May 24th, 2010 | 
Author: The recent flight suspensions because of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano may have hit airline’s hard, but it has brought a booking windfall for rail and ferry companies.
As airports slowly resume to normal, French rail and ferry companies are hoping to turn the sudden rush of business, into prolonged growth, cashing in on the cynicism of flying.
Paul de Rosen, Lines Director for the biggest passenger ferry operator out of the port of Marseille, SNCM, told the BBC: “Normally, 10% of our customers are totally new to our database, which means they haven’t gone on a ferry of ours for at least six years. Now, in the weeks since the end of the ash cloud crisis, that figure is 20%.”
Mr de Rosen believes that even the threat of the returning ash clouds is enough to stop consumers using air travel to reach destinations. He said to the BBC: “Totally new customers are booking on ferries for summer holidays, because they want to travel with their car, which they believe is a way to maintain their autonomy on holiday if something should go wrong.”
Train operators are also optimistic that their recent business boost is here to stay. Michel Leboeuf, head of long distance projects at SNCF, the French national train operating company believes the high- speed TGV train is an effective competitor with planes, so those with French holidays booked need not worry.
One passenger told the BBC “It’s easier to get to the station than the airport. It’s fast, easier to work on board and more relaxing, usually with fewer delays.”
The European Commission admits that the ash cloud caught them out. “We saw that when one transport mode went down, passengers found it hard to shift to rail and boats. Anything we can do as regulators to open up options, for instance, make it easier to take a train instead of a plane we will be trying to do as an urgent priority,” said Helen Kearns, spokeswoman for transport at the Commission in Brussels.
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