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Avanti West Coast seat selector

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VT 390

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Does anyone know why Avanti west coast has got rid of the seat selector when booking tickets as they are giving reservations but won't let you change the seat?
 
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Hadders

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At least they haven't gone for the awful booking site Trenitalia have on c2c.

Trainsplit and Trainscanbecheaper have a seat selector, so really no need to use Avanti at all to book tickets.
 

VT 390

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At least they haven't gone for the awful booking site Trenitalia have on c2c.

Trainsplit and Trainscanbecheaper have a seat selector so really no need to use Avanti at all to book tickets.
Where on those sites is the seat selector as I can not see it?

Edit: Found it now
 
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westv

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At least they haven't gone for the awful booking site Trenitalia have on c2c.

Trainsplit and Trainscanbecheaper have a seat selector so really no need to use Avanti at all to book tickets.
How do you get to the trainsplit seat selector?
 

Wallsendmag

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At least they haven't gone for the awful booking site Trenitalia have on c2c.

Trainsplit and Trainscanbecheaper have a seat selector so really no need to use Avanti at all to book tickets.
There's time yet, neither First or Trenitalia use Trainline so I would expect a Worldline or Pico4UK site sometime soon
 

yorkie

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How do you get to the trainsplit seat selector?
Click "Choose my seat" next to the seat you have initially been allocated.

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STEVIEBOY1

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At least they haven't gone for the awful booking site Trenitalia have on c2c.

Trainsplit and Trainscanbecheaper have a seat selector so really no need to use Avanti at all to book tickets.

Who are Trainscanbecheaper, Raileasy and Trainsplit? are they like trainline? Do they charge a booking or credit/debit card fee? Have other forum users used any of these sites? They seem to be one company, as the pictures on their pages all seem to be around York Railway Station.
 

yorkie

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Who are Trainscanbecheaper, Raileasy and Trainsplit?
Trainscanbecheaper is a website that is the same as Trainsplit but only offering through fares.

Trainsplit.com is a partnership between Raileasy and Trainsplit, retailing rail fares that may consist of more than one ticket where it is either necessary to do so, or cheaper to do so.

You met creators Nick and Mike, both forum members, in 2013 at a restaurant called Mediterraneo near King's cross.
are they like trainline?
I'm not sure what attributes you associate with Trainline but they are third party retailers.
Do they charge a booking or credit/debit card fee?
No.

Trainsplit.com charges a share of saving fee, based on 10% of any saving, if a cheaper combination of fares is found.
Have other forum users used any of these sites?
Yes, and it goes beyond that: it was founded by forum members and they take a lot of feedback on board from forum members.
They seem to be one company, as the pictures on their pages all seem to be around York Railway Station.
Raileasy and Trainsplit are two separate companies working in partnership.
 

Kite159

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Certainly I will be using the Trainscanbecheaper website when booking Avanti WC services as there is only a few decent seats I like on those Pendos and the automatic seat selector will probably ignore preferences and put you where it wants
 

Bletchleyite

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Certainly I will be using the Trainscanbecheaper website when booking Avanti WC services as there is only a few decent seats I like on those Pendos and the automatic seat selector will probably ignore preferences and put you where it wants

Indeed, TCBC/Trainsplit have just ensured my custom, and Avanti have just ensured I won't even bother signing up an account.

Not a great start to remove a well-liked feature on day one, is it?
 

STEVIEBOY1

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Trainscanbecheaper is a website that is the same as Trainsplit but only offering through fares.

Trainsplit.com is a partnership between Raileasy and Trainsplit, retailing rail fares that may consist of more than one ticket where it is either necessary to do so, or cheaper to do so.

You met creators Nick and Mike, both forum members, in 2013 at a restaurant called Mediterraneo near King's cross.

I'm not sure what attributes you associate with Trainline but they are third party retailers.

No.

Trainsplit.com charges a share of saving fee, based on 10% of any saving, if a cheaper combination of fares is found.

Yes, and it goes beyond that: it was founded by forum members and they take a lot of feedback on board from forum members.

Raileasy and Trainsplit are two separate companies working in partnership.


Many thanks for this comprehensive reply, very helpful. (Amazing that meal you mentioned was back in 2013.) :D All the best.
 

Goldfish62

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Certainly I will be using the Trainscanbecheaper website when booking Avanti WC services as there is only a few decent seats I like on those Pendos and the automatic seat selector will probably ignore preferences and put you where it wants
The GWR one sticks you in one of the IET windowless seats even when the rest of the carriage is empty.
 

Bletchleyite

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The GWR one sticks you in one of the IET windowless seats even when the rest of the carriage is empty.

That isn't so much conspiracy as that they just start from one end, don't they? Many TOCs do that, cramming people up in double seats on services that carry one man and his dog and bicycle.

Selectors make a slightly inefficient use of seating over allocation (as you can stack short reservations up without one) so I can see the downsides for the TOC. However, this could be resolved by way of a small fee for selection (say £2) which is enough to deter people for whom it is not important from doing it anyway, while still providing the service for those who really want it. It's also part-resolved by the way VTWC had it that you get to the end of the booking and click "I'm not happy with that seat" to change it rather than being offered it up front.
 

Howardh

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Good to see the website up and running and a page where you can see the actual seat on a plan (just like Virgin had) but very disappointed that although you can ask for a type of seat, you can't change the one allocated.
 

Phil from Mon

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Just took a quick scan through their Twitter feed. Apart from a few gripes about late running the vast majority of complaints are about the removal of the seat selection facility. These are apparently being fed back to management, so hopefully it will reappear.
 

chrish2

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The tone of messaging from Twitter seems to have changed

> Hi Anne, glad to hear you had a lovely journey with us yesterday. The seat selection option is currently unavailable but DM us with a photo of your tickets/a screenshot of your booking confirmation email and we can look into availability for you :) ^EA
https://twitter.com/AvantiWestCoast/status/1204317366965932034

Suspect when they tendered for booking engine they overlooked the importance of seat selection for long distance services. If it's not already been developed on the engine they are using then a hefty development cost is now been considered.
 
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yorkie

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They are getting a lot of complaints through Twitter:
https://twitter.com/markjennion/status/1204386785196957696
markjp-1977 said:
I can only echo what others have said yesterday and today, removing the seat selection was a big mistake and needs to be reinstated sooner rather than later. It seems the one big complaint from what I am reading

https://twitter.com/tandleman/status/1204385707323772928
Lesley Mfon said:
Am I reading this right that you can’t choose your own seat?! Why? This isn’t helpful
Tandleman said:
Think you will find that to be an unwise decision. People have their favourites. It will cause resentment for no operational or customer gain. Bad move.

https://twitter.com/SarahBunty/status/1204385149409996800
SarahBunty said:
I can only echo what others have said regarding seat selection. This is a backward step, Avanti, please can you let us know when this will be implemented. Thank you

https://twitter.com/stowtom2010/status/1204388571588808705
Tom said:
I won’t be booking any further tickets with you directly until you sort out the seat selector. Surely you need to advise your customers to book elsewhere (like Train Split) until this huge issue is resolved?
 

Laurencew

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Thanks for the helpful suggestions to use trainscanbecheaper or trainsplit. One snag is that these two sites only have booking horizons to the 10th March whereas Avanti have advance fares posted until the 8th May (weekdays).
Luckily the Avanti website's non-selector gave me exactly the seats I wanted for late March (table seats in the shop coach in a Voyager).
I suspect their Twitter team are going to be inundated with requests to change seats and they will soon see the error of their ways.
 

yorkie

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I bet Trainsplit is going to make a packet out of this debacle :D

(And Avanti lose, as of course if you're using Trainsplit you might well split!)
Yep, more and more people may realise that at peak times Avanti are charging far more for journeys like London to Birmingham, Manchester, etc than the sum of the intermediate fares!

I expect they will hastily introduce a seat selector, but even then it could take a few weeks!
 

Kite159

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Although as I notice on my work's discount website the 20% discount for advance tickets has rolled forward to Avanti puts me in a pickle. Risk a rubbish seat for the 20% discount or the ability to select a decent seat [I prefer the ones where you can use the window sill as an armrest, where the seat opposite has a view of plastic]
 

Intermodal

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I wonder how long I can make my location on this f
Although as I notice on my work's discount website the 20% discount for advance tickets has rolled forward to Avanti puts me in a pickle. Risk a rubbish seat for the 20% discount or the ability to select a decent seat [I prefer the ones where you can use the window sill as an armrest, where the seat opposite has a view of plastic]
Use the 20% discount and sit in another seat. Simples!
 

BH256

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I've just received this reply from Mark Wilkins at Avanti re Seat Selector:

Dear Brian

Thank you for your email. I can appreciate your views on the seat picking facility on our website.

Many customers have contacted us about this issue. While I have no positive news for you at the moment, we are doing our utmost to look into it urgently as I know many people have contacted us about this issue.

Thank you again for contacting us.

Best wishes

Mark Wilkins
 
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yorkie

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Use the 20% discount and sit in another seat. Simples!
But perhaps not without checking to see if Trainsplit can find a cheaper fare first; the difference between the price charged by Trainsplit and Avanti can be staggering, especially at peak times for longer distance journeys, such as Manchester to London, and could easily exceed 20%.

I think passengers will see an increase in unoccupied yet reserved seats, as anyone who books through Avanti and ends up with a sub-optimal seat is likely to go looking for a better seat. This can cause issues because people don't know if the person who reserved the seat is going to turn up or not.
 

Kite159

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Use the 20% discount and sit in another seat. Simples!

Works if you are boarding at the start point where you can choose a decent seat in coach C (or U), but if boarding a Manchester - Euston service at Crewe or Stoke and all the decent unreserved seats are taken.
 
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Works if you are boarding at the start point where you can choose a decent seat in coach C (or U), but if boarding a Manchester - Euston service at Crewe or Stoke and all the decent unreserved seats are taken.

I’ve got a 100% record of A45/46 upon boarding at Crewe - long may it continue!
 

nedchester

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Just purchased a ticket through Avanti for tomorrow. Offered an e-ticket and it was downloaded as an m-ticket. I'm not overly bothered like some on here but thought I'd mention that in case.

Pleased to buy to get the 500 extra Nectar points.
 
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