
Teen flew from Sheffield to Essex via Berlin because it was cheaper than train - awqrre
http://metro.co.uk/2016/01/27/a-teen-flew-from-sheffield-to-essex-via-berlin-because-it-was-cheaper-than-the-train-5647510
======
CarolineW
Blithering nonsense. You can buy an advance ticket for 33.50, saving time,
money, and "carbon."

With a little work you get:

    
    
        £29.10
            SHF LGE 10:49 11:30  £7.00 Advance
            LGE EMD 11:30 11:34  £2.10 Anytime
            EMD SNF 11:43 14:18 £20.00 Advance
    

That's easy - the report is complete nonsense, or the individual is misguided
at best, or he just wanted a day in Berlin and this was his excuse.

Not sure which of those options I think is most likely.

~~~
sjm
Regardless whether or not it works out in this case, from working traveling
around Europe for the last 8 months and always hoping to use the train, I've
found it is crazy how much cheaper flights are.

I just flew from Berlin to Brussels, these are €10 flights one-way. The
cheapest train tickets I can see for this start at €89 (from DB). That's a
1h30 flight, or 7 hour train ride.

~~~
CarolineW
Yes and no. Factor in getting to the airport, having to be there some hours
before your flight, the level of security screening, the unpleasantness of the
space you get to sit in on the plane, the inability to work sensibly on a
reasonable sized laptop, the spotty wifi, and then being landed miles away
from the city centre, I've generally found that train travel compares
reasonably well.

Yes, individual journeys need to be assessed on their merits, but once you
consider factors other than the list price of the fare, the economics are
often not so clear.

~~~
the8472
> having to be there some hours before your flight, the level of security
> screening

for inner-european flights those aren't big issues. security is basically
walking through a metal detector and you don't really have to wait for hours
either.

wifi can be an issue though.

------
chestnut-tree
This is no surprise to anyone in the UK. We have the highest fares in
Europe[1]. Although you can buy tickets in advance at certain off-peak times
for less, it's not always practical or convenient.

The problem is that peak fares can rise to astronomical levels if they are
unregulated (i.e. can be freely set by the train operator).

An example: a 2 hour train journey from London to Manchester (approx 200
miles/321 km) one-way booked for a peak-time slot a week in advance can cost
as much as £166 (approx €217 / $235), which is frankly ludicrous.

[1] [http://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/jan/04/action-for-
rail...](http://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/jan/04/action-for-
rail-357-season-ticket-37-rome-95-berlin)

~~~
bobbles
When my wife and I were travelling around europe a few years ago we decided to
fly back into manchester instead of london, thinking it would be great to
catch a game (of anything) and then head back to finish the trip.

Was a complete surprise that we ended up paying about 160 pounds each, and
coming from using australian dollars was a complete kick in the face.

Horrible way to end a great trip

(For comparison, an equivalent train trip today in australia would have cost
us about 50 pounds for the two of us)

~~~
Udik
There's a taxi service between Manchester and London, costs £270. It would
have been cheaper than the train. Something is seriously wrong.

------
aexaey
And this problem (high-speed rail failing to deliver on its promise of
sustainable alternative to air travel) is not unique to Britain. Same is
happening in mainland Europe too:

[http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2013/12/high-speed-trains-
are...](http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2013/12/high-speed-trains-are-killing-
the-european-railway-network.html)

Discussion thread of above article:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6920871](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6920871)

------
spikels
One of the big advantages of air travel is that it is much more competitive
than train systems. This is due to the high costs of train tracks resulting in
a natural monopoly.

Without even the threat of competition there is little incentive to control
costs. This often gets magnified by union and government involvement. So
despite the theoretical efficiency advantage of trains they are often more
expensive than other forms of transport which is a real shame.

------
schwap
Practicality aside,

> £11.83 on a Ryanair flight to Berlin

As someone who's lived only in North America, that is mindblowing.

~~~
Mc_Big_G
That's until you understand all the ways they ding you for extra money. Need a
boarding pass? _ching_ Have a carry on? _ding_ Have a carry on that doesn't
fit the max dimensions perfectly? _ding_ etc...

~~~
brianbreslin
the closest we have to such fees is Spirit Airlines in the US. They charge
more for carry-ons than checked bags (slows boarding).

~~~
schoen
Allegiant also has several fees that are similar to Ryanair.

[https://www.allegiantair.com/popup/optional-services-
fees](https://www.allegiantair.com/popup/optional-services-fees)

(I believe they charge for water onboard.)

------
brianbreslin
Do airports in Europe not charge landing fees? In the US thats the big source
of revenue for an airport.

~~~
ju-st
They do indeed. But Ryanair often flies to secondary airports which offer big
rebates on the fees for Ryanair.

------
decentrality
Does TIME factor into the cost saving here, both to research and to go so far
out of the way? Seems like the savings might not actually be saved, but spent
as time, many times over.

------
glasz
they gotta get you to use that bloody plane somehow to get your pnr [0]. after
all, s/he might be a terrorist. age doesn't matter as we know [1].

long live schengen. long live free travel. long live the union.

[0] [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/de/news-
room/20150123BKG1...](http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/de/news-
room/20150123BKG12902/EU-Passenger-Name-Record-\(PNR\)-proposal-an-overview)

[1] [http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/04/canada-six-
year...](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/04/canada-six-year-old-no-
fly-list-syed-adam-ahmed)

------
apeacox
With a bike it would be even more faster and cheaper... :-]

~~~
schwap
100+ miles? Cheaper perhaps but unless he's one hell of a cyclist not faster..

~~~
josephcooney
Walking barefoot without resting is clearly the cheapest option.

