On Wednesday, Rail Plus will significantly reduce the ticketing time limits required for point-to-point European rail tickets, expanding seat availability on journeys popular with Australian travellers.
At present, ANZ travel agents can book a wide range of point-to-point rail tickets months in advance but are only required to pay for the seats 28 days before the clients travel.
Under the new ticketing time limits, they will have until 2pm AEST the next day to pay for all European point-to-point fares once they receive their nett invoice. The change applies to all booking made via phone, email or the web.
The ticketing changes are the result of “complex” amendments to European rail operators’ payment processing rules.
But they have a definite up-side for Australian travel agents, according to Rail Plus general manager sales & marketing Greg McCallum.
“These changes – which are designed to ensure that the booking process remains clear and simple for travel agents – will at the same time eliminate the scenario where international consultants can block seats well in advance and then simply cancel unwanted reservations once payment is required,” he said.
“Under the new ticketing system capacity will increase sharply because any seats not paid for by the required deadline will automatically be released back into the system. That provides agents with more opportunities to secure the best seat for their customers.”
Any booking combining a point-to-point fare with another product, such as a rail pass or sightseeing product, will also be subject to the new ticketing time limit.
However, bookings containing only rail passes or non-rail products will continue to have a payment due-by date of 28 days before the passenger’s departure date from Australia or New Zealand.
