Avanti Premium

[TonyR]

I’ve noticed in booking that a lot of Avanti trains are listed now on their app as Standard and First Class only. Is Standard Premium being withdrawn? The train I was on today didn’t have an SP coach on a route where I normally use it (Euston-Preston).

 

[Trackman]

Nope, still going.
App is useless, use the website.
I have the app, yours looks like the Android version. On the Apple app once you select a journey, there will a box for standard/SP/First at the top.. if it's a valid SP service.

 

[Bletchleyite]

That will come up if it's a Voyager (no SP) or if one of them is "sold out". Probably the latter in this case - SP is proving very popular and on the refurbished sets there's a whole coach less of it.

 

[TonyR]

Nope, still going.
App is useless, use the website.
I have the app, yours looks like the Android version. On the Apple app once you select a journey, there will a box for standard/SP/First at the top.. if it's a valid SP service.

No, its on an iPad. And yes it frequently has the standard/SP/First box but almost as frequently the middle SP one says there are no SP seats on that journey.

That will come up if it's a Voyager (no SP) or if one of them is "sold out". Probably the latter in this case - SP is proving very popular and on the refurbished sets there's a whole coach less of it.

I’ve rarely seen it even a third full so think its very unlikely its sold out over multiple trains.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I’ve rarely seen it even a third full so think its very unlikely its sold out over multiple trains.

That surprises me, I've seen it very busy of late. I will only upgrade if I can have the 1 side, and the last couple of times I've looked that's all been taken.

 

[jfollows]

Very un-busy Crewe-Edinburgh & return last month, out Friday & back Monday.

 

[RailWonderer]

Avanti first and even SP is so overpriced these days, and the cattering offer is pitiful. I'm only ever doing it on a known busy service, otherwise standard class is more than sufficient. First these last two years is emptier than I've ever seen it.

That surprises me, I've seen it very busy of late. I will only upgrade if I can have the 1 side, and the last couple of times I've looked that's all been taken.

You've said before you're quite tall so it's probably worth it assuming you find the standard cabin too claustrophobic but for most the case is just weak. I think Avanti want to make first less appealing to remove more of it in the future - it wouldn't surprise me, otherwise they would make more of an effort. First class has declined massively compared to 5, 10, 15, 20 years ago.

 

[Scotrail314209]

Seems to be busier on certain trains compared to others.

The 05:33 ex Glasgow seems to have a good amount of reservations a week before, with most of the single seats gone. One of which was even full in SP when I looked at booking it.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I'm less likely to upgrade now as the new seats in Standard have added about 4" of legroom compared to the old, I used to only fit in priority rows but now I fit any.

 

[MalaiseForever]

Morning and evening services to Birmingham tend to be absolutely full of Avanti office staff in Standard Premium. They get very arsey when you politely ask them to move out the reserved SP seat you’ve paid for! Not a good experience.

 

[Furrball]

A nice 20% increase in Standard Premium upgrade price now as well, up from £25 to £30

 

[Deafdoggie]

Morning and evening services to Birmingham tend to be absolutely full of Avanti office staff in Standard Premium. They get very arsey when you politely ask them to move out the reserved SP seat you’ve paid for! Not a good experience.

Avanto really are hell-bent on putting people off train travel.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Avanto really are hell-bent on putting people off train travel.

Sounds like another "Coach K" issue - I guess they haven't got the hang of managing staff properly yet.

 

[Puffing Devil]

A nice 20% increase in Standard Premium upgrade price now as well, up from £25 to £30

Certainly not worth it from Euston-Crewe or vv if you have a seat reserved. I only use Avanti now if I can get a super cheap advance, £14 superfare. Otherwise, it's London Midland on the stopper.

 

[Djgr]

Standard Premium is an unwelcome distraction to Avanti addressing its more pressing problems.

Virgin once introduced a three class operation and abandoned it for very similar reasons.

They who ignore history are destined to repeat it!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Standard Premium is an unwelcome distraction to Avanti addressing its more pressing problems.

Virgin once introduced a three class operation and abandoned it for very similar reasons.

They who ignore history are destined to repeat it!

Disagree. SP is what First should be in these days of self-upgrading and leisure travel - a bigger seat. Maybe put some flasks of tea/coffee and some water bottles out as that costs near enough nowt, but not beyond that - if you want food, buy it.

What Virgin did was very different and in a very different economic context.

 

[Djgr]

Disagree. SP is what First should be in these days of self-upgrading and leisure travel - a bigger seat. Maybe put some flasks of tea/coffee and some water bottles out as that costs near enough nowt, but not beyond that - if you want food, buy it.

What Virgin did was very different and in a very different economic context.

That's an argument about what first class means but doesn't address the issue of the distraction and confusion of operating a three class service.

 

[Bletchleyite]

That's an argument about what first class means but doesn't address the issue of the distraction and confusion of operating a three class service.

I don't see anything confusing about it at all.

 

[Djgr]

I don't see anything confusing about it at all.

But you are a statistical sample of one and certainly atypical in your knowledge

 

[AlterEgo]

That's an argument about what first class means but doesn't address the issue of the distraction and confusion of operating a three class service.

What is distracting and confusing about it? It is simply designating 1/2 carriages of the old first class as Standard premium. No extra service, no extra staff needed.

 

[Bletchleyite]

But you are a statistical sample of one and certainly atypical in your knowledge

Do you think it's confusing that planes have 3 classes?

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Morning and evening services to Birmingham tend to be absolutely full of Avanti office staff in Standard Premium. They get very arsey when you politely ask them to move out the reserved SP seat you’ve paid for! Not a good experience.

Yes, I was once kicked out of my Coach K First class seat by a staff member who falsely claimed only J was First, too, all because he wanted to sit there.

 

[Djgr]

What is distracting and confusing about it? It is simply designating 1/2 carriages of the old first class as Standard premium. No extra service, no extra staff needed.

All of this takes management and operational resource that could be spent on other things at Avanti.

 

[Bletchleyite]

All of this takes management and operational resource that could be spent on other things at Avanti.

If it makes money, it allows the funding of more management and operational resource. It's not being done for a laugh, it's being done to firmly aim a premium product at the self-upgrade and leisure market so as to gain more income than them travelling Standard.

 

[Djgr]

Do you think it's confusing that planes have 3 classes?

The issue is whether the general travelling public finds three classes confusing in the context of a network that doesn't operate this way.

It is irrelevant what you and I think.

There have certainly been threads about travellers with a first class ticket issued by one TOC being told that they have to travel in Standard Premium on Avanti.

In the context of Avanti's ongoing poor performance, messing about with Standard Premium is a management distraction. Let's KISS.

 

[AlterEgo]

All of this takes management and operational resource

Like what? It’s just declassifying first class and charging people to sit there without any service. It’s money for old rope.

 

[Bletchleyite]

There have certainly been threads about travellers with a first class ticket issued by one TOC being told that they have to travel in Standard Premium on Avanti.

There is that, but it's a policy issue rather than an issue with SP in and of itself.

In the context of Avanti's ongoing poor performance, messing about with Standard Premium is a management distraction. Let's KISS.

In that case bin actual 1st and keep SP in my view.

Like what? It’s just declassifying first class and charging people to sit there without any service. It’s money for old rope.

In effect it's just weekday Weekend First, but in dedicated vehicles so you don't need as many stewards and people can't lie and claim the freebies anyway.

 

[Jimini]

Removing SP from peak arrivals into Euston seems to have bombed. SP used to be pretty much full up on some of the ex. Birmingham services into town on weekday mornings. Now it’s a first class carriage, it’s normally empty. Go figure eh!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Removing SP from peak arrivals into Euston seems to have bombed. SP used to be pretty much full up on some of the ex. Birmingham services into town on weekday mornings. Now it’s a first class carriage, it’s normally empty. Go figure eh!

Surely SP is going to be a key seller on those - almost no businesses will pay for 1st any more, so it's all about self-upgrading out of peoples' own pockets, something I've done before and would do again if offered, but as tickets are purchased centrally there isn't scope for me to get them to buy a 1st ticket and pay the difference.

 

[Jimini]

Surely SP is going to be a key seller on those - almost no businesses will pay for 1st any more, so it's all about self-upgrading out of peoples' own pockets, something I've done before and would do again if offered

100% -- people wanting a table seat with a socket on a train arriving in the capital between 8-8:30am -- a no brainer, surely.