Flying commuters beat train delays
Clarissa Satchell
COMMUTERS are shunning unreliable trains and snapping up day-return plane tickets to London.
Three major airlines selling flights from Manchester to London are seeing a boom in commuter flights - and one has banned its own staff from flying at peak times because demand is so high.
And they think it is partly down to disruption caused by work on the West Coast Main Line, near Stockport, which means rail passengers have to get replacement buses for part of their journey.
Dutch airline VLM launched a five-times-a-day service to London two years ago to target rail commuters, and spokesman Tim Gresty said he was convinced they were succeeding.
"We run 50-seater planes," he said, "and we're finding that on most days at peak-times, they are running full.
"It is now almost impossible to go to London on a day-return by train, making sure you arrive on time and don't have to face a really long journey on the way back.
"We are finding a definite boost in business travel, but also a lot more demand during the day from leisure passengers, including people going on shopping trips.
Demand
"We're so busy we have banned staff, including myself, from flying at peak times as we are so full."
Sue Redmond, of British Airways, said they were also seeing a boost in demand for flights.
"Demand is always high at this time of year," she said, "particularly with people travelling to London for connecting to long-haul flights.
"We can't say the increase is entirely down to the rail disruption, but shuttle flights from Manchester to London are much cheaper these days and people are definitely switching to air travel as an alternative.
"Offering rail passengers the alternative of buses is not really acceptable for a lot of people who need to travel to London.
"Some say the airport we use is too far from the city, but there are now high-speed train links which are not affected by engineering work.
Massive
"With an hour-long flight time, passengers are finding it is a much quicker option than rail."
And bmi said they had noticed rising demand for flights during a series of hold-ups on the line.
A spokesman said: "During the last hold-up over the May Bank Holiday, we had 80,000 passengers, which is a massive amount for us - we calculated it was 153 per cent more than the last year.
"We have seen some increases this time and we are expecting more as the work continues."
More work starts around Stockport tomorrow and is scheduled to last for nine weeks, followed by a series of weekend closures.
Penny Carter, from the West Coast Main Line service, said: "We are offering an alternative service to London St Pancras by way of the Midland Main Line service to London.
"We expect the airlines' bookings to be up at this time of year due to holidays, but the message we really want to get across to passengers is that there is an alternative rail service from Manchester to London running throughout the works."
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