March 2013
The survey’s participants analysed and compared market share experiences and evaluated time, distance to destination, and cost of living considerations.
The survey’s results indicate that the market share index had increased by 28 basis points during the review period.
The report concluded that a number of factors beyond an air rail operator’s control impact the baseline market share, however North Star’s Managing Director Richard Brown stated: “Exogenous factors aside, it was evident that attention to factors in control of an air rail operators’ business, can also improve market share.”
Brown further stated: “Market share in the participating air-rail links has shown a mixed performance during the past two years. However, one of the interesting results the group established was a positive correlation between marketing investment and improved market share.”
Tim Anderson, CEO of Sydney’s Airport Rail Link agreed with this conclusion. “Since 2010 we have improved customer service and ticket distribution to our six million passengers. We also pursue a clear and concise marketing message, which focuses on the passengers’ destinations. We consider that these actions have combined to increase our market share by 16% during the survey period.”
Noormah Mohd Noor, CEO of Kuala Lumpur’s Express Rail Link (ERL) added: “The report provides an opportunity to benchmark our service against worldwide operators and to learn from other air-rail experiences. The sharing of information about marketing for growth is particularly useful to ERL”.
The second report will be issued in spring 2014 incorporating 2013 results. Any air-rail operator wishing to participate in future surveys and reports should contact Richard Brown of North Star at rb@northstarconsultancy.com
