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I agree there are good use cases. At the same time I notice you have an amazing saving on connections (from 1h 45 min to airport to 19 minutes, saving 1 h 22 mi

I agree there are good use cases. At the same time I notice you have an amazing saving on connections (from 1h 45 min to airport to 19 minutes, saving 1 h 22 minutes) that is not there for most people. I consider Berlin-Paris customers to be people "around Berlin area" and "towards Paris area", that would negate the connection part. To be very transparent: I dislike commercial planes. I worked several years in a large airport and I hate the airport experience (cannot disclose any details, but it is very ineffective); I hate the seats in the plane because I am tall and leg room is inadequate. I dislike sitting uncomfortably for hours and I dislike the sound pollution. At the same time I am a sport pilot and I am flying less and less, mostly because the seat (even more uncomfortable) and noise. But I am trying to be realistic when choosing train versus plane, beyond some distance the plane is much better.

eesmith 4y ago
> good use cases To be clear, I'm saying that for your example there are clear reasons to go by plane, starting with there are currently only going to be one or two train trips per day. > that is not there for most people Certainly. But you were talking about people who would fly from Berlin to Paris for an activity that takes 2-3 hours and fly back on the same day. That's not most people either. Where do they live? BER is in the southern part of the city, which means that for at least half the population it's easier to get to Berlin Hbf than the airport. From Spandau, 18 minutes to the Hbf, plus the walking time to the station. By car, "typically 30-45 minutes" to BER. (This is for leaving home around 5.30am, expecting to get to Paris in mid-morning.) From Pottsdam and Hoppegarten, the times to Hbf is about 37 min. and "typically 35-50 min" by car to BER. That supports my assumption that over 1/2 the population finds it easier to get to the train station than the airport. Google Maps says the expected mass transit time from Gare d'Est to Vincennes is about 25 minutes, while the driving time from CDG to Vincennes is "typically 45 min to 1 hr 15 min." As a further complication, you earlier wrote "and you are not paid for that". I assumed someone was willing to pay for the taxis, for a quicker trip, and accepting as a given they weren't paying for your time, though I think that's odd.

eesmith 4y ago

> good use cases To be clear, I'm saying that for your example there are clear reasons to go by plane, starting with there are currently only going to be one or two train trips per day. > that is not there for most people Certainly. But you were talking about people who would fly from Berlin to Paris for an activity that takes 2-3 hours and fly back on the same day. That's not most people either. Where do they live? BER is in the southern part of the city, which means that for at least half the population it's easier to get to Berlin Hbf than the airport. From Spandau, 18 minutes to the Hbf, plus the walking time to the station. By car, "typically 30-45 minutes" to BER. (This is for leaving home around 5.30am, expecting to get to Paris in mid-morning.) From Pottsdam and Hoppegarten, the times to Hbf is about 37 min. and "typically 35-50 min" by car to BER. That supports my assumption that over 1/2 the population finds it easier to get to the train station than the airport. Google Maps says the expected mass transit time from Gare d'Est to Vincennes is about 25 minutes, while the driving time from CDG to Vincennes is "typically 45 min to 1 hr 15 min." As a further complication, you earlier wrote "and you are not paid for that". I assumed someone was willing to pay for the taxis, for a quicker trip, and accepting as a given they weren't paying for your time, though I think that's odd.