Is there any point in buying an advnaced purchase ticket from Garwick Airport to other stations?

[infobleep]

I am travelling from Guildford to Gatwick Airport and back again some days later.

I note there are advanced purchase tickets for £17.00 going to Gatwick Aiport, on the date I'm travelling, as the cheaper £12.00 ones have most likely sold out

The ones coming back to Guildford are £13.50. My Network Railcard will undercut that as it is after 10 am for the return journey.

An anytime single from Guildford to Gatwick Airport is £17.70. That is also the same from Gatwick Airport to Guildford.

Going out I can see why an Advanced purchase ticket could work but coming back, what is the point?

I assume if your flight is delayed it is, tough, new ticket, please. Is that correct or do they have some kind of guarantee if you miss your train? I know I don't need the advanced purchase ticket for my return but I'm wondering how it works.

As an aside, when travelling in the morning, not all trains run directly to Gatwick Airport. Some terminate at Redhill and when you need to switch to a Thameslink branded service, they do not offer an advance ticket. Would they need to get permission from Govia Thameslink Railway to do so and would GTR likely say no?

Cheers

 

[JonathanH]

Going out I can see why an Advanced purchase ticket could work but coming back, what is the point?

The pricing of the advance fares on the North Downs Line has always seemed a bit odd ever since they were introduced, as they seem to offer no particular saving for the reduction in flexibility. However, the small saving will attract a handful of passengers who can make a small saving if they are certain of their timings, particularly if they come up first on booking engines.

The introduction of reservations on the route has made advance fares for through journeys to the rest of the GWR network more difficult to purchase where the quotas don't line up.

 

[paul1609]

If your outward journey is after 08.45 there's an off peak return route Gomshall for £29.10

 

[Hophead]

Not everybody travelling to Gatwick Airport is intending to fly.

 

[Haywain]

For the price difference, there is no point at all in buying an Advance ticket for the return journey. Whether you consider a saving of 70p as being worthwhile for the outward journey is entirely up to you.

As an aside, when travelling in the morning, not all trains run directly to Gatwick Airport. Some terminate at Redhill and when you need to switch to a Thameslink branded service, they do not offer an advance ticket. Would they need to get permission from Govia Thameslink Railway to do so and would GTR likely say no?

Why would GTR accept a ticket that is routed GWR Only?

 

[RJ]

An Advance ticket is the wrong product to purchase if unsure you can make the booked train. There are other ticket types that have flexibility that would probably be more suitable.

 

[Belperpete]

I assume if your flight is delayed it is, tough, new ticket, please. Is that correct or do they have some kind of guarantee if you miss your train? I know I don't need the advanced purchase ticket for my return but I'm wondering how it works.

If you buy an advance ticket, it is your responsibility to make sure that you turn up on time to catch the train. If you miss it, as you say, you will need to buy a new ticket. An exception is if one train is delayed so that you miss a connecting train, then you are entitled to catch the next one.

As RJ has pointed out, an advance is not the ticket to buy unless you are sure that you will be catching the booked train. You are effectively gambling that you won't be delayed in order to get a cheaper fare. The bigger the risk of you missing the train, the more likely you are to lose your money.

If your flight is delayed so that you miss your train, then you could try claiming from the airline or your travel insurance. I think it would have to be a very significant delay for an airline to pay up. You would need to check the wording of your travel insurance to see their particular terms, but they would likely expect you to make reasonable allowance between your arrival time and the train time.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

An Advance ticket is the wrong product to purchase if unsure you can make the booked train. There are other ticket types that have flexibility that would probably be more suitable.

Indeed. Whilst most on here want to make savings and pay as little for their journey as is legitimately possible, the risk vs reward trade off is, IMHO, too great for the particular journey in question.

 

[infobleep]

Not everybody travelling to Gatwick Airport is intending to fly.

That is true but apart from working at the airport or arriving by a local bus, I can't think why else one would buy an advanced purchase ticket from Gatwick Airport.

I can't believe an advanced purchase ticket to Gatick Airport, followed by a non advance for the rest of ones journey would be cheaper.

If your outward journey is after 08.45 there's an off peak return route Gomshall for £29.10

It's before 8:45, which works well at the other end, given I'm only going away for several days.

For the price difference, there is no point at all in buying an Advance ticket for the return journey. Whether you consider a saving of 70p as being worthwhile for the outward journey is entirely up to you.

Why would GTR accept a ticket that is routed GWR Only?

Well they could have a GWR and connections ticket type. After all, how did I get to Nottingham from Guildford using advanced purchase tickets? The outward trip involved GWR, GTR and East Midlands Railway.

The return was EMR and South Western Railway. All advanced purchase.

An Advance ticket is the wrong product to purchase if unsure you can make the booked train. There are other ticket types that have flexibility that would probably be more suitable.

I agree so I am wondering what is the point of them. Are there lots of people needing to get from Gatwick Airport and not on a flight?

Indeed. Whilst most on here want to make savings and pay as little for their journey as is legitimately possible, the risk vs reward trade off is, IMHO, too great for the particular journey in question.

I agree, which is why I don't understand why it exists but perhaps I'm missing something.

Perhaps if I was dropping someone off and returning home I might do it but it would need to be early enough to not make a return cheaper and I would need to be able to leave the person on their own at the airport.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I agree, which is why I don't understand why it exists but perhaps I'm missing something

Have known folk to use Gatwick Airport as a railhead / park and ride, but if you're driving there and prepared to pay the hefty car parking fees, it seems strange to then 'cheap out' with inflexible, booked train only, advance rail tickets.

 

[FenMan]

I use the North Downs Line to Gatwick Airport and have been buying an Advance for the outward leg and and flexible single ticket when returning if the flight departure is before off peak tickets become valid.

However, I now see that GWR offer Advances right up to departure, so it's feasible to buy an Advance on your mobile once you have an idea of the size of the queue at Passport Control.

I'm posting this at 16:55 on 27 August and Advances are available for the 16:59, 17:29 and 17:59 departures from Gatwick to Reading.

 

[mad_rich]

TransPennine do an Airport Advance, which can be changed for free. But only in the event of a documented flight delay and not, eg, a baggage delay. And you have to go and exchange it at a ticket office, rather it just being automatically valid. It sounds like an immense faff, with so many hoops to jump through!

Heathrow Express do cheaper Advance purchase tickets that are valid all day.

I'm not sure if any other airports have something similar?

 

[mangyiscute]

Splitting at gatwick can save some money as well so that's another reason people will buy tickets to gatwick that isn't flying

 

[infobleep]

I use the North Downs Line to Gatwick Airport and have been buying an Advance for the outward leg and and flexible single ticket when returning if the flight departure is before off peak tickets become valid.

However, I now see that GWR offer Advances right up to departure, so it's feasible to buy an Advance on your mobile once you have an idea of the size of the queue at Passport Control.

I'm posting this at 16:55 on 27 August and Advances are available for the 16:59, 17:29 and 17:59 departures from Gatwick to Reading.

I didn't know they did advances so late in the day. That might explain why they offer advances from Gatwick Airport and regardless of whether one thinks it's a good idea or not, one would have more certainty as to which train they might get late in the day.

 

[skyhigh]

TransPennine do an Airport Advance, which can be changed for free. But only in the event of a documented flight delay and not, eg, a baggage delay. And you have to go and exchange it at a ticket office, rather it just being automatically valid. It sounds like an immense faff, with so many hoops to jump through!

It's pretty simple, you just go to the ticket office and they will endorse the ticket and you can travel on any train within 3 hours after your booked departure time. You don't need to 'exchange' the ticket for another one that's limited to a specific train. Presumably it's because it's considered easier than having guards look up flight arrivals all over their network.

 

[_toommm_]

It's pretty simple, you just go to the ticket office and they will endorse the ticket and you can travel on any train within 3 hours after your booked departure time. You don't need to 'exchange' the ticket for another one that's limited to a specific train. Presumably it's because it's considered easier than having guards look up flight arrivals all over their network.

Wonder how they do that for the overnight trains when the ticket office is closed?

 

[mad_rich]

It's pretty simple, you just go to the ticket office and they will endorse the ticket and you can travel on any train within 3 hours after your booked departure time. You don't need to 'exchange' the ticket for another one that's limited to a specific train. Presumably it's because it's considered easier than having guards look up flight arrivals all over their network.

I guess it's enough of a faff to put me off. Especially since you need a 1hr delay to qualify, so you have to book a train with enough margin to allow for a 59 minute delay - which is probably an hour later than the one you'd like to be on.

But yes, I agree it's not for the guards to be looking up flight delays.

 

[bubieyehyeh]

It looks like you could stop short on a ticket to three bridges might be cheaper.

 

[infobleep]

Splitting at gatwick can save some money as well so that's another reason people will buy tickets to gatwick that isn't flying

I'm surprised splitting at Gatwick Aiport saves money. I'd have thought it considered important enough for this not to be the case but I accept it is.

It looks like you could stop short on a ticket to three bridges might be cheaper.

I hadn't looked up alternatives yet. Thanks for the tip. I wasn't seeking public alternatives though in case they were better kept out of rhe public eye so to speak.