Surely the smart Londoner gets to and from the airport for rather less
than £28. But it is a good service.

E.

HEATHROW CONNECT USES ‘SMART LONDONER’ CONCEPT TO LAUNCH AD CAMPAIGN


Heathrow Connect, the 25 minute train service which connects passengers
in London directly with Heathrow Airport, has launched a new advertising
campaign based on the concept of the ‘Smart Londoner’.

Kyle Haughton, Sales and Marketing Director at Heathrow Connect, said:
“This campaign has been developed to appeal to both the savvy London
traveller and to visitors to the capital with the introduction of the
idea of a ‘Smart Londoner’ ? someone who knows short cuts around the
city.

By highlighting small but significant details which are obvious to local
residents, but not so obvious to tourists, we are associating the
Heathrow Connect brand with a true understanding of how to travel around
London in the most convenient way.

“By adding the new strap line ‘Heathrow for those in the know’ to the
ads we have created a solid impression of local knowledge and positioned
Heathrow Connect as the choice of the savvy traveller.”

The campaign will target a diverse range of inner London audiences and
appear in the Evening Standard, London Lite, Metro, The London Paper as
well as local titles such as the Uxbridge and Ealing Gazettes. 40 second
radio slots featuring the voice of actor Ross Kemp have been booked with
Capital Radio, Magic and XFM.

This activity will also be supported by poster advertising on the
Piccadilly and Central Lines, at Heathrow airport, in Ealing Broadway
station and along the train route.

Whoops - got confused with the Healthrow Express, which I see is £27
return. The connect service is £19 ret. Still a lot for a short jouney.

E.

eastender wrote:

Whoops - got confused with the Healthrow Express, which I see is £27
return. The connect service is £19 ret. Still a lot for a short jouney.

E.


It's an £8 cheaper return journey than Heathrow Express if travelling
from Paddington (and £5 cheaper than a single), and I'm sure it will
appeal to some people - perhaps those in a hotel nearby or those with
heavy luggage who wish to avoid the tube yet would like to avoid the
full-whack HeX fare.

Of course the campaign isn't aimed just at passengers going to/from
Paddington - it also raises awareness about the west London to Heathrow
link that the Heathrow Connect service provides.

Nontheless it is interesting to see newspaper ads in the London
freebies highlighting the cheaper Paddington to Heathrow fares. I guess
part of the logic is that any passengers that switch away from HeX will
be more than compensated for by new passengers (switching from the tube
or road transport).

The Heathrow Connect fares, whilst being cheaper than HeX, nontheless
has to stay relatively high simply to protect the HeX's revenue base.

Mizter T wrote:

The Heathrow Connect fares, whilst being cheaper than HeX, nontheless
has to stay relatively high simply to protect the HeX's revenue base.

Wot, no proper competition allowed? I thought that was why they privatised
the railways.

E.

eastender wrote:

Mizter T wrote:

The Heathrow Connect fares, whilst being cheaper than HeX, nontheless
has to stay relatively high simply to protect the HeX's revenue base.

Wot, no proper competition allowed? I thought that was why they privatised
the railways.

E.

BAA - Heathrow's owner and operator - owns the rail link (inc. tunnel
and stations) that comes off the Great Western mainline and ends up
underneath Heathrow. They also wholly own Heathrow Express, and co-own
Heathrow Connect (with Frist Great Western). They get to decide what
trains run on their tracks into Heathrow and thus get to decide the
fares as well.

Competition, one could argue, is provided by the Picadilly line,
coaches, local buses, taxis, minicabs and cars.