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Anytime return fare Gatwick to Lon Vic fair?

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London_123

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Hi,

A friend was advised this Tuesday by a member of staff at Gatwick airport to buy an Anytime return ticket at £27 (Southern only to Vic) even though they were travelling to London at 1700 and returning a day later at 1500. I think I'm right in saying this wasn't the cheapest option and 2 off peak singles would have been cheaper? Is this now common practice and is there no Saver return type fare available? Seems a rip off to me!

Thanks!
 
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wintonian

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2x CDS (southern only) would have saved 60p

These are valid out after 09:50.

An SVR at £28.10 is available from Three Bridges, but oviously the singles are cheaper as is the SOR.
 

island

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Not the first time duff advice has been given out by Southern t/a Gatwick Express at Gatwick Airport!
 

Oscar

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Is this now common practice and is there no Saver return type fare available? Seems a rip off to me!

No, most routes still have an Off-Peak Return (SVR). There is a large range of fares which can be offered but there are virtually no routes which have every single possible fare. The fares offered depend from route to route. In generally the government regulates short distance Anytime Singles and Returns and longer distances Off-Peak or Super Off-Peak Singles and Returns so they have to be there. What else is offered is up to the TOC setting the fare. Very short distance routes tend to have fewer fares but some medium distances ones (counted as short distance) can occasionally too (York - Settle only has Anytime Singles and Returns). There is also no standard definition of "peak" - every Off-Peak ticket has a different validity code, telling you when it is valid.

Some of the fares which can be offered:
SDS - Anytime Day Single
SDR - Anytime Day Return
SOS - Anytime Single
SOR - Anytime Return
CDS - Off-Peak Day Single
CDR (i.e. ex-Cheap Day Return) - Off-Peak Day Return
SSS - Super Off-Peak Single
SSR - Super Off-Peak Return
SVS - Off-Peak Single
SVH - Off-Peak Single (Virgin) to be combined with another single (e.g. Advance for coming back)
SVR - Off-Peak Return
GVR - Anglo-Scot Off-Peak (East Coast)
GDR - Off-Peak Day Return (valid at weekends and Bank Holidays only)
CBA - Super Off-Peak Day Return (valid at weekends and Bank Holidays only)
CBB - Super Off-Peak Day Single (valid at weekends and Bank Holidays only)
 
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island

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Careful about those last two, as there are some super off-peak singles and day returns valid during the week, although possibly not on those ticket codes.
 

London_123

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Hi,

Thanks for this. The more I think about it, it seems a real con! Unless you are travelling to and from the airport in a day (I'm sure not the usual flow) you're stuck paying the peak single fare (or about 20p less) or a return at 2x peak single.

I've tried searching for when peak times are from London Vic to Gatwick but could find no information - this in itself seems convenient for the rail companies so people buy Anytime fares 'just in case'. Also isn't an Anytime Return only valid for 5 days, so there isn't much point in buying one anyway as it offers no saving and adds a restriction?

and I thought Easyjet was bad!

Thanks
 

benk1342

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I've tried searching for when peak times are from London Vic to Gatwick but could find no information - this in itself seems convenient for the rail companies so people buy Anytime fares 'just in case'.

It looks like the off-peaks from London Victoria to Gatwick all take restriction B1, which is

OUTWARD TRAVEL
By any train except those
timed to depart Mondays to
Fridays before 0930

RETURN TRAVEL
By any train

Off-peaks from Gatwick to London Victoria take C0, which is

Restriction applies: Monday to
Friday only. No travel
restrictions on other days.

OUTWARD TRAVEL
By any train scheduled to
arrive London Terminals or
Kensington Olympia at or after
0950.

RETURN TRAVEL
By any train
 

wintonian

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Hi,

Thanks for this. The more I think about it, it seems a real con! Unless you are travelling to and from the airport in a day (I'm sure not the usual flow) you're stuck paying the peak single fare (or about 20p less) or a return at 2x peak single.

I've tried searching for when peak times are from London Vic to Gatwick but could find no information - this in itself seems convenient for the rail companies so people buy Anytime fares 'just in case'. Also isn't an Anytime Return only valid for 5 days, so there isn't much point in buying one anyway as it offers no saving and adds a restriction?

and I thought Easyjet was bad!

Thanks

Anytime returns (SOR) are valid for 5 days going out and 1 month on the return.
 

island

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Fares to airports are often distorted! Searching to nearby locations or other combinations of tickets can often bear fruit.
 

Oscar

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I've tried searching for when peak times are from London Vic to Gatwick but could find no information.

You can always find relevant restriction codes at www.brfares.com
Type in London Vic to Gatwick and the different fares come up with the relevant restriction code and there is a hyperlink to the details.
 

wintonian

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http://www.brfares.com/#fares?orig=0072&dest=GTW&rlc=NEW

I don't get why there's identical tickets with any permitted and Not Gatwick Exp(ress). Why would anyone buy the restricted one? (This is for an extension of a TC Z1-6)

Here at least the Not Gatwick Exp(ress) ones are cheaper (from London Victoria/London Terminals):
http://www.brfares.com/#fares?orig=VIC&dest=GTW&rlc=NEW

I'm not sure why anyone would pay extra for the not Gatwick Express tickets in your 2nd link when the Southern only is cheaper and valid on the Gatwick Express

But I fear that may be an entirely different conversation. ;)
 

jon0844

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Let's not start that conversation here!! Certainly for anyone with a Travelcard (including a season as I used to have), you can get an any permitted ticket and travel however you want.

I wonder how many tourists might buy a travelcard and then buy a new ticket to Gatwick for their return home without even realising they could get an extension. That's also possibly best left for another conversation!
 
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The simple fact is, is Gatwick Airport tickets are a rip-off price that's pegged artificially high and Southern mostly get away with it due to foreign visiters not being clued up on the exchange rates. As all the transatlantics are immigration and customs cleared by 08.30 nobody wants to hang around on the station until the 09.35 Express.
As a slight "off on a tangent" now that the Expresses are run by Southern the "normal" trains to Victoria should go back to being advertised as Clapham Junction and similarly at Victoria only Expresses advertised to Gatwick as in B.R. days to encourage airport travellers to use the trains that are dedicated for them.
 
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