First Great Western Advance Fares.

Book early for best Advance fares - not always the case. I booked last week two 1st Class senior Advance tickets £73-30 from Paddington to Penzance on 10th June on 10-06 departure. After only one week of booking these fares have been reduced to £56-10. I can understand reductions nearer the time of departure if the train is under capacity but after only one week of Advance fares coming on line seems a bit of a con. Any views appreciated. Thank you.

East Coast do this too, most famously during the Olympics.

If you notice that the fares are not the cheapest when they first go on sale, you have the option of waiting to see if they reduce. Over 9 times out of 10, they will not reduce and will increase instead.

FGW have this one covered in their advertising of Advance Purchase fares:

Discounts of 15% - 60% (generally, the earlier you book, the lower the fare, but in some instances additional lower fare Advance tickets are made available where there is capacity on specific trains).

Click to expand...

Although at 10 weeks out FGW's yield management system must be pretty good to spot the spare capacity.

No harm asking FGW for an explanation, you may even get a goodwill refund and reissue at the lower price.

Update after contacting 1st Great Western.
E mail reply just stating what we already know that Advance fares can go up or down according to train capacity levels. No answer to my specific question of why the reduction 8 or 9 weeks before the travel date.

Thank you for your comments.