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We have Railcards and Coach Cards why not Aircards as well ?

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Butts

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Just thinking this would be a great idea for people who regularly take UK Domestic Flights.

We have one for Bus and Train journeys so why not Air as well ?

Domestic Airfares are comparable with Train and Coach prices.

How I'd love an Advanced Club Single from Inverness to London with a third off.

Has it ever been mooted ?
 
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lachlan

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I don't think we should be encouraging people to regularly fly. Also as aviation is privatised wouldn't it be up to airlines to create such a scheme?
 

Butts

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I don't think we should be encouraging people to regularly fly. Also as aviation is privatised wouldn't it be up to airlines to create such a scheme?

Forget all the tree hugging, whilst Domestic Air Travel is still available it's worth considering surely.

How would you get from Sumburgh to Newquay ?
 

AlterEgo

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Forget all the tree hugging, whilst Domestic Air Travel is still available it's worth considering surely.

How would you get from Sumburgh to Newquay ?
Why would you want to *incentivise* that sort of trip? If you fly BA, for example, you are already very heavily incentivised through their frequent flyer scheme which works in a similar but not identical way.
 

deltic

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Just thinking this would be a great idea for people who regularly take UK Domestic Flights.

We have one for Bus and Train journeys so why not Air as well ?

Domestic Airfares are comparable with Train and Coach prices.

How I'd love an Advanced Club Single from Inverness to London with a third off.

Has it ever been mooted ?
Given that most domestic routes seem to go bust on a regular basis the airlines cant afford it
 

Journeyman

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Why would you want to *incentivise* that sort of trip? If you fly BA, for example, you are already very heavily incentivised through their frequent flyer scheme which works in a similar but not identical way.
Yeah, Railcards just happen to be one of the tools that the industry uses to encourage more use. BA has Avios.
 

lachlan

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Forget all the tree hugging, whilst Domestic Air Travel is still available it's worth considering surely.

How would you get from Sumburgh to Newquay ?
I'm not suggesting the train can replace all domestic flights, but I also don't want to actively encourage them either.
 

Butts

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So how many people do that journey regularly? I don't think you'd need many hands to count them.

Okay it's an extreme example I grant you but there are lot's of others - Kirkwall to London ?

I'm not suggesting the train can replace all domestic flights, but I also don't want to actively encourage them either.

No one is forcing you onto a plane but whilst they are there why shouldn't people avail themselves ?

Given that most domestic routes seem to go bust on a regular basis the airlines cant afford it

BA don't go bust - yet !!

Why would you want to *incentivise* that sort of trip? If you fly BA, for example, you are already very heavily incentivised through their frequent flyer scheme which works in a similar but not identical way.

I'll have a third off the fare rather than AVIOS any day !!
 

Aictos

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Forget all the tree hugging, whilst Domestic Air Travel is still available it's worth considering surely.

How would you get from Sumburgh to Newquay ?
You've got Easyjet Plus membership which for a fee provides a lot:

Free seat selection – this is a genuine cash saving given the usual fees of up to £29.99 (yes, easyJet seating fees now reach £30 at times) per one-way flight. This ONLY applies to the member and NOT to other people travelling on the same booking. It includes premium seats, ie the front and exit rows.

Free speedy boarding – although this is less important if you have a seat selected

Fast track security at selected airports

Access to ‘fast bag drop’ desks at selected airports

A free second item of cabin baggage (maximum 45cm x 36cm x 20cm) which must go under the seat in front of you

Free switch to an earlier flight home, subject to availability and only bookable from three hours before departure



For someone like you who does more flights then I've cooked dinners, there's the Easyjet Flight Club programme which is by invitation only.
 

Clip

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Okay it's an extreme example I grant you but there are lot's of others - Kirkwall to London ?



No one is forcing you onto a plane but whilst they are there why shouldn't people avail themselves ?



BA don't go bust - yet !!



I'll have a third off the fare rather than AVIOS any day !!
I see where you re coming from however if the airline's thought this would generate more business then surely they would've done it by now?

The fact that they don't surely shows they believe in their own reward scheme more than an 'aircard'
 

Journeyman

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I see where you re coming from however if the airline's thought this would generate more business then surely they would've done it by now?

The fact that they don't surely shows they believe in their own reward scheme more than an 'aircard'
Exactly. Airlines have had sophisticated yield management systems and loyalty schemes for years, and they've been very good at putting bums on seats. Budget airlines in particular have this down to a fine art. You very rarely see empty seats on Ryanair and EasyJet flights (COVID notwithstanding).
 

Butts

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Exactly. Airlines have had sophisticated yield management systems and loyalty schemes for years, and they've been very good at putting bums on seats. Budget airlines in particular have this down to a fine art. You very rarely see empty seats on Ryanair and EasyJet flights (COVID notwithstanding).

So @lachlan is in a minority wishing to restrict Air Travel ?

It seems people pay lip service to caring about the environment as they board yet another full service.

Forgive me if I'm wrong was it not you that flew down from Edinburgh to London recently ?

Why has this been shunted into the Aviation Section when it encompasses Rail and Coach Travel as well ?
 
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Journeyman

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So @lachlan is in a minority wishing to restrict Air Travel ?

It seems people pay lip service to caring about the environment as they board yet another full service.

Forgive me if I'm wrong was it not you that flew down from Edinburgh to London recently ?

Why has this been shunted into the Aviation Section when it encompasses Rail and Coach Travel as well ?
I was just saying that airlines manage demand pretty efficiently anyway, so a railcard equivalent product isn't needed.

I never said anything about not flying. I did indeed fly to London on Monday, although I took the train back.

National Express certainly used to sell discount cards for students and seniors - I don't know if they still do. I consider coaches to be the spawn of Beelzebub, and keep well away from them...
 

Ianno87

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I was just saying that airlines manage demand pretty efficiently anyway, so a railcard equivalent product isn't needed.

I never said anything about not flying. I did indeed fly to London on Monday, although I took the train back.

National Express certainly used to sell discount cards for students and seniors - I don't know if they still do. I consider coaches to be the spawn of Beelzebub, and keep well away from them...

I guess airlines are different in not having “peak” and “off-peak“ in quite the same way. An aircraft that is doing, say, a morning business flight from Dublin to London can then do a rotation to Spain and back during the day for the leisure market, then a business flight in the evening (or whatever).
 

Journeyman

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I guess airlines are different in not having “peak” and “off-peak“ in quite the same way. An aircraft that is doing, say, a morning business flight from Dublin to London can then do a rotation to Spain and back during the day for the leisure market, then a business flight in the evening (or whatever).
Exactly. Essentially the Railcard exists in a market where filling empty seats off-peak is otherwise tricky. Also, of course, flights are reservation-only, which is a much more effective tool for distributing demand.
 

mikeg

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Why not have air season tickets for that matter? Apples and oranges.

And yes limiting air travel is a good thing. Sure there are a few journeys which would be more difficult or impossible but they're in the minority domestically.

I try to fly no more than one return journey a year with mostly success but still pre covid visited different countries a couple of times a year, thanks to coach travel, which not only is more eco-friendly but more interesting getting up close and personal with different places.
 

WestCoast

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There are some (budget) airlines that have something vaguely similar to a railcard. I’m thinking of the Wizz Air Discount Club for instance, where you pay something like £30 a year for access to a 30-40% discount on each ticket. They don’t fly any UK domestic routes though, unless you count Luton to Gibraltar.

I also seem to recall that in Scandinavia there are discounts for certain groups like under 25, over 60s etc with SAS. They do have many routes where the equivalent land option is much longer.
 

Butts

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There are some (budget) airlines that have something vaguely similar to a railcard. I’m thinking of the Wizz Air Discount Club for instance, where you pay something like £30 a year for access to a 30-40% discount on each ticket. They don’t fly any UK domestic routes though, unless you count Luton to Gibraltar.

I also seem to recall that in Scandinavia there are discounts for certain groups like under 25, over 60s etc with SAS. They do have many routes where the equivalent land option is much longer.

So there is a precedent despite others misgivings ?
 

Darandio

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I’m thinking of the Wizz Air Discount Club for instance, where you pay something like £30 a year for access to a 30-40% discount on each ticket.

I think it's just a €10 flat rate discount on fares isn't it?
 

Journeyman

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Makes a railcard look cheap - do you get free hold luggage included ?
Yes, one bag. (Edit - scratch that, I misunderstood the infographic. @Bletchleyite is right)

I used to work for a company in Glasgow with offices in Bristol and near Gatwick, and quite a lot of staff were up and down on EasyJet flights all the time, so it's probably worth it for people like that, but I think you'd need to be a very frequent flyer to fork out over two hundred quid and find it good value (unless you can claim it as a business expense).
 

WestCoast

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I think it's just a €10 flat rate discount on fares isn't it?

Checked the website - you are indeed correct, 10 euros off fares and 5 euros discount on hold luggage. I am sure it was better than that when I bought it 2 years ago. Spirit Airlines in the US also have a similar scheme.
 
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