Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
No recent travel & transport from BBC stories as at 17:35 10 Jan 2025
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 14/01/25 - Rail Sale starts
24/01/25 - Westbury Station reopens
24/01/25 - LTP4 Wilts / Consultation end
24/01/25 - Bristol Rail Campaign AGM 2025

On this day
10th Jan (2017)
Defibrillators discussion pack published by Network Rail (link)

Train RunningCancelled
14:35 London Paddington to Paignton
15:30 London Paddington to Weston-Super-Mare
15:52 London Paddington to Great Malvern
15:54 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
16:12 London Paddington to Bristol Parkway
16:30 London Paddington to Taunton
16:32 Great Malvern to London Paddington
16:36 London Paddington to Plymouth
16:59 Cheltenham Spa to London Paddington
17:00 Oxford to London Paddington
17:18 London Paddington to Swansea
17:50 Cardiff Central to London Paddington
Additional 18:10 Bristol Temple Meads to Gloucester
19:04 Great Malvern to London Paddington
Short Run
14:03 London Paddington to Penzance
14:20 Carmarthen to London Paddington
14:48 London Paddington to Swansea
15:28 Weston-Super-Mare to London Paddington
15:32 London Paddington to Cheltenham Spa
16:34 Newbury to London Paddington
16:50 London Paddington to Didcot Parkway
17:15 Exeter Central to Barnstaple
17:20 London Paddington to Didcot Parkway
17:28 Weston-Super-Mare to London Paddington
17:59 Cheltenham Spa to London Paddington
18:29 Gatwick Airport to Reading
18:38 Barnstaple to Exmouth
19:04 Paignton to London Paddington
19:35 Exeter St Davids to London Paddington
22:50 Salisbury to Portsmouth Harbour
Delayed
15:03 London Paddington to Penzance
15:59 Cheltenham Spa to London Paddington
16:13 Exeter Central to Barnstaple
16:31 Barnstaple to Exeter St Davids
An additional train service has been planned to operate as shown 16:57 London Paddington to Swindon
17:33 Barnstaple to Exeter Central
PollsThere are no open or recent polls
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
January 10, 2025, 17:35:10 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[103] Thames Valley infrastructure problems causing disruption elsew...
[98] Westminster Hall debate : Railway services to South West
[97] Ryanair sues 'unruly' passenger over flight diversion
[87] Mick Lynch announces retirement as head of RMT
[41] Birthday trip, Melksham to Penzance - 28th January 2025
[22] A Beginner's Guide to the Great Western "Coffee Shop" Passenge...
 
News: the Great Western Coffee Shop ... keeping you up to date with travel around the South West
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: 1 [2]
  Print  
Author Topic: Air Competition for FGW  (Read 10278 times)
TaplowGreen
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 8456



View Profile
« Reply #15 on: April 24, 2014, 07:07:02 »

Minimum check in at Exeter airport is 30 mins before departure for domestic, plus the extra time to potentially travel out to the airport, stagecoach buses take 25 mins from City centre to airport. So add probably an hour to flight times if you have to commute out from near the city, and the flight time is not competitive unless savings are made by London City being better located than paddington at the other end.

This ALWAYS comes up! LCY is superbly located for the City (as the name suggests!) and has very good links to the rest of London - as to the bus to the airport/checkin issue, unless you live right next door to Exeter St Davids/Paddington there is always going to be time spent getting to your starting point whether your journey is by train or plane, and I doubt anyone would aim to get to the station 30 seconds before departure, personally if I'm on a long train journey I'd be at the station a good 20 mins before departure to get newspapers, food & drink supplies etc so I really don't think it's an issue.
Logged
LiskeardRich
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 3494

richardwarwicker@hotmail.co.uk
View Profile
« Reply #16 on: April 24, 2014, 08:19:53 »

The cost of parking at Exeter airport, is more expensive than Gatwick and The poor public transport links will deter many, if you live outside of Exeter and you have to take train to Exeter anyway, you may as well stay on the train, as getting from the train to the airport is so slow, and poor bus times. The first bus isn't until 8am and last one is about 6pm.
I see all these factors deterring people using the service

.
Minimum check in at Exeter airport is 30 mins before departure for domestic, plus the extra time to potentially travel out to the airport, stagecoach buses take 25 mins from City centre to airport. So add probably an hour to flight times if you have to commute out from near the city, and the flight time is not competitive unless savings are made by London City being better located than paddington at the other end.

This ALWAYS comes up! LCY is superbly located for the City (as the name suggests!) and has very good links to the rest of London - as to the bus to the airport/checkin issue, unless you live right next door to Exeter St Davids/Paddington there is always going to be time spent getting to your starting point whether your journey is by train or plane, and I doubt anyone would aim to get to the station 30 seconds before departure, personally if I'm on a long train journey I'd be at the station a good 20 mins before departure to get newspapers, food & drink supplies etc so I really don't think it's an issue.

And as it always comes up, we already know that every service from the west-country to London has ceased due to low passenger numbers, easyjet, air southwest, Ryanair, BA» (British Airways - about),the list goes on, and flybe were pulling out until Cornwall council arranged them a subsidy due to losses. Why will this service be any different?
Logged

All posts are my own personal believes, opinions and understandings!
Umberleigh
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 456


View Profile
« Reply #17 on: April 24, 2014, 10:57:13 »

Would there be any rail services but for the subsidy?

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/nov/04/firstgroup-taxpayer-subsidy

Flybe will have lower costs due to being much larger than Air South West. Flybe were still committed to a Newquay - London Southend summer service, akin to the FGW (First Great Western) summer direct trains. No surprise that the year-round Gatwick service suffered, look at FGWs winter timetable from Newquay...

Ever stood outside Exeter St David's for a while and seen how many passengers get dropped off/picked up by friends and family? So not just reliant on parking, buses or taxis.

It's a generally accepted fact that the journey beyond Exeter to Penzance is slower than driving, hence why so many drive up to Tivvy Parkway. So let's not assume all Exeter/Tivvy passengers started their journey locally.

Also the service will attract those who currently pay FGWs eye watering 1st Class fares, so a few quid extra on parking will hardly hurt.

Finally, a trip on the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) is a nicer proposition than the Tube at rush hour.

FGW need some serious competition to keep them on their toes: remember when they removed complimentary items from the trolley? So mean-spirited. There are still persistent rumours that the trolley service will be withdrawn, as will all buffet services beyond Plymouth.
Logged
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: 1 [2]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page