PREM fares DOUBLED from August to September!
 

I went to purchase 2 PREM tickets from SNCF site for Paris-Geneva on Sept. 8, and they had more than doubled from the quotes I was able to get through August. I had to wait until now to get the Sept. menu, and what I thought was going to be 50 Euros for 2 is now 110 Euros! Maybe I'll just do the Easyjet thing for 49.70 Euros and less travel time, but I was thinking the TGV through France might be enjoyable. Any tips or suggetstions out there? Is this fare hike normal for September?

Hagan, those fares are limited to availability, so depending on the date (and day of the week) and the time, they will go fast. I also noticed that for one day in August to Avignon on a very early train there was a 25E Prem fare and on a later one a 50E prem fare and on some trains that day none at all.

Right now I am seeing a Prem fare at 7:10 and 8:40 on September 8.

Sorry, a Prem fare of 25E Paris to Geneva at the times I mentioned.

Hagan,

Your price of EUR 49.70 on EasyJet doesn't include taxes or the extra cab fare required to get to/from the airports (about EUR 50 extra for the cabs alone). You're comparing apples & oranges.

Total journey time is about the same flying or taking the train, the flights are far more delay-prone.

If prices were equivalent, I'd take the train any day!

Hope this helps,
Andre

Ok, I give up. What is a PREM ticket?

Andre, actually the 49.70 Euros for 2 on Easyjet was the price INCLUDING fees and taxes, but I was able to get the 50 Euro rail fare for 2 by going at an earlier time, as LVSUE suggested.

BTILKE, I'm not exactly sure what PREM tickets are, but certain routes on the French rail site (SNCF)are heavily discounted and will show up as "PREM" fares. "Premium" maybe?

Prem's is a term used by French kids. It's hard to explain, but I suppose it relates to the "first come first serve" principle - you shout "Prem's" when you want to be the first to do or use something (a game, toy, whatever). It comes from the word "premier", as in "first".

Hagan,

I just checked the EasyJet web site and found the fare you quoted. It's definitely EUR 49.70 including taxes, but PER PERSON, not for 2! There is a cheaper fare of EUR 32.20 available on some flights though. Also there's still a credit card charge of EUR 6.50 per booking unless you pay with a Visa debit card.

Regarding Prem's, I'm a native french speaker and had never heard of the term before seeing it on the SNCF site... Anyway, if the fare is good, who cares what it's called ;)

Andre

Hagan. Remember the closer you get to the date of travel, the more expensive the Easyjet fares get.
I guess it is supply and demand, also.

Thanks for the explanation. Sounds like the Mini fares for the Thalys, which are also first come, first served tickets.

Thanks for the explanation, hanl. I had never heard it either. Do you suppose it's short for premier? (or was that obvious?) It does seem like kids shout, "Me first" in English.

Joyce, did you get your tickets printed?

LVSUE, thanks for asking! No, I'm unable to print them out. I e-mailed their customer support and received a reply that I have to pick them up in France. To be sure, I CALLED their customer support, and they tell me I have to go to Gare de L'Est to Customer Service to pick them up. We leave from Gare de Lyon! What a mess. When I was booking last night, the option for "mail to home" was already clicked, and I couldn't undo it. I told this to the customer support agent and she agreed that's been a problem! I tried leaving my address blank, but then I couldn't finish processing the order. I assumed since they don't deliver to the U.S., it was all a moot point. That will teach me to assume anything about computers again!
So, I guess we'll just make a stop at the Gare de L'Est on our way up to Montmatre for sightseeing. Hopefully, we won't have any trouble. I may also just check when we arrive at CDG. At least I got the fares I wanted.

PREM definitely comes from the word "premier" as it says so on the SNCF web site where it explains these fares. I believe they refer to them as "premier" in that it is the first, best price or something like that, but I might be remembering wrong.