealing train travel can be."
Among the people interviewed were a restaurateur couple touring French vineyards, a couple celebrating their anniversary, a young girl going to visit her sister at the university and many others.
Frequently asked questions and answers about European train travel were also made part of the virtual tour, including such useful information as how to find your train in the station, descriptions of different types of trains and stations, food on board, luggage, and more.
This is the latest in a series of ongoing improvements Rail Europe has made to simplify the online booking of European rail travel while also increasing the selection of products offered. In April of this year, the company implemented a new and improved connection to European databases of rail schedules and fares. In the fall of 2005, Rail Europe began selling "market-priced" fares in France and Italy -- saving 5-45% over previous fares on many routes. And earlier in 2005, Rail Europe completely revamped its ticket booking function to work similarly to airline booking engines and also show only live inventory.
To check out the new ticket categories or book European train travel, log on to www.raileurope.com (U.S.) or www.raileurope.ca (Canada) or call a reservation agent at 1-888-382-7245 (U.S.) or 1-800-361-7245 (Canada).
Screen shot showing Rail Europe's four new ticket categories for one sample route (London-Paris). Fares shown are lowest for each category at press time.
