Great Western Coffee Shop

...........variation on the "plane cheaper than train" theme, but perhaps the most extreme one yet?

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/news/edinburgh-to-london-flights-cheaper-than-train-to-glasgow-as-calls-made-for-reduction/ar-AA1wcQp9?ocid=socialshare

City centre to city centres though?! Apples and pears

Also, is the flight fare a peak time last minute fare? Probably not.

London Stansted Parkway  ;)

Just done a little on-line research.

National Rail enquiries gives an off-peak return standard class train fare from any Edinburgh station to any Glasgow station as £16-20. To get a cheap day return on the tram from Edinburgh city centre zone to the airport (seems the best deal) is £9-50, and cheapest Stanstead - Liverpool Street rail fare off-peak is £26-70.

Cheapest flights all seem to be to Stanstead or Luton, leaving at or before 7 am or after 18-45 from Edinburgh airport (so you've got to get there first and check in - say an hour earlier)

So - £16-20 by train Edinburgh - Glasgow, at least £66-18 by plane/train/tram Edinburgh - London, plus inconvenience of a very early start or getting there after business hours so needing overnight accommodation as well if you take an afternoon/evening flight.

That tram begins to look expensive!

The article is specifically drawing a comparison between peak time rail fares and flights, not off peak.

Airline flight prices are not "regulated" off-peak returns on long-distance rail routes such as the Edinburgh - London are "regulated"

By Regulated the DfT set the fare

No-one is suggesting otherwise, and it's not about long distance rail travel - for clarity, and perhaps for those who haven't fully read the article, here is the summary of the findings, verbatim;

Research by Scottish Labour found a return flight from Edinburgh to London Stansted could cost as little as £29.98 - less than the £31.40 price of a peak-time ScotRail ticket between Glasgow and Edinburgh. The party also said it was either the same price or cheaper to book one-way flights to locations such as Dublin and Belfast than it was to buy a one-way peak fare from Edinburgh to Glasgow.

As they clearly state in that text, a poor comparison is being made.  Comparing radically different products, with the lowest possible cost of one of them compared to the highest possible cost of the other!

When I go to the online booking engines for the next few days ... and you will note I have only single fares here Edinburgh to Stansted.   As I write, the lowest cost single airline flight southward is 10th January 2025 at £14.99    Edit to add with luggage to add £29.98 or £39.48 (single) for "essentials" or "standard plus". If you don't someehere from £6.40 to £18.99 so select a seat (yes, there is a skip button).  There are four days available in the following week for you to return at the £14.99 fare.

(https://www.wellho.info/pix/avr_2024_12_01.jpg)

(https://www.wellho.info/pix/avr_2024_12_02.jpg)

A 63% market share for rail on the Edinburgh to London route has no doubt forced the airlines down the cheap as chips route.

https://www.railtech.com/all/2023/07/03/edinburgh-london-route-shows-europe-the-way-for-modal-shift/?gdpr=accept