The main changes have affected passengers who liked to take advantage of the on-board catering particularly those who liked to make use of the restaurant.

In January National Express laid off large numbers of their staff which has meant a poor on-board service on busy trains. Until January 2009 over 80 trains a day used to offer a restaurant service to both standard and first class ticket holders, this number has now been reduced to 15.

On selected other services you now have an at seat menu for those in first class while those in standard will have to make do with what’s in the buffet. The first class at seat menu offers freshly prepared hot food but not to the same standard as the restaurant. There’s been complaints that serving meals throughout the train rather than the restaurant is making some services smell like a transport cafe.

The restaurant is not the only thing missing on-board, staff cuts also make the probability of the standard class trolley operating much smaller meaning longer queues at the buffet car.

Staff cuts are also planned at the ticket offices with many offices having reduced hours.

It is planned to install ticket gates in most stations in order to lay off some of the on-board ticket inspectors.

The first class lounges are going to be converted to self-service (the ones that aren’t already), this is in order to further cut costs.

So, if you don’t travel first class or use the restaurant you may think these changes don’t affect you. These changes are just the ones that are publically visible, it wouldn’t be surprising if maintenence budgets were cut meaning less reliable trains and I’ve already heard many complaints about the reliability of the toilets recently.

Also remember the prices of fully flexible tickets. A business traveller buying a flexible first class return from London to Edinburgh will be paying a massive £373, these travellers contribute a large portion to the operation of the service, if these customers decide to switch to flying then that’s a lot of lost revenue and yet more cutbacks.

If you’re a regular NXEC traveller and disappointed with the new service levels then please sign the petition. The government is responsible for agreeing the standards required for the rail franchises and the current decline in service with NXEC is very frustrating for regular travellers.

For those who’ve not travelled NXEC recently I’ll be creating a post soon listing some of the ways that service has declined since January 2009.

Currently Alitalia is in the process of restructuring and the plan is for an Italian consortium (CAI) to take over the good assets of Alitalia while leaving the loss making parts of the company in state control. The loss making parts of the company would then be closed, effectively leaving the debt with the Italian taxpayer. The profitable parts of the company would then be merged with Air One and this would launch the ‘new’ Alitalia owned by CAI.

CAI intends to have a foreign partner. Lufthansa and Air France-KLM have been shortlisted for this position. If Air France is selected then the new Alitalia will remain in the SkyTeam alliance, if Lufthansa is selected then Alitalia will likely leave SkyTeam at the first opportunity and join Star Alliance.

The introduction of this new route shows that Lufthansa are not waiting to see the results of Alitalia’s restructuring before getting involved in the Italian market.

I hope the future sees Alitalia remain in SkyTeam then I will have a choice of alliance and frequent flyer scheme on my trips to Italy.

After such a successful trip last year why change a winning formula? On the travel front Eurostar are still recovering from the fire in the Channel Tunnel a few months ago, although their services have almost returned to normal now. As for the hotel I’ve heard good things about the Crowne Plaza too, it is also in an excellent location and as I’ve got Platinum Status in their Priority Club I should also get an upgraded room.

Last year when I stayed in the NH Brugge I received an upgrade because I was a member of Sofitel’s frequent guest scheme and I had booked the hotel when it was still branded as a Sofitel. As I don’t have any status in the NH chain I doubt I’d receive an upgrade so it seemed a good excuse to try the Crowne Plaza.

The flights represented excellent value, £80 return from Heathrow to Brussels with bmi. As I have upgrade vouchers for bmi I also have the opportunity to be upgraded on this flight if there’s space available.

My most recent trip was on the 19:00 from Kings Cross to Newcastle. Delays on the tube meant I arrived at the station with only five minutes to spare. I thought by this time I’d be out of luck and all seats in the restaurant were taken. I was wrong, and I was lucky enough to get an individual seat so I could dine in private.

The dinner menu was based on a pricing scheme introduced by GNER during the last few months of their franchise. If you’re having two or three courses the price is fixed regardless of the individual items you order. The current price was £24 for two courses and £29 for three. I think this was slightly more expensive than GNER’s prices but not too ridiculous.

The crockery has been changed from the traditional round plates and dishes used by GNER to rectangular ones. The bread plate was the ideal size and shape to act as an iPhone holder, stopping it sliding off the table.

I chose a salmon fish cake for the starter and sirloin steak for the main course. To drink I stuck with water and a Stella. Before the starters were served bread rolls were offered. The starter arrived 10 minutes after ordering and was very well presented, like any good starter it was a small, tasteful portion that set your appitite up for the main course. After the dishes were collected the main course arrived within five minutes, the steak was cooked the way I requested (medium) and was served with mash potatoes and vegetables. The vegetables were already on the plate, unlike GNER where they used to bring a tray of vegetables over for you to choose.

For dessert I had the delicious Chocolate Trifle followed by a pot of tea. By the time I had finished the train was approaching York so I only had an hour to go until reaching Newcastle. The restaurant is an ideal way to relax on a journey and make the time go by quicker. After departing York I paid for the meal (I had a Dine & Go ticket so I had a voucher to cover the cost of the meal – the drinks were paid by Visa as Amex is no longer accepted on board). As there were no further sittings in the restaurant and I had a First Class ticket I was invited to remain seated in the restaurant area so I ordered another couple of cans of Stella and took advantage of the (slow) free WiFi to catch up with some news.

The train arrived in to Newcastle on time, I already had my ticket for the Metro and was in Heworth in under 25 minutes.

So what do I like about diamond club? Well first of all they’re willing to status match, as I had elite status with KLM’s Flying Blue they gave me a diamond club gold card which is valid for a year. This gave me the benefits that I’ve come to expect flying KLM and SkyTeam such as lounge access and bonus miles for all bmi and Star Alliance flights.

The idea of a status match is to encourage you to try flying their airline, you have a year to requalify for gold. This has certainly worked for me, whereas before I’d have not considered bmi for routes that I could reach on a SkyTeam airline, now I’m happy to have the full range of options from Star Alliance too.

There’s a number of ways to earn miles besides flying, signing up for the bmi Amex will net you a generous miles bonus as well as online shopping and even taking out a subscription to the Economist. If you’re short of miles bmi allows you to buy miles at a more generous rate than other airlines and also pay for awards on a half miles, half cash basis.

When you qualify for gold you also receive upgrade vouchers that entitle you and a companion to an upgrade from Economy to the next class up (Business Class on short and medium haul and Premium Economy on Long Haul). The Premium Economy product of bmi is class leading as instead of offering an enhanced economy style seat they offer an old-style business class seat which is very comfortable.
The programme also has its downsides too in particular the callcentre is problematic at times and makes the Flying Blue callcentre look knowledgable. Despite this the rewards are well worth the effort of having to deal with the callcentre occasionally.

The hotel is comfortable, nice modern rooms with comfortable beds. The channel selection on the TV is a bit limited but I’m not staying there to watch TV. The club rooms have access to a lounge that have free alcoholic and soft drinks available all day and the restaurant is on the top floor and has views of the City. If you look carefully you can still see St Paul’s Cathedral but will all the towers being built in the City that view may not last.

There’s a small fitness centre, it only has four pieces of equipment and a sauna, but has been empty when I’ve used it and so it make for a nice peaceful and relaxing workout.

The Saint’s Bar (named after the hotels original name) on the ground floor is a fairly standard bar and shows Sky Sports when there’s any important matches being played. They do serve an excellent Fish and Chips at the bar which I highly recommend.

The staff are very friendly, from my first stay at the Saint Gregory (as it was). Now most of the staff recognise me. As the hotel is now a Crowne Plaza I can earn points on every stay which has saved me a lot of money with free nights.

dot2dot

• Price: Maximum £20 per person Heathrow – Central London (discounts for multiple passengers or return bookings).
• Serves hotels, businesses and National Express train stations in Central London and Canary Wharf as well as residential addresses in their catchment area.
• Service available from every terminal so there’s not far to walk.
• Service to your door, no need to mess around with changing trains or getting a connecting bus.
• Shared service: maximum of three other stops.
• Can use bus lanes – useful in heavy traffic.
• Power sockets available and free WiFi is being rolled out on board.
• Generous free luggage allowance – 2 large cases + hand baggage.
• Disadvantages: may have to wait up to 15 minutes for the dot2dot shuttle to arrive, only covers Central London and Canary Wharf so if you live outside the catchment area it’s no use to you.
• Site: dot2.com

Heathrow Express

• Price: £16.50 one-way (plus cost of connection from Paddington to final destination).
• Serves Heathrow terminals 123 and 5 to London Paddington station.
• Trains run every 15 minutes and takes approx 15 minutes from terminals 123.
• On board entertainment (Express TV) – BBC News summary, some random short clips and ‘Express Facts’.
• The fastest way to Paddington but the speed advantage is cancelled out if you need to connect to the tube or bus.
• Disadvantages: doesn’t serve terminal 4, works out more expensive than dot2dot if you need to travel beyond Paddington, the station is a long walk from terminals 2 and 3.
• Site: heathrowexpress.com

Heathrow Connect

• Price: £6.90 one way between Paddington and Heathrow (cheaper if you alight at one of the intermediate stops).
• Serves Heathrow terminals 123 and 4 and a number of West London stations between Heathrow and Paddington.
• Trains run every 30 minutes (except Sunday) and take 25 minutes from terminals 123.
• Offers good value compared to the Heathrow Express for only a slightly longer journey time.
• Disadvantages: doesn’t serve terminal 5, trains leaving Paddington can get crowded with commuters during rush hour travelling from Paddington to the intermediate stations, as with the Heathrow Express the station is a long walk from terminals 2 and 3.
• Site: heathrowconnect.com

Tube (London Underground)

• Price: with Oyster card £2.00 off-peak, £3.50 peak. Without Oyster £4.00. Based on single journey to Central London.
• Serves all Heathrow terminals and a large portion of London. If you’re travelling to Central London there’s likely to be a tube station near where you need to be.
• The cheapest way to get into Central London.
• Disadvantages: a lot of stations are old and not designed for accessibility meaning that you could find yourself carrying heavy luggage up stairs when alighting or changing trains, can get very busy throughout most of the day so getting a seat could be difficult at times. There’s no air conditioning on the tube.
• To plan your journey: TFL Journey Planner.

Taxi (Black Cab)

• Price: £45 upwards depending on destination in Central London and amount of traffic.
• Can use bus lanes – useful in heavy traffic.
• No need to book, follow the signs to the airport taxi rank if at the airport or hail one in the street.
• Can seat a maximum of five people.
• Disadvantages: One of the most expensive ways to Central London, rate is metered so heavy traffic or a diversion could add significant extra expense.

Taxi (Private Hire)

• Price: £40 upwards depending on destination in Central London. Price is usually agreed at time of booking.
• Different sized vehicles available from a saloon car to a minibus.
• Cheaper than a black cab.
• Most firms will meet you inside the terminal and escort you to your car.
• Disadvantages: Cannot use bus lanes – so more likely to get stuck in traffic than with a black cab or dot2dot. Pre booking is required, it’s illegal for a private hire cab to pick you up on the street.
• A number of private hire firms exist in London, it’s worthwhile to compare prices before booking.

Taxi’s and dot2dot operate a 24-hour service whereas the trains and the tube finish around midnight most days. If the tube is closed and you need to get into Central London very cheaply then there’s a nightbus service N9. You can connect with other nightbuses to get to most London destinations at Trafalgar Square. A single on this bus is 90p with Oyster and £2 without. If you take this option you should consult the TFL Journey Planner first.

NXEC ‘escape’ also mentions discounts with carefully selected partners, but the partners are not listed. I suspect these will be similar to the GNERtime offers of 15% off Superbreak hotel bookings, 10% off Europcar car hire and a discount on meeting room hire in the First Class lounges.

To put it simply, with NXEC ‘escape’ you need to spend more to get a lot less. I hope National Express makes some improvements to this scheme very soon.

Higher Spenders

The way GNER and NXEC have decided to reward those that exceed the qualifying criteria differs slightly. GNERtime had a second tier called GNERtime Privilege where if you spent £3600 in three months you would get an additional card for your partner which would give them lounge access and the on board drinks offers as well as an additional 2 x travel for two vouchers, 2 x travel for one vouchers and 2 x restaurant vouchers, add this to the more generous nature of GNERtime and you’d have a significant amount of free First Class travel. There were also additional offers for Orient Express which was also owned by GNER’s parent company Sea Containers.

The NXEC scheme is different, there’s no higher tier and no partner card but you do get extra vouchers based on your spend. The number of extra vouchers is similar to what GNER offered but because their basic offering is not very good you end up with less vouchers for a £3600 spend than you got with GNER on a £1200 spend.