When Eurostar and Thalys merged in 2023 to create a European-wide rail network, it left them in a travel class conundrum. Thalys customers were used to four travel classes, each with their own names, and Eurostar had three – now they needed to merge the model to create a new set of class names that everyone would immediately understand.

The names needed to show progression between classes while still standing alone, make the top class feel chic and aspirational, without relying on tired ‘business’ or ‘leisure’ cliches.

We dived into the process, interviewing stakeholders, carrying out research and playing around with hundreds of options, until we finally landed on a set of names that felt true to the newly relaunched Eurostar brand.