From plane to train: how will the change influence the way travel is sold?

Now that France bans domestic flights when there is a rail alternative and large European airlines such as Air France, KLM and Lufthansa support this change, what does this mean for the tourism sector in general? How can travel sellers and B2B distributors support and leverage this important climate initiative? We spoke to experts across the travel value chain to find out. 

Mabrian , which offers an intelligence platform for the travel industry, supports the change. As Carlos Cendra comments: The French government's regulations are a very important precedent in Europe to reconsider the efficiency of short-haul air travel, and we hope that more governments and travel companies will follow in their footsteps." In addition to lower carbon emissions of a train compared to an airplane, trains typically offer the convenience of departing from within cities, while airports are typically located outside urban areas, resulting in additional energy consumption and transportation costs. When there is the possibility of traveling by train between cities,

Alice Ferrari, from aeronautical technology provider Kyte, states that the rise of rail even offers a business opportunity to airlines: "The shift to rail does not mean that airlines have to lose out." "Airlines like KLM have already realized that there is a business opportunity for forward-thinking companies. Airlines should look at intermodality - offering multiple forms of transport for the traveler's entire journey - giving people transportation options. public for part or all of their routes. Airlines should also try to partner with railway companies to buy and sell train seats, and consider it simply another ancillary income. As intermodal transportation becomes increasingly important to consumers consumers, travel companies,  

However, there are several practical barriers to the switch to rail. Spencer Hanlon of global real-time payments platform Nium comments: "Many booking and third-party systems are not properly configured to handle B2B payment with rail suppliers automatically, or even at all. Add to that the complexity of booking train tickets, many different suppliers and timetables, not to mention the possibility of cancellations or rebookings, the industry may not be ready to accept mass train bookings at this time - we have to work together to resolve these challenges quickly to take advantage of growing rail demand."

Emilie Dumont, General Director of Digitrips, owner of MisterFly, a leading French multi-product travel platform, believes that the railway continues to gain ground over the plane on short-distance routes: "I sincerely believe that the railway is and will continue to be an alternative to the plane for any route that can be covered in less time. four hours by train. The improvement of high-speed trains will also help in the coming years. The train is comfortable: the stations are inside the cities, there are no security lines and travelers can get to the station in just ten minutes before departure, enjoying comfort and wifi on board. The main problem I see is the carbon calculations: the methodology used is a little behind the aerial one... However, I see that this will improve. We also plan to improve our railway offer in 2024,offering our B2B clients travel solutions with train included."

As a final reflection, Andrés Fabris, from Traxo, the world's only provider of real-time corporate travel data capture, identifies a major hurdle arising from the train ticket booking process. Fabris observes: "The complicated nature of rail bookings, combined with insufficient options in standard corporate booking systems or through travel management companies (TMCs), leads many business travelers to bypass booking channels. This issue not only creates a visibility gap for travel managers responsible for duty of care, but also discourages the promotion of train travel, despite its important benefits in reducing the company's carbon footprint. A capture technology like ours,

Source: Belvera Partners.