Gatwick Airport - Long distance semi flexible tickets

[sdrennan]

I recall TPE had a scheme where you could catch later train if your flight was delayed.

I'd there anything similar for Gatwick.
My daughter and husband flying in to Gatwick early on a midweek morning and need to get up to Chester at a reasonable cost.

Any thoughts?

 

[ForTheLoveOf]

I recall TPE had a scheme where you could catch later train if your flight was delayed.

I'd there anything similar for Gatwick.
My daughter and husband flying in to Gatwick early on a midweek morning and need to get up to Chester at a reasonable cost.

Any thoughts?

No, no such tickets exist for airport stations other than Manchester unfortunately.

Reasonably priced Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak tickets are available to Chester though - both on the quicker route Any Permitted ones (which carry onerous weekday morning and evening restrictions though), and on the slower "via High Wycombe and Shrewsbury" tickets (where the Off-Peak ticket is effectively almost unrestricted and the Super Off-Peak has less onerous restrictions than the Any Permitted Off-Peak).

Alternatively you may find that the most appropriate combination of tickets is something like an Advance on the way there, and an Off-Peak Single (Online) for the return journey (this being a single ticket that, unusually, is priced at half the cost of a return as long as you buy it as part of a return journey).

Try using a website like www.trainsplit.com to have a look at your options.

 

[30907]

The regulated Offpeak fare set by Virgin is - like all West Coast fares - relatively good value for the fastest journey, and either the Offpeak return or an Offpeak single out and the cheapest Advance back (the reverse of ForTheLoveOf's suggestion) would be sensible. If they are happy with the slower journey, then the Super Off Peak mentioned is probably the cheapest.
In either case, the restrictions only apply on the leg north of London, so they can take the first available train at Gatwick.
A Two Together railcard might be worth it, but carries a blanket 0930 restriction IIRC.