SNCF: rising prices that could anger – Les Echos

SNCF: rising prices that could anger – Les Echos

TGV ticket prices (excluding Prem’s) of Intercity and TER will increase by 2.6% next year. SNCF underestimates the scope of these increases

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The announcement by the SNCF an increase of 2.6% of its maximum rates on TGV, Intercity and regional trains (TER) on 1 January next should not fail to bring a slew virulent reactions, this very low inflation.

In his defense, the company noted that in 2014, it had only pass on the increase of 3 point VAT on tickets decided by the government. Furthermore, the increase announced Friday “obviously does not mean that all tickets will increase by 2.6%” , claimed a part of the business. This increase does not apply to such TER subscriptions, which amount is decided by the regions, or the discount cards tariff. The price TGV tickets Prems’ will also remain unchanged. And their numbers continue to increase, promises the audience group, which recently reported that Prem’s had been a TGV ticket in eight in 2014, against one in 10 in 2012.

Price Variation of the request

More broadly, the SNCF has converted many years a pricing policy based on the” yield management “is -to say a price change depending on demand. Which will increase by 2.6%, the maximum rate that can pay the client, when the demand is high. A price that SNCF applies when only a handful of places to book a train or so at peak times when it is almost certain to sell all the tickets.

The rest of the time, customers do not pay full price recently explained a representative of the public company: in total, three quarters of them receive a discount, in one form or other. This proportion is expected to increase as the strengthening of competition (such as carpooling or low cost airline), should probably weigh on the “yield” of the business, and encourage him to increase the number of tickets discounted to halt the erosion of its customers.

TGV high cost Image

The increase announced Friday’re not going to maintain the least expensive image that sticks increasingly in the HSR. For customer who can anticipate his movements for weeks in advance, the area of ​​100 euros each way (95 euros for a Paris-Lyon Leisure with a starting Friday, January 9, for example) are becoming more common . It is precisely in this population than are the opinion leaders.