Can I change the seat reservation on an Advance Ticket

[Prodigy]

I'm heading to London for an overnight stop on the 16th of April. On my Outward Journey I realize I've been given a table seat. Now I'd of been fine with this but I have really long legs and I had a real bad experience with a table seat on a Class 185 on the way back from Scotland and I presume that Pendolino's leg room on table seats wouldn't be much better. Is there any way I can change the seat reservation without being charged extra or would I just be able to sit in the unreserved carriage on a normal seat?

 

[Lrd]

Not sure if you can go to the ticket office/phone up and change the seat on an Advance ticket or not. I would ask the guard/train manager on the train if he doesn't mind you moving to another seat so he can let someone else sit in your old seat.

I would go to a ticket office and ask them, or even phone up.

 

[John @ home]

Is there any way I can change the seat reservation without being charged extra or would I just be able to sit in the unreserved carriage on a normal seat?

The wording of the Rules suggest that there is a possibility that Virgin may waive the £10 change fee.

The Manual -> Ticket Validities -> Advance fares - Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions about changes and refunds to Advance fares.

Q12 - A passenger has an Advance ticket but would like to change their seat allocation. Are they able to do this at the station in advance?

A: Yes, but this counts as a change as it takes retail time and therefore incurs a £10 fee per single ticket (some TOCs e.g. Virgin Trains may choose to waive this and will inform you). Seat preferences should be detailed when making the booking, not later. The ‘Conditions’ above shows that the ticket is only valid in the seat shown and this is the strict message to get across. However, tell the passenger that on-train staff may allow them to move if space allows.

If a request to Virgin to waive the fee is unsuccessful, a polite request to on-train staff would be the next thing to try.

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Don't go to the ticket office, they will charge you £10 per change. TPE/Virgin customer services might help you out, but should charge you £10 per change. The guard on the train might let you sit anywhere on the train 'if space allows' at no charge and whilst this does run the risk that there will be no available space, i can't say I have heard of a guard refusing that request.

 

[AlterEgo]

To sort out the Virgin journey, just call their Customer Relations on 0845 000 8000 and they will make an additional reservation for you. (They can't amend an existing one, but they will just reserve another seat). It's their policy to do so.

I would expect TPE to be equally flexible.

 

[yorkie]

A group of 3 of us wanted to sit together on East Coast (before the option to select a seat), it gave us 3 random seats spread throughout the train. The ticket office said it is ECs policy (then under Nationa; Express) to charge a £10 admin fee per ticket to change it. They advised simply asking the guard. So we sat at a table seat that was unreserved and asked the guard if this was okay, but I don't think he understood what we were asking but was totally fine with it.

A TPE guard is extremely unlikely to insist you sit in your designated seat! I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[34D]

I'm heading to London for an overnight stop on the 16th of April. On my Outward Journey I realize I've been given a table seat. Now I'd of been fine with this but I have really long legs and I had a real bad experience with a table seat on a Class 185 on the way back from Scotland and I presume that Pendolino's leg room on table seats wouldn't be much better. Is there any way I can change the seat reservation without being charged extra or would I just be able to sit in the unreserved carriage on a normal seat?

As a fellow tall person, I would say that I find the table seats more roomy than the normal airline style - with the latter I'm always banging my knee on the seat in front. There are some priority airline seats, with better pitch.

 

[shinkansen1966]

When buying an advance purchase ticket, I rarely sit at my allocated seat. I have never been asked to sit at my allocated seat. From experience, all the guard is interested in is that your reservations shows the correct train.

 

[Wath Yard]

I've had similar experiences to the above post. In the days before on-line reservation systems showed you what seat had been reserved I very rarely sat in my allocated seat and was never challenged. On Pendolinos it is quite common for people who are allocated a seat with no window to get up and find another. Again I've never seen these people being challenged, unless they nick someone else's reserved seat.

 

[222007]

To be honest i often have people who dont sit in there reserved seat which is fine by me so long as they are on the correct train. All i'll do it remove the reservation from the seat they had booked so as another passenger can take that seat

 

[Prodigy]

As a fellow tall person, I would say that I find the table seats more roomy than the normal airline style - with the latter I'm always banging my knee on the seat in front. There are some priority airline seats, with better pitch.

I guess it varies on the person lol, my legs almost fell off after sitting on a table seat for over 3 hours, I just found it really difficult as I didn't want my knees knocking into the person sat opposite me.

Cheers for the advise everyone, I'll just sit in an unreserved airline seat if I can find one.

 

[JonathanH]

A group of 3 of us wanted to sit together on East Coast (before the option to select a seat), it gave us 3 random seats spread throughout the train. The ticket office said it is ECs policy (then under Nationa; Express) to charge a £10 admin fee per ticket to change it. They advised simply asking the guard. So we sat at a table seat that was unreserved and asked the guard if this was okay, but I don't think he understood what we were asking but was totally fine with it.

A TPE guard is extremely unlikely to insist you sit in your designated seat! I wouldn't worry about it.

On the contrary, a TPE service out of Edinburgh was the only train on which I have ever heard an announcement to the effect that advance ticket holders must sit in their designated seats. On this occasion, the train was expected to be busy.

I accept however that it is uncommon.

 

[Max]

In several years of long distance journeys I have rarely sat in my reserved seat (well, before select your own seat became available on TOCs such as East Coast anyway). It has never been a problem. As some people have said though, if the train is particularly busy the guard might make an announcement asking people to sit in their reserved seats. But I'd say this is relatively rare.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

In several years of long distance journeys I have rarely sat in my reserved seat
. . . . .
if the train is particularly busy the guard might make an announcement asking people to sit in their reserved seats. But I'd say this is relatively rare.

I, too, will rarely sit in my allotted seat and find it very rare for a Guard to be interested in the specific seat.

In fact, I've known Guard to agree with surprise that so many people do sit in their allotted seats!
Due to the booking and reservation system's sequence of allocating seat reservations, its very common to find most of the reservations are in 2 particular coaches (such as E and M) and consequently most passengers are packed in there. When I've commented on this with Guards, I've had replies such as "yes, no matter how many times I tell them there's more space further down the train they still like to pack themselves in there".

 

[Max]

Due to the booking and reservation system's sequence of allocating seat reservations, its very common to find most of the reservations are in 2 particular coaches (such as E and M) and consequently most passengers are packed in there. When I've commented on this with Guards, I've had replies such as "yes, no matter how many times I tell them there's more space further down the train they still like to pack themselves in there".

Indeed, there was a time when a friend and myself travelled on CrossCountry from Doncaster to Reading. It was an early train on a Sunday morning and we had booked two adjacent seats at a table. A lady boarded the train at Sheffield and absolutely insisted that she sit her reserved seat opposite, despite the train being virtually empty! :roll:

 

[cookiescrumble]

I've travelled on advance tickets several times on trips up to Nottingham and back. The only time I have used my allocated seat is when I got on the return trip at Nottingham and the train was bursting at the seams!

Any other time I have just got on the train and sat down.

 

[Yew]

Now of feel stupid for sitting in my reserved seat at the end of a Emt hst, man that wa bumpy, I should have moved to the middle of the next carriage and got a smooth ride

 

[Prodigy]

May aswell ask another question in here. Meeting my mate on the same day (april 16th) and he's heading up from Norwich. Is there ever any Advance fares released for Norwich to London Liverpool Street because all I'm seeing at the moment is prices over 40quid!

 

[NathanPrior]

May aswell ask another question in here. Meeting my mate on the same day (april 16th) and he's heading up from Norwich. Is there ever any Advance fares released for Norwich to London Liverpool Street because all I'm seeing at the moment is prices over 40quid!

There is. I once got a return for £9.20, bargain I tell thee

 

[Lrd]

There are advance fares yes, but I can see them up to (and including) the 14th April, ranging from £8 - £42.50. They may not be released for the 16th quite yet, or they may be waiting to confirm things (like stock formations, engineering work) before they release the fares.

 

[Prodigy]

Alright, thanks guys. i'll keep an eye out and let my friend know asap