Eurostar tickets specific

On July 29, 2008, I dropped my wife at the Brussels airport at around 7:15 a.m. and then caught the train to Brussels Midi. I arrived there just before 8:00.

I had a ticket on Eurostar for the 11:59 train to London. However, realizing that I had plenty of time to catch the 8:59 train, I presented myself at the Eurostar enquiry desk and asked if I could travel on the 8:59. I was told that I could not, as my ticket was nonrefundable and nontransferable.

I then asked if I could pay a premium and catch the 8:59. The answer was “No.”

I then asked if there were spare seats on the 8:59 and was told, “Oh, yes, plenty!”

In exasperation, I finally asked what would happen if I turned up at 10 o’clock with a similar ticket for the 8:59 train. I was told, “You would have to purchase a new ticket.”

I can think of no good reason why I should not have been able to catch the 8:59. What difference would it have made?

PAUL DENMAN

Columbia, SC

ITN sent a copy of the above letter to Eurostar and received the following replies.

Thank you for your correspondence. At Eurostar we take all customer comments very seriously. Such feedback is the basis for the improvement of our service.

The comments forwarded to us relate to the terms and conditions upon which we sell our tickets. We offer a variety of fares on a variety of terms. We do this in order to have a flexible pricing structure and ensure that we can remain as competitive as possible.

I can assure you it is made very clear to all passengers if they have booked a nonrefundable, nonexchangeable ticket.

While I appreciate that it appears illogical that a traveler cannot just change to any train they wish, we must adhere to the terms on which we sell our tickets in order to maintain our pricing structure and follow our strict auditing procedures.

We therefore do not believe it is fair or reasonable to cast the Eurostar brand in a negative light because we do not accept responsibility for travelers who have failed to read our terms and conditions of travel.

ALEX LEVINGER, International Customer Relations, Eurostar, Eurostar House, Waterloo Station, London, SE1 8SE, U.K.

Eurostar offers its travelers a variety of nonflexible, semiflexible, and flexible tickets from the UK to over 100 destinations across mainland Europe. This enables travelers to balance the price they are willing to pay against the flexibility they require and is standard practice amongst rail operators and airlines across the world.

In this instance, it seems that Mr. Denman purchased a nonflexible ticket (meaning that it was only valid for the date and train specified on the ticket).

If Mr. Denman had purchased a semiflexible ticket, he would (subject to availability) have been able to pay a fee (and any price differential) to board the earlier train.

SIMON MONTAGUE, Director of Communications, Eurostar, Times House, Bravingtons Walk, Regents Quarter, London, N1 9AW, U.K.

Another ITN subscriber, STEVEN LILLY of Lonoke, Arkansas, and his family had nonrefundable Rail Europe tickets for travel from Brussels to Paris on June 19, 2008. Because of bad weather, their transatlantic flight was delayed a full day. They missed their train and had to purchase new tickets — at three times price of each original ticket — for the train departing one hour later than their ticketed departure.

Steven called about a refund and was told there was a possibility that an exception could be made by Rail Europe if he mailed in the unused tickets with documentation of why they were unable to be used. He did that but was denied a refund.

Steven wrote to ITN, “When I booked I did not take out travel insurance, thinking that, surely, there should be no problem making rail connections on the day following our arrival in Brussels. I encourage everyone to consider the purchase of travel insurance, even if you think there should be no way that you might miss connections. I know that I will for future travels.”

ITN wrote to Rail Europe (44 South Broadway, 11th Fl., White Plains, NY 10601) and received a reply from Isabella Santoro, VP Customer Relations: “Mr. Lilly purchased his tickets online through Travelocity. He opted to purchase the ‘book early fare,’ second class, at the cost of $40 per person. That is a discounted and restricted ticket tied to very strict after-sales policy. The fare in question is nonexchangeable and nonrefundable. This information is not only clearly marked on our website, it is printed on the ticket itself and on the ‘after sales coupon’ stapled to the ticket. Indeed, there are more expensive tickets that afford more flexibility in case of non-use.”