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by lorenzhs 3375 days ago
Eurostar have around 80% market share on Paris–London for good reason. At 2hrs 15mins from city centre to city centre it's faster, less hassle, and more comfortable than flying. Security is less strict (you can take liquids) and you don't have to check your bags. Two large items of luggage are also included for every passenger. It's not even more expensive than flying if you book in advance if you include the price for airport transfer.

London–Paris is just an example in the article to demonstrate the range of that hypothetical aircraft. It could also be useful as a demonstrator.
2 comments
mathw 3375 days ago
Does depend where you are though. If you're in London or Paris or in easy reach of the Eurostar stations by train, then Eurostar is amazing.

If you're in the north of England, it'll take you longer to get to London than it will to get from London to Paris afterwards. At that point flying starts to look a lot more attractive.

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lorenzhs 3375 days ago
But then we're not comparing Paris–London travel times any more. You'd probably be faster off flying from Manchester.
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aninhumer 3375 days ago
I assume that's just market share of travel specifically between the two cities? There's also the market of connecting flights to consider.
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selectodude 3375 days ago
There aren't any flights to anywhere in the world out of London that would connect through Paris unless you require a flight on Air France.
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mcintyre1994 3375 days ago
I think the parent might mean eg. travel from the UK outside of London to Paris, and France outside of Paris to London. In that case you'd probably spend longer traveling to the Eurostar in your own country than on the Eurostar. The same would be true if you traveled to an airport in London/Paris to fly, but there's the alternative of flying from a regional airport direct to London/Paris instead.
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aninhumer 3375 days ago
Nah, I was just overestimating Paris's status as a flight hub. Although I do wonder if connecting in Paris might make more sense from some of the smaller London airports.
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thatfrenchguy 3375 days ago
Abidjan, Saint Martin, Fort de France, Cotonou (the list goes on).
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