LONDON, 30/9/2026. A pilot of Thrust Carbon’s EngageAI with a global consultancy saw 14% of nudged travellers cancel an out-of-policy Amsterdam to London flight and switch to rail. Each switch cut emissions on the journey by 91% and unlocked up to two hours of productive working time.
The consultancy’s travel policy mandates rail for journeys under four hours. Amsterdam to London qualifies, but it’s still one of the most common flight routes for its travellers. 46% of travellers never check their policy before booking, so a static rule rarely changes the default. The consultancy set a high bar: getting travellers who had already booked a flight to cancel it and rebook by rail.
EngageAI read the consultancy’s TMC data in real time, flagged Amsterdam to London flights that broke the mandate, and messaged each traveller once their booking was confirmed. The messages convert because they:
- Are personalised. It names the traveller’s actual booking, not a generic policy reminder.
- Lead with benefits. Eurostar was framed as city centre to city centre, about an hour longer door to door, but with 2 hours more productive working time.
- Have zero adoption cost. It landed in the traveller’s inbox and linked straight to where they could change the booking.
“Cancelling a trip you’ve already booked is about as high-friction as a travel decision gets,” said Kit Aspen, CEO of Thrust Carbon. “EngageAI removes this friction by making it simple for the travellers, and leading with the benefits of switching… for them, not the company.”
Following the pilot, the consultancy is extending the notifications to more of its most common routes in Europe and to the West Coast Corridor in the US.
Read the full case study at https://thrustcarbon.com/products/air-to-rail-case-study
Media contact: Josh Loyd — josh@thrustcarbon.com