#SNCF Christmas Train Ticket Wind-Up

#SNCF have excelled themselves today winding up hundreds (and possibly thousands!) of customers wanting to travel at Christmas.

Back in September when I bought my Eurostar tickets (because they go on sale way before SNCF, but that's another story/bone of contention), I signed up for the alert telling me when I could buy my TGV train tickets at Christmas. I wanted to be there at the starting blocks, in time to get the cheap Prem's tickets. I got myself organised. I couldn't fail!

This is the message I got the day before T-day (T for ticket), that got me all excited about the 'best prices' starting October 12:

Very 'clear' information from #SNCF

Ready, steady... hang on, what time is "aube"? Dawn breaks round about 7.30am at the moment. Did SNCF mean actual dawn or pick-a-time-early-in-the-morning?

I got up at 6.45am and dashed to the computer, as fast one can dash still half asleep. The SNCF ticket page was open and ready from the previous night (organised, see?). I clicked on 'Trouver' and... up popped not nice cheap Prem's tickets, but bog-standard pretty expensive ones.

What time, I wondered furiously as I went through the process (whilst grinding my teeth) of buying them, is effing aube?

I set about trying to find out. I sent a message on Twitter and entered into the twilight zone of a 'dialogue des sourds', on their part, anyway.

My question was clear, was it not? Why wouldn't they tell me? Was there a conspiracy afoot to thwart those of us not-in-the-know getting cheap tickets so only the favoured informed few could travel cheap and have enough left over to buy the odd Christmas present? Things didn't improve:

With my frustration levels rising at an alarming rate, I tried putting a message on Facebook, but none of my friends knew what time the tickets went on sale. 

Then I tried ringing SNCF but all their salespeople were on the phone, I should ring back later.

Then I tried SNCF on Facebook. I put a message on their page and up popped a message window. I copied the message into the window and immediately got a link to a Q&A page that is deeply embedded (or so it seems) on the sncf.com page, not the usual voyages-sncf.com page.

Would I get a precise answer, or wouldn't I?

YES! At last! For SNCF, 'aube' on October 12 is at 6am! And note that this information was only available because Gerry had taken the time to find the page where you ask questions and write the request. Had no one done that, we would all be none the wiser! This is in the age of communication, too. Opaque? It's like getting blood out of stone.

In any case, at 6.50am I was too late! All the cheap tickets had gone. Or had they?

I then started reading messages from irate customers who had been there at 6am on the dot in order not to miss a thing, and already there were no Prem's tickets. What is this 'arnaque', this scammy wind-up? Why get us up in the middle of the night (it's still black out at 6am!) for nothing?

Five hours after my initial conversation with SNCF on Twitter, and after I'd already got the answer I wanted, they kindly deigned to tell me the exact hour, and that all the Prem's tickets had been sold in record time:

I concluded, along with many others, that there had been NO Prem's tickets on certain trains. Or perhaps one or two, and that SNCF had set us up to fail. So thanks, SNCF for a morning of frustration, rage, anxiety, nervous exhaustion, and much time-wasting.

And as an exercise in communication, let me tell you for nothing, SNCbloodyF that it FAILED! If you need further advice, you know where to find me...

Ground Air France

Were you thinking of flying into or out of France this summer? If you are, I would advise you either not to fly at the weekend, or use a company that is NOT Air France.

Just for a change, we are to endure yet another strike. This time it's the pilots and they plan to do this on the weekends between 10 July to 3 August. Mind you, they've only indicated that they intend to strike. If their demands are met in the next two months, they may deign to withdraw the threat.

What demands? you may ask. More pay, better security, fewer hours, longer tea-break, higher overnight stay standards, 'personal assistant' at every airport, nicer luggage, comfier seats? No, none of that. Well, they are very well paid and have already taken much action for the hours they work so it's neither of those sticky issues.

No, what they want is to have a specific union representation. Yes, you read that right. According to new rules, unions have to represent 10% of total employees, but the pilots only make up 5% of Air France, so they will no longer have their own voice.

I can understand that this is a major blow and should be rectified somehow, but threatening to sabotage the vacation time of blameless passengers is NOT the way to do it. I hardly think many passengers will be sympathetic to their demands, either. If they were striking their way out of filthy mucky working conditions or 5-min tea breaks or crappy airline luggage or unattractive cabin staff one could understand it.

But more union power? I don't think so!

I am not too worried as I hardly ever travel on Air France, and certainly not to the UK. I always take Eurostar and SNCF. By the way, did you know that you can reserve Eurostar tickets on the SNCF website now, at 3 months in advance too? Well played both companies for getting their act together and making passenger bookings and thus lives easier.

I used to have to wait to make the Eurostar reservations which were only open 2 months in advance and so lose out on the cheapest SNCF tickets which came on sale 3 months in advance. This year I've saved 100Eurs on summer transport tickets. Am I happy? You bet!

So beware Air France this summer, and if it's not them, it'll be the air traffic controllers and if it's not them it'll be the baggage handlers and if it's not them it'll be the ground staff. In fact, it's a brave person who opts to fly in July and August; one who enjoys living on the edge in a high-risk environment. It's a bit too much for me. I'm all for a quiet life, a low carbon-footprint and more than 15kg of luggage.

Fingers crossed that SNCF don't let me down...

Take the Train

In keeping with my urge to control my potentially rampant carbon footprint, journeying to and from the UK for our holiday was made, as ever, by train, viz SNCF and Eurostar.

I've tried to give up as much as possible on Ryanair because I loathe Michael O'Leary and I loathe flying his dismal service to Stansted. I hate his blatant 'Fleece the Punter' mission statement, the cattle-class treatment, and the stairway at the end of each journey out onto the windy tarmac of the landing zone and having to trudge into the airport.

So, train travel it was. My SNCF train to Paris Gare de Lyon was delayed by 30 minutes. I was supposed to pick up the boys, have a civilised light lunch in the Train Bleu before hopping into a waiting taxi to take us to Gare du Nord. Hmm, some hope. The ex was super late with the boys which meant no lunch, a queue for the taxi stretching back to Belgium and a desperate run for the RER to get to Gare du Nord in 30 minutes including buying tickets. The sort of travel I had intended avoiding like the plague.

I had to attack two innocent gendarmes with a request for WHICH LINE A or D which they answered immediately upon seeing the wild look in my eye and even kindly pointed in the right direction. They must get used to that sort of thing...

When we arrived at the Eurostar terminal, there was chaos, but it was nothing to what was just about to happen. People queuing all over the place because they hadn't opened the check-in, even to the point of blocking the exit from the escalator. When a solitary suitcase travelled up the escalator without an owner this set off all the bomb alerts and we all had to troop down the escalator again as they cleared the terminal just in case.

Almost an hour later (could have sat quietly in a queue for a taxi and made it quite comfortably!!) we were finally allowed to get on the train, whereupon we headed straight for the restaurant car. It was well passed lunch time, the boys and I were starving and nothing was going to stop us getting there first! For the record, my bacon bagel was very tasty with the little bottle of white wine. The nice thing about train travel is, at the other end, you don't have to wait for your luggage to turn up, and wonder if it's yours that got lost this time... And my little bro was even there to meet us!

The return journey was smoother but not without trouble. We got on at Ebbsfleet along with half a school's worth of adolescents. It's a nice, civilised place to be in because it's small, not too busy, and lovely and clean. The only problem is the risk of all the suitcase holds being taken once you get on the train. We managed to find enough room after a bit of jostling around of other people's stuff...

At Gare du Nord, we sailed into a taxi, no queue, paid 10€ for a lovely little tour around that part of Paris, arrived calmly at the Gare de Lyon where we went for a light supper at the Train Bleu. The boys were terribly impressed to be there what with the Belle Epoch ambiance, superbly painted ceiling and courteous waiting staff. My youngest even called the Maitre d'hotel over as he passed to inform him that his Caesar salad was quite delicious. This went down very well and we were treated with much solicitude from there on.

The lift took us back down to the concourse where we had to wait, unfortunately, for half an hour. This was the day that trains to and from Nice were being delayed for up to 10 hours so I suppose we had nothing to complain about. Or not as much... Our first class seats were extremely comfy, connected to electricity, and a delight for the next 3 hours.

Despite delays and such, I do prefer train travel. I love train stations where I detest airports. Stations are romantic (or the big ones are), while airports are functional and full of stress. My carbon footprint remains a gentle plod rather than a giant leap so I can even keep my environmental halo intact on a visit to home shores. Perfect!

No Strain by Train

I made an interesting discovery today concerning flying cheapy RyanAir as opposed to going on SNCF and Eurostar to London. I am taking the boys over for Christmas and today was the first day we could reserve SNCF tickets for that period. I think the reservations opened at midnight but I'll be damned if I'm going to stay up until the early hours to make a train reservation. How sad is that??

Anyway, by way of comparison, I checked with RyanAir yesterday to see how much it would cost. To start with, I'd have to go from Marseille because the Montpellier flights have been cut right back to Thursdays and Sundays. Going from Marseille involves parking costs, autoroute tolls and diesel, and takes 90 minutes to get there.

The listed price on the internet was a tempting 29.99Eur per person each way. Then, of course, you get the taxes. Then you have to pay 18Eur for each piece of hold luggage, plus, if we want to sit together, a further 6Eur each for priority boarding, each way.

Taking a taxi to get to and from Stansted is another £50 or so. Total price: 550Eur for three plus the fact that the boys would be in the wrong place upon their return because they would have to go straight back to Paris to be with their father for New Year.

The SNCF/Eurostar option, going via Paris so I can drop the boys off on my way back is roughly 530Eur plus Underground tickets on my Oyster card. If we take a taxi from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon it'll be marginally more expensive, then, but much more comfortable, much less hassle, and much better treatment from staff. For me, there's no comparison, AND my carbon footprint is that much lower so enabling me to go around with a saintly expression on my face.

I'm that well-organised, n'est-ce pas?! Necessity is, as you know, the mother of invention and it is an extra joy that one can be 'inventive' with a clean (earthly) conscience...

Summer Schools

It's coming round to school registration time again. My eldest is automatically enrolled into 'sixième' if his marks are good enough which they should be easily even though he has just done a series of tests he wasn't too happy with. He has been tested this year five times in total; before each holiday. It seems like a lot of testing, but the tests are not national ones and are merely used to ensure the child is keeping up.

My youngest is currently in Grande Section Maternelle so will be going into CP in September; the equivalent of starting primary school. He goes to school in the village next door and has thus the choice between continuing there, or changing schools and going to the local one. Despite the fact that his friends are all there, there is one over-riding Bad Point - they go to school on Saturday mornings.

For this reason, my youngest has decided he'd rather go to the local school where they have school on Wednesday mornings instead. However, because he is changing village schools, enrollment is not automatic, so I popped into the mairie last week to enquire about a certificat d'inscription.

I have to go back with proof of domicile and the livret de famille, then they give me the certificate and I have to go and see the head of the new school. Considering the number of papers they could ask for, it sounds fairly simple.

A lot more simple than enrolling the boys at the summer school, in fact. As I work, the boys attend a centre aeré, and have been going to the one where we used to live. They are now bored of it so I suggested investigating the local one. The summer programme looks pretty good, with opportunities to do such things as learning to scuba dive (75eur for three half days) in Carnon, building a radio-controlled vehicle, learning to rock-climb, and so on. Otherwise they can participate in half-day activities which cost 7-8eur per half-day, plus lunch.

The boys will only need five days' worth as we'll be going off on holiday after that, so I registered them, and came home with a list of papers I need to take back:
Photo d'identité
Liste des personnes autorisées à venir chercher l'enfant
Les numéros de téléphones où l'on peut vous joindre
N° de Sécurité Sociale
Adresse du centre payeur (du Sécu)
Nom et téléphone du médecin traitant
Décharge parentale
Autorisation parentale de sortie
Photocopies des vaccins
Certificat médical de vie en collectivité
Attestation du domicile
Photocopies du livret de famille
Attestation signé du règlement intérieur
Attestation d'assurance
En cas de divorce ou de séparation, extrait du jugement de divorce concernant la garde de l'enfant.
Plus for the scuba diving course:
Attestation de nage de 25m
Certificat médical
I'm surprised they didn't mention the cat!

No doubt, once my youngest is enrolled at school, they'll ask for most of the above documents too. In fact, I may just as well photocopy them all twice. Of course, some, such as proof of domicile have to be less than three months old. I'm sure they used to ask for a fiche d'état civil too, but one of the better moves of the previous government was to stop doing these. They used to be required, dated less than three months' old too, for many things as though the ID card could easily be forged and was thus not reliable enough to prove identity. When the new format cards were brought in, I suppose it made the fiche d'état civil redundent, or what would be the point of the new cards?! Lateral thinking was applied! Amazing!

By the way, for all those thinking of driving in France this summer, the government is cracking down on speeding. You can be caught now for driving 1kmph over the limit and fined 45eur. Be warned, and you won't get away with it just because you are a foreigner either. Systems in different countries are talking to each other and cooperating.

Anyway, I've got my hands full running about sorting out the dossier for the boys so they can have fun in the few days before we go on happy hols, but I'll certainly be watching my speed while I'm doing it.

For those interested in my carbon footprint, you needn't worry unduly. We're going to the UK as usual, on the train. Ryanair can get stuffed with its baggage limit, its baggage fees, its uncivilised return flight time (0605) and the generally unpleasant flying experience. The cost once you include car parking at the airport, and the Stansted taxi is pretty much the same as the train, so we'll be travelling first class, dahhling, and not cattle class.

We are all looking forward to the summer!