COMMENT: The Trades Description Act
Is someone prepared to take on various operators in the travel industry
on the way they misinform as they market their services? The obvious
stick out by a mile. Ryanair and its blatant abuse of airport
descriptions landing passengers up to 70 miles from where they want to
go. In recent times we have had Air Scotland (see below) a Greek
airline with not a single aircraft based north of the border and
British Jet, a Maltese company (but clever enough to be registered at
Companies House). Air Berlin is a fine airline but is it taking trade
description a little too far when its route map shows all sorts of
direct sectors out of Stansted, most of which just don”t exist. Given
the choice would you fly to Almeria on Ryanair in just under three
hours, or use Air Berlin”s excellent in-flight services via Majorca and
take twice as long?
However, our pet hate when it comes to trade descriptions is the
so-called Stansted Express, or as it is known by regulars, ”The
Stansted Slow”.
The ””Stansted Slow” was a cleverly thought out (economical) branch
line development laid down when Stansted was expanded in the 1980s.
But it is outmoded. The airport is now the only 20m plus operation
where the integrated station has just two platforms. Yes it is
possible to get two short trains on each platform but that really does
need very clever timetable operations and is not practical. The
”Stansted Slow” can at its best deliver passengers to and from
Liverpool Street in 45 minutes (it used to be 40 minutes) and has two
stops (one at Tottenham Hale mentioned on the official timetable,
another, again breaking of the Trades Description Act, at either
Harlow or Bishops Stortford). We”ve no figures of non-English
speaking passengers trying to get out at the second stop by mistake.
Reports from regulars say that it is unreliable and often ”very” slow.
Passengers from Tottenham Hale cannot even take the service to and
from Liverpool Street. That”s banned. They have to use the crowded
stopping commuter service. The line also serves Stratford
International. Clearly the Olympic Committee did not come into the UK
via Stansted. Sixteen stops (and not even a service at the weekends)
would not have gone down well and that would have been the end of the
British bid.
Something has to be done about the Stansted Slow and quickly. Its
chairman has resigned, retaining the proper Gatwick and Heathrow
non-stop flyers but not wishing to be tarred with the Stansted brush.
The airport rail connection could become an embarrassment for 2012.
The rail link gets a paragraph in the Stansted consultation document
Generation 2. ”This issue remains under detailed study” a euphemism
for very little study. And the whole of the travel industry has to
put its house in order when it comes to a description of services. We
are now seeing the real fares advertised at last. Even the real
airport in some cases. Now we need a real Express rail service
between Europe”s sixth busiest international airport and London proper.
Malcolm Ginsberg