Cross-channel rail operator Eurostar has been called out for its misleading advertising by the industry’s watchdog. The Advertising Standards Authority said the company exaggerated the number of £39 seats on sale in a series of social media ads. The Eurostar ads were posted across Instagram and Facebook offering £39 tickets from London to Amsterdam and Brussels. The ASA has censured the company for misleading advertising – the second time this year. “The only data they had provided showed that 4.2% of the total number of tickets for London to Brussels and 1.6% of the total for London to Amsterdam were priced at £39,” the ASA said. “The responsibility was on Eurostar to demonstrate that the ‘from’ price did not exaggerate the availability or number of benefits likely to be obtained by the consumer.” The ASA was responding to complaints. Eurostar must ensure that a significant proportion of fares at the advertised price are available for future campaigns. Eurostar said: “We take great care in the way that we word our advertising.” “We understand and take on board the ASA’s latest ruling and are committed to ensuring that this does not occur again.” 

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Eurostar is on track to become the first ever non-airline partner at airline alliance SkyTeam. It signed a deal with the alliance that paves the way for integrated intermodal journeys via air and rail for millions of customers. This would combine long- and medium-haul flights and rail journeys in a single reservation – while enjoying SkyTeam benefits. Eurostar’s increased network offers many options for multi-city journeys between the UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Customers will be able to fly into SkyTeam’s main hubs in France, the Netherlands and the UK plus other major European airports across Eurostar’s network and enjoy multi-city travel in a more sustainable way. Currently, around 13% of Eurostar passengers flying long-haul into one of SkyTeam’s main European hubs connect to another Eurostar destination by rail. The two companies will work together in the coming months to create a more integrated experience for air-to-rail travel. The partnership is expected to launch in the first half of 2025. Eurostar and SkyTeam member, KLM, already have a long-standing relationship. “Eurostar is a natural fit for SkyTeam. I look forward to developing our partnership and offering customers greater choice in how they travel across SkyTeam’s global network,” said SkyTeam CEO, Patrick Roux. 

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Eurostar has teamed up with Team GB and ParalympicsGB to promote travel to the Paris Olympics. "Let the Games Begin" features Tom Allen along with travellers on their way to the Games. It begins in three weeks. ‘Let the Games Begin’ is fronted by comedian Tom Allen and highlights the anticipation of athletes and fans making their way to the Olympics. Eurostar is the official travel partner for Team GB and ParalympicsGB. Running until the end of the Paralympics on September 8, the 20-second film will be featured across TV, social media, radio, and out-of-home platforms. It shows the Eurostar platform transformed into an Olympic running track. Francois Le Doze, Chief Commercial Officer at Eurostar, said: "We are excited to reveal our new brand campaign, which focuses on what Eurostar does best: bringing people together." 

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Eurostar’s Amsterdam rail service could be facing an almost year-long suspension. It could be halted for 11 months due to renovation work at Amsterdam’s main railway station. The work at the station will limit space, meaning no facilities to complete post-Brexit passport checks for Eurostar Amsterdam travellers. The work will last from June 2024 to May 2025. There has been no progress on plans to temporarily relocate the border checkpoint. It will mean no direct cross-channel rail services to Amsterdam during this time The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure says it could complete the renovation work within seven months. The work would shift the Eurostar terminal to a lower level beneath the main rail station. Eurostar Amsterdam trains run four times daily. “We calculate it means 21 extra flights between Schiphol and London and that is crying shame,” Eurostar said. Eurostar said a Rotterdam option was discussed but is not feasible. This is because it can only process 160 passengers per train, which is 100 fewer than Amsterdam. “That makes Rotterdam as a departure point loss-making,” it said. Eurostar CEO Gwendoline Cazenave is in the Netherlands this week for talks with ministers.

Eurostar Group revealed a new refreshed Eurostar brand to take the business forward It has ambitions to double ridership to 30 million passengers a year by 2030. The Group incorporates Thalys and Eurostar. From the end of 2023, all customer touch points will carry a new look under the Eurostar brand name. Eurostar was selected due to high consumer awareness at both a European and global level. The new business has chosen a star and new l'Etoile du Nord logo, the original service linking Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. Eurostar customers benefit from a single website and booking system from October 2023. It will improve ease of booking direct and connecting journeys. Alain Krakovitch, Chairman, said Eurostar hopes to boost passenger numbers from 19 million in 2019 to 30 million by 2030. “Europe's growing demand for sustainable travel presents a great opportunity.”

High-speed rail service Eurostar reported a strong business travel comeback in the first half of 2022. Recovery of business travel between London and Paris has been fastest amongst French and US companies according to Eurostar data. With 75% of the pre-pandemic timetable now running, Eurostar business travel has returned to 70% of 2019 levels. Managed corporate accounts have increased by 40% between 2019 and 2022. New research commissioned by Eurostar says corporate confidence is growing with 78% of travellers surveyed expecting to travel more or the same for business between the UK and Europe than they did in 201.9 It says fears are unfounded that the new hybrid or home working would signal an end to regular business travel.  Chief Commercial Officer, Francois Le Doze, said: “Business travel has resumed faster than we expected in 2022, especially considering that we are only running around three-quarters of our pre pandemic timetable.” From September, Eurostar has announced the addition of a fourth return service on its London to Amsterdam route.