Wikipedia saves the Heathrow Express

The UK's weekly Advertising Standards Authority report of adjudictions often throws up a few gems.

An internet ad for the Heathrow Express almost got itself into hot water when somebody questioned the claim: "From the train that gets you from Central London to Heathrow Airport in 15 minutes, every 15 minutes."

The complainant argued that London Paddington, where the service starts its journey westwards, is not actually in Central London.

The ASA, in its report, threw out the complaint after Heathrow Express representatives RPM3 defended the ad with material from Wikipedia and "several travel and tourism websites" which indicated that Paddington is, after all, in Central London.

"We noted all these stations, including Paddington, were in Zone One of the London transport system and were served by London Underground and buses.

"We considered that readers of the ad, whose final destination was a location in central London, would expect the last leg of their journey to involve some additional travel by one of these means of transport.

"We concluded that readers were unlikely to be material misled by the claim."

Very interesting that online sources are becoming reputable reference points for long-in-the-tooth regulators such as the ASA.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Technorati tags: heathrow express advertising train marketing

Travel touchpoints - London to Berlin

An exercise once favoured by media agencies to test the exposure of a client was to note the number of times people came across a brand during a typical journey.

So, faced with a reasonably lengthy trip from London to the ITB exhibition in Berlin last Wednesday, I decided to measure how many times I was exposed to travel brands - but only when a web address was included - during the course of the journey.

It wasn't an overly scientific piece of analysis, but about as thorough as I could make it. And it passed the time...

Perhaps the most interesting conclusion is that there is a phenonmenally higher ratio of billboard advertising on the rail network in the UK than in Germany.

So here's the list [all are billboards, unless indicated]:

Walthamstow Central station
TransportforLondon

Kings Cross St Pancras station
First Capital Connect
Expedia
HotelClub

Train advertising - Kings Cross Thameslink to Luton Airport Parkway
ThomsonFly.com
Monarch Airlines

Kentish Town station
Kuoni
Air Malta/Malta Toursim

West Hampstead station
Kuoni
VisitLondon

Cricklewood station
Kuoni
Air Malta/Malta Tourism

Hendon station
ThomsonFly.com

Mill Hill Broadway station
Air Malta/Malta Tourism

St Albans station
Monarch Airlines
Air Malta/Malta Tourism

Harpenden station
Kuoni
Air Malta/Malta Tourism
Pure New Zealand

Luton Airport Parkway station
Air Malta/Malta Tourism
SilverJet [ticket barriers]
ThomsonFly.com

Taxi Luton
SilverJet

London Luton Airport
EasyJet
Ryanair
Thomson
Ibis Hotels
WizzAir
Aer Arann
Monarch Airlines
VisitLondon
EasyJet
SilverJet

EasyJet in-flight magazine

Kazan
Residencepinede Hotel
EasyCruise
VisitCostaDelSol
Verbier resort
Chamonix resort
Courcheneige hotel
Armagh and Down
First Capital Connect
Sheraton hotels
Oasis Hong Kong Airlines
Radisson SAS
Tourisme Alsace
ITB Berlin
Le Meridien Lingotto hotel
Hotel La Laguna
Grupotel
Gatwick Express
Southern Railway

Berlin Schoenefeld Airport
AirBerlin
Germanwings.com
Cyprus Tourism
ITB Berlin

Hauptbahnhof DB station
Turkey Tourism

Zoologischer Garten U-Bahn station
Romania Tourism

...and then I arrived at ITB, at the Messe exhibition grounds iun the West of the city, and, frankly, one couldn't move for travel marketing everywhere - so I gave up...

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

GNER puffs away

UK train operator GNER has today issued a press release triumphantly saying it has completed the installation of wireless broadband services on all its trains “seven months ahead of schedule”.

Well done.

But actually this is what they said in early September, when we first mentioned it on the blog.

A glossy brochure had arrived in the office one day saying all trains will be fitted with wireless system within a few weeks.

By our calculation that would mean mid-October. [Perhaps, after all, they are actually 10 days behind schedule!]

The dilemma still remains: pay an extra £30-odd for a first class ticket between London and Edinburgh and get free broadband access, hot drinks and nibbles – or pay a sizeable fee for an hourly or two-hourly hook-up.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Choo choo ring ring

UK train operator Chiltern Trains is – pardon the pun – steaming ahead in the mobile ticketing arena.

The company, which operates services between London and Birmingham, is about to pilot a scheme whereby passengers will be able to buy a ticket online, receive a barcode confirmation, and then use the image on the phone to swipe in and out of stations.

The system will initially only be available to those buying E-Day Passes, but if the pilot scheme is successful – after a three-month period, starting in mid-December – any passenger buying a fare online will be offered the service.

Chiltern told us today that mobile-to-mobile services might be available at a later date.

Problem: Chiltern Trains are heavily reliant on commuter for its business, as a vast number of the stations the company serves are within an hour of London.

Will passengers, who probably buy a weekly, monthly or annual season ticket, want to have a barcode ticket for local stations but then have to whip out their paper ticket or Oyster Card for the London Underground or bus network?

If all the other train operators got together to work on the technology then the project might actually be more effective.

Unfortunately the words “collaborate” and “UK train companies” are not often heard in the same sentence.

Kevin May, editor, Travolution

Wifi to Edinburgh

Glossy one-page brochure arrived in the post today from UK train operator GNER, plugging its new hi-speed wi-fi internet connection for passengers.

The operator boasts how within a few weeks all 41 trains in its fleet – running between London, Leeds and Edinburgh – will be fitted with wireless technology.

The brochure even suggests some handy tips for passing the time, for those that aren’t spending their travelling hours still working [Surely some mistake – Ed?]

But what are the costs?

First class passengers will be delighted to learn that the service is free.

Standard class will be charged £4.95 for one hour or £7.95 for two hours.

A 24-hour tariff is available, obviously for passengers with return tickets rather than those stuck for hours, say, just outside Berwick following a power failure!

Price of a single first class ticket from London to Edinburgh tomorrow morning at 9am is £148. Price of a standard ticket on the same route at the same time is £111.

Is it worth the £37 upgrade for constant access, free tea and coffee, a comfy seat and complimentary nibbles?

Tricky one...

Kevin May, editor, Travolution